On a quiet stretch of South Clark Street in Colfax, Indiana, a congregation has been gathering under the name Colfax Christian Church since 1852. Across more than 170 years, the church has passed through generations of small-town life in Clinton County while remaining an independent, non-denominational body shaped by the conviction that disciples are made by planting truth and tending real relationships. Under Lead Pastor Nate Frederick and a council of elders, today's congregation runs a full slate of ministries for children, students, adults, and seniors, and worships each Sunday at 10 a.m., both in person and through a YouTube livestream.
Planting Truth, Cultivating Relationships, Transforming Lives
The congregation has distilled its purpose into three sentences that hang over everything from Sunday sermons to Wednesday-night programs. We exist to plant truth: putting the Word of God into people's hands, hearts, and lives, trusting that truth planted faithfully will take root and produce fruit that lasts (Matthew 13:23; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 2:15). We exist to cultivate relationships, because the Christian life was never meant to be lived in isolation (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). And we exist to transform lives, believing the gospel has the power to genuinely change a person from the inside out (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 10:10).
Those three commitments are paired with five core values that shape the daily life of the church. The community values authentic community, the kind of honesty that acknowledges struggle and walks through it together. It prizes biblical authority, treating Scripture as the final word on who God is, who we are, and how we are called to live. Compassionate generosity is not a financial program but a posture, looking for needs and moving toward them. The church prizes being a developing family, where faith is caught across generations as children see parents worship, grandparents pray alongside grandchildren, and the whole household grows in the same direction. And it prizes effective activity, rejecting busyness for its own sake and measuring every program against a real purpose.
What Colfax Christian Church Believes
The doctrinal statement the congregation recites is concise and traditional. It affirms one God existing in the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Bible as the inerrant, infallible, inspired Word of God and the final authority for all matters of faith. The church confesses the virgin birth of Jesus, God as the Creator of all people and things, and the universality of sin. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is offered to all and comes only by the grace of God through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
The pattern Scripture sets out for receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord is to believe in Christ as God's Son, to repent of personal sin, to confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and to be baptized into Christ. The church is described as the body and bride of Jesus, founded on the day of Pentecost, consisting of all Christians everywhere. Following the New Testament pattern, elders lead the local body of believers. Death seals the eternal destiny of each person, with the saved inheriting eternal life and the unsaved entering eternal separation from God. The church looks for the day Jesus will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
A Sunday Morning at 10 a.m.
Sunday morning is the weekly center of gravity. At 10 a.m. the doors open for a multigenerational worship service that gathers the whole church family in one room. Worship is led by Zoe Morehouse and Hannah Doke, who share the role of worship leader and direct a team of musicians and singers drawn from the congregation. Hannah has been leading worship at Colfax Christian Church for five years and previously served in the worship ministry of Purdue Campus House; Zoe brings a decade of worship-leadership experience and trained further through WorshipU at Bethel in Redding, California.
Sermons are preached by Lead Pastor Nate Frederick. He is a graduate of Johnson University (2014) with degrees in Intercultural Studies (Missions) and Bible and Theology, and has served churches in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky since 2015 in children's, youth, and executive pastoral roles. Nate and his wife Abby, both graduates of Western Boone High School, are raising their daughter Natalie in the area, and the Frederick family lives out the very rhythms of discipleship the church preaches about.
For those who cannot be in the building, the full service is livestreamed on YouTube at the ColfaxChristianChurch channel. Recordings remain available afterward for anyone who missed a Sunday or wants to revisit a message.
BLAST: Building Lives Around Solid Truth on Wednesdays
Wednesday nights belong to the children. From 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., the building fills with the noise and energy of BLAST, an acronym for Building Lives Around Solid Truth. The program is open to every child from age 2 through 5th grade and welcomes around fifty kids each week. The evening begins at 6:00 with a shared meal that parents are welcome to join, and then moves into a large-group worship time, age-tailored small group lessons, and games.
The BLAST team is part of the Christian Education Ministry led by Family Life Director Sabrina Gossett, who brings more than twenty years of family-ministry experience to the role. She and her team also organize the church's Vacation Bible School, which in 2026 took the form of Kingdom Quest, a free evening program open to children ages 3 through fifth grade with a sack supper at 5:30 p.m. and programming from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
419 Student Ministries for Junior and Senior High
The student ministry takes its name and its anchor verse from Matthew 4:19, where Jesus says, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." The mission is summarized in three words: Know, Grow, Go. Students in grades 6 through 12 gather twice a week.
On Wednesday nights, 419 Know focuses on sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Dinner is served at 6:00 p.m., and programming begins at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday evenings, 419 Grow Groups meet from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., designed as a smaller, more conversational setting where students can have fun and grow together while wrestling with real-life questions. A Youth Team, also led by Sabrina Gossett, plans lessons and events behind the ministry. The student ministry maintains its own social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram under the handle 419studentmin.
Life Groups: Small Groups in Homes Across the Community
Life Groups are the small-group ministry of the church, and they are treated as essential to the congregation's vision. Groups meet in the homes of their leaders on almost every night of the week to fit a wide range of schedules, and roughly seventy people are currently involved. Pastor Nate often frames the ministry around Acts 2:42, where the earliest believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. Groups are signed up for on the bulletin board in the church; those interested in hosting or joining are invited to contact the church office.
