Clayton Christian Church sits along State Road 39 in the small Hendricks County town of Clayton, Indiana, where it has welcomed worshipers for more than 160 years. The congregation's tagline, "Transforming Lives," runs through everything from its worship folder to its student ministry, and the building itself reflects a community that has long valued both continuity and growth. Today the church meets in a facility that opened in 2001 and expanded in 2019, down the road from the original 1865 meetinghouse that still serves as the town's Town Hall.
The front door of the current building opens into a Gathering Area where coffee, tea, and snacks are laid out for visitors. The atmosphere is described as "come as you are," and the dress code is informal. Two Sunday morning worship services run at 8:45 and 11:00 AM, with Sunday School classes for every age meeting in between at 10:00 AM. The musical style is blended with a contemporary feel, and sermons are built on Biblical teaching with real-life application. A Quiet Room is available inside the Worship Center for parents who want to keep a young child with them during the service while still listening in.
What Clayton Christian Church Believes
The church's vision is simple: "Clayton Christian Church is a place where Jesus is transforming lives." Its mission calls members to live like Jesus by "connecting people to God, growing in community, serving with compassion." Six values shape that work: the Bible as final authority, a commitment to holiness, welcoming all people, cultural relevance, faithful stewardship, and the pursuit of excellence in everything.
Theological commitments include belief that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God who died for sins and rose again, that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that every person has worth as a creation of God but has sinned, and that forgiveness and eternal life come through trusting Christ as Savior and Lord. The church teaches that those accepting Christ are to repent, confess their faith, and be baptized by immersion, that the Church is the body of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit, and that Jesus will one day return to reign as King of kings. A full Statement of Faith is available as a downloadable document.
CKids: From the Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Children are at the center of family life at Clayton Christian Church. The children's ministry, called CKids, is led by Holly Wasmundt and is built around the conviction that "children and teens are the Church now." Programming runs for children from birth through fifth grade.
Sunday School classes meet at 10:00 AM. There is a nursery for infants through one-year-olds, a toddler room for one- and two-year-olds with bubbles and music, a preschool "Wee Worship" class for ages three to five, a kindergarten through second grade class that introduces basic Bible truths and prayer, and a third through fifth grade class that goes deeper into Scripture, salvation, baptism, and church community. Children's programming is not offered during the 8:45 AM service so that families can worship together if they prefer.
At 11:00 AM, kindergarten through fifth graders are invited to Power Up, a service of their own in the children's wing. Power Up includes contemporary worship, a lesson, small discipleship groups broken out by grade, crafts, and games. Teaching is drawn from the Grow Curriculum, with Heartshaper used in Sunday School. Safety is taken seriously: the children's wing doors are locked during programming, all volunteers pass a background check and wear identifiable CKids badges, key volunteers are CPR- and bloodborne-pathogen trained, and every child is given a pick-up tag. On the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 PM, CKids meets for a special evening gathering.
G1 Students: God First
The student ministry, called G1 for "God First," serves middle school and high school students under the direction of Toby Gibson. The name comes from the conviction that who or what a teen puts first shapes who they become.
G1 meets twice a week. On Sundays at 10:00 AM, middle school and high school students split into separate classes for Bible study and conversation. On Wednesdays from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, the full group gathers in the Student Center for games, contemporary worship, a lesson, and small groups divided by gender and grade. The music is mostly contemporary Christian, with a Spotify playlist available so students can worship on their own time. Each week, adult leaders work from a small-group discussion guide based on the current lesson, and the goal is for teens to be vulnerable and honest about how God is moving in their lives.
Adult leaders are background-checked and trained, and the church makes Bibles available to anyone who needs one. Teaching draws from Old and New Testament passages in the NIV, and the tone is described as relevant and challenging. Beyond weekly meetings, the student ministry plans periodic events such as Lock-Ins, overnight retreats, summer camps, and seasonal parties. Parents are walked through dedicated resources on discipling their teens, helping teens through anxiety, and navigating the senior year.
Discipleship for Adults: Huddle Groups and Small Groups
Adults at Clayton Christian Church have two main pathways for digging into Scripture and building community. Huddle Groups are 30-week discipleship micro-groups that read through the New Testament together, meeting once a week from fall through spring. The format is built around Matthew 28:18-20: everyone is meant to be both a sheep and a shepherd, growing as a follower of Jesus and learning to lead others. A Teaching Tools Guide playlist and a Huddle Guide are available to help new participants prepare.