Brunch Bunch: Tuesdays for the 50+ Crowd
Every Tuesday morning at 10:30, the church opens its doors to anyone 50 and older for Brunch Bunch. The format is simple and unhurried: coffee, desserts, and a time of Scripture reading together. It is one of the most consistent rhythms of the week for many in the congregation and an easy entry point for older neighbors in Colfax looking for community.
Elders, Deacons, and the Ministry-Team Model
The church follows the New Testament pattern of elder leadership. Dan Lloyd serves as Lead Elder and is joined by Nate Frederick, Devin Bell, and Adam Neyhart. Elders provide spiritual oversight for the congregation.
A board of Trustees, led by Brad Stevens, handles the legal and property responsibilities of the church. The Finance Team, led by Devin Bell, oversees budgets and giving. Matthew Harris leads the Deacons, who serve as the hands-on servant team of the church, with particular responsibility for Men's Ministry, Serve Sunday, Men's Breakfast, Men's Night Out, and overseeing communion.
Day-to-day ministry is carried out through a network of volunteer Ministry Teams, each with its own leader. The Hospitality Team, led by Maria Vinard and Brenda Bennett, looks for ways to love on others inside and outside the church. The Missions Team, led by Megan Schafer, organizes short-term trips; past projects have included Haiti, Pinehaven Christian Children's Ranch in St. Ignatius, Montana, and Oblong Christian Children's Home in Illinois. The Outreach Team, led by Janet Lloyd and John Gable, hosts community events such as the Hickory Hustle 5K and movie nights. The Prayer Team, led by Kayla Del Valley, fields prayer requests from the church and community.
Other ministry teams round out the structure. The Worship Team, led by Hannah Doke and Zoe Morehouse, leads Sunday music. The Stronger Marriage Team, led by Gena and Mark Swank, hosts date nights and couple-focused events, often with childcare provided. The Safety Team, led by Jacob Garrett, oversees safety protocols, and the Tech Team, led by Jillian Dunbar, runs sound, computers, and the Sunday morning livestream.
Dorcas: The Women's Ministry of the Church
The ladies of Colfax Christian Church are organized under the name Dorcas, a nod to the disciple raised by Peter in Acts 9. The Dorcas women host the annual Ole Hickory Days pancake breakfast and the church's annual auction, organize funeral dinners for grieving families, and send greeting cards to church members. Anyone interested in joining can connect through the team leader.
Giving and the Church Center App
Tithing at Colfax Christian Church is framed as an act of worship. Giving can be done in person on Sunday mornings using the giving boxes near each door, or online through the Church Center app, which allows secure giving from anywhere. Members can also sign up for events, register for VBS, and manage their connection to the church through the same platform. Flocknote keeps the congregation in touch by text with information about the church and upcoming events; those who would like to join can call the church office.
Office, Location, and How to Connect
The church meets at 314 S Clark Street in Colfax, Indiana, with a mailing address of PO Box 186, Colfax, IN 46035. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and the phone (765-324-2484) is answered during those hours. The email colfaxchristianchurch@gmail.com reaches the staff for general questions, small-group sign-ups, and ministry-team interest. Annual reports and congregational meeting minutes are made available to the church family each year as part of an open approach to stewardship and budgeting.
Colfax Christian Church keeps an active presence on Facebook at facebook.com/ColfaxChristianChurch, on Instagram at instagram.com/colfaxchristian, and on YouTube at youtube.com/@colfaxchristianchurch, where Sunday services are livestreamed and sermon recordings remain available for catch-up viewing. The student ministry has its own accounts under the handle 419studentmin on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The People Behind the Pulpit and the Welcome Desk
The staff of Colfax Christian Church is small and tightly woven into the life of the congregation. Lead Pastor Nate Frederick preaches and casts vision. Family Life Director Sabrina Gossett oversees children, youth, and family ministry, bringing more than two decades of experience and a deep investment in service projects such as feeding the homeless. Worship Leaders Zoe Morehouse and Hannah Doke shape the sound of Sunday mornings and Wednesday BLAST nights. Behind the scenes, an administrative assistant keeps the office running and a long-time custodian also serves on the Finance Team and leads the Tech Team, having grown up in the church she now helps run.
The wider leadership team includes Lead Elder Dan Lloyd and elders Nate Frederick, Devin Bell, and Adam Neyhart; trustees and ministry-team leaders who are named and listed so members know exactly who to contact when they want to get involved. The intentional transparency is part of the church's value of authentic community. People know each other here, and they are meant to.
A Church with a Long Memory and a Forward Gaze
From its 1852 founding to its present-day ministry to children, students, couples, and seniors, Colfax Christian Church has held to a simple conviction. Disciples are made, not by impressive buildings or programs, but by the steady work of planting truth and tending real relationships, week after week, in homes and church buildings across the community. More than 170 years in, the congregation is still doing that work, still gathering on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m., still filling the building on Wednesday nights with BLAST, and still opening its doors to anyone willing to walk in and stay.