Adult Small Groups meet throughout the year and serve as hubs for community, discipleship, and accountability. Eight named groups are listed: Every Word, HomeBuilders, In-Betweener's, Kingdom Workers, Ladies, Mens, Smiling Saints, and The Walking Word. Smiling Saints is a senior Bible study that follows the Standard Lesson Commentary NIV and works through the entire Bible in a four-year cycle. Men meet for prayer, activities, a Golf Team ministry at Deer Creek Golf Club, and quarterly Men's Breakfasts hosted at the church, with a Sunday Small Group at 10:00 AM. Women meet for warm fellowship, uplifting studies, a Sunday Small Group at 10:00 AM, Women's Retreats, and additional events throughout the year. Sherree Empson helps coordinate the women's ministry.
Missions: Eleven Percent and Counting
Every year the church budgets 11 percent of all money given toward missions, and additional giving opportunities open throughout the year. The Missions Ministry is led by Dave Empson and supports a wide network of partners locally, domestically, and internationally.
Locally, the church supports Mill Creek Support Center, Life Centers, Sheltering Wings, Little Oaks Ranch, Hanging Rock Christian Camp, and Christian Student Fellowship. The congregation also donates food each month to the Mill Creek Food Pantry and helps deliver it to neighbors in need. Every year, members fill shoebox gifts for Samaritan's Purse, and a Card Writing Ministry sends encouragement to global missionaries, local families, and one another.
Domestically, partnerships include Oblong Christian Home, Riverwood (an AbilityMinistry community), the International Conference on Missions, the Evergreen Network, Harvest Prayer Ministries' OneCry, the Alexander Christian Foundation, and Diamond Willow Ministries. Foreign mission partners include Ghana Christian Mission, Global Hope, Lifeline Christian Missionaries, Pioneer Bible Translators, Training Christian Missionaries (Hippo Valley), and a GoMin partnership. The church also supports Christian higher education through Johnson University and Kentucky Christian University.
In 1994, five members traveled on the first cross-cultural mission trip to Honduras. The next year 15 went, then 17, and cross-cultural involvement has remained part of the church's identity ever since.
A Church Older Than Sliced Bread
The church likes to say it "may be older than sliced bread," and the history bears it out. Clayton Christian Church was organized on December 7, 1863, by ministers Thomas Lockhart and O.P. Badger, with 63 charter members. Two years later the original building was constructed for $2,600; that building still stands as Clayton's Town Hall. The Aid Society was formed in 1899 and grew from five to forty members, with Sunday School swelling to 100. In 1926 Sylvia Shields and her active "4L" youth class led the construction of an annex on the north side of the building, and two members of that class went on to become prominent evangelists.
In 1962 the first organ was purchased with a memorial gift in honor of Paul Jackson, and in 1978 a baptistery was installed, with the scenery painted by Helen Whetstone, along with new Sunday School rooms. In 1988 Gary Black began his tenure as Senior Pastor, a 34-year run. In 1991 the congregation voted to drop its 1959 affiliation with the Disciples of Christ and returned to its original identity as an Independent Christian Church. In 1995, 7.75 acres of land were purchased and paid off in less than a year. Ground was broken for a new building on September 17, 2000, the first service was held on August 19, 2001, and the dedication on September 9, 2001 drew 284 people.
In 2003 a full Wednesday night program called Family Reunion launched for adults, teens, and children. The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2013, and in 2016 a Site Development Team was selected to pursue a building expansion that added a foyer, an auditorium, and children's classrooms. Construction was completed in June 2019.
Pastoral Leadership in Clayton
In 2022 Gary Black passed the baton to Nathan Robinson, who became the Senior Minister on September 25, 2022. Holly Wasmundt leads the CKids children's ministry and holds a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with a special needs endorsement from Butler University. Toby Gibson leads G1 Students and holds an undergraduate degree in Preaching and Youth Ministry and a master's degree in Strategic Ministry from Johnson University, with further training through Christ's Church of the Valley in Phoenix, Arizona. Sherree Empson coordinates the Women's Ministry, and Dave Empson leads the Missions Ministry Team. An active group of elders supports, leads, and oversees the church body.
Worship services are livestreamed on YouTube, sermons can be watched at any time, and giving is available online or in person during services. A dedicated church app for iOS and Android lets members stream services, take notes, follow events, access the Bible, give securely, and post prayer requests. The church also has a presence on YouVersion for daily devotionals and on The Word For You Today app for morning devotionals.
Clayton Christian Church is an Independent Christian Church. It remains anchored in the same small town where 63 charter members first organized in 1863, still inviting neighbors to come as they are and discover what it means to be a place where Jesus is transforming lives.