For half a century, drivers along Columbus Street in Grove City have known the church by the color of its doors. The Purple Door Church, the working name for Grove City United Methodist Church, has anchored its corner of Franklin County with a unique visual marker and a congregation that takes its theology of welcome seriously. From that flagship campus at 2684 Columbus Street, the church extends a second campus - St. Mark's UMC / Iglesia Hispana - into the west side of Columbus at 5200 Sullivant Avenue, where worship is offered in both English and Spanish. Together the two locations form one congregation under the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, sharing staff, a mission task force, and a vision to "Connect, Transform and Serve."
Two Campuses, One Church
Purple Door is one congregation with two doors and two addresses. The Purple Door Campus in Grove City is the larger of the two and houses four Sunday services plus the church offices, the Family Life Center, the Fireside Room, the Sanctuary, and the Purple Door Café. The St. Mark's / Iglesia Hispana Campus, near Hall Road on Sullivant Avenue, is led by Pastor Lizzy Alatorres and reaches the immediate neighborhood of west Columbus with both English-language and Spanish-language services. Pastor Lizzy's own story is the through-line between the two: she is bilingual, licensed through the West Ohio Conference, and is described on staff as building "a bridge between cultures and languages so we can be one church worshiping God as one body." The two campuses share mailing addresses, phone systems, missions giving, and online giving; their calendars and Facebook pages are coordinated.
Four Sunday Mornings at the Purple Door Campus
The Purple Door Campus offers two worship styles at four times on Sunday morning. At 8:30 a.m. and again at 11:00 a.m., the traditional service fills the Sanctuary with the sound of the pipe organ. The 11:00 a.m. traditional service is also the one most often livestreamed, on the Grove City UMC Facebook page and on the YouTube channel Purple Door Productions.
At 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. the contemporary service runs with a full worship band and environmental projection, creating a casual atmosphere. The 9:30 a.m. contemporary service welcomes families, and after a time of musical worship school-aged children are led to the Family Life Center for their own lessons and crafts. The 11:00 a.m. contemporary service is the one most clearly built around families with young children. After music, children from nursery through high school are dismissed to Sunday School classes organized by age: nursery/toddler, pre-K/K, first through fourth grade, fifth and sixth grade, seventh and eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth grade. Both contemporary services livestream on Facebook and YouTube.
All four services run about an hour. Visitors are told to come as they are; children are welcome in any of the services, not just the 11:00 a.m. family service.
Worship in Two Languages at St. Mark's / Iglesia Hispana
On the west side of Columbus, St. Mark's UMC / Iglesia Hispana meets Sunday mornings with an English service at 10:00 a.m. and a Spanish-language service at 12:30 p.m. Both are led by Pastor Lizzy, who preaches, teaches, and serves as the bilingual bridge between the two campuses. The English service is livestreamed on the St. Mark's UMC Columbus Ohio Facebook page; the Spanish service is livestreamed on the Iglesia Hispana St. Mark's Facebook page. Pastor Lizzy's description of the campus is that "families, kids, adults, all are welcome" - the goal is worship, hymns, sermon, and prayer shared as one multicultural family.
The Story Behind the Purple Doors
The purple doors are not a decorative choice. The church has been known in the community as "the Purple Door Church" for about fifty years, and the color is rooted in Scripture: purple is the color of royalty. As the church explains, "Through these doors pass the royalty of God! Our royalty is not a status we have earned. We are who we are because of Him to Whom we belong," quoting 1 Peter 2:9 about being "a chosen race, a royal priesthood." The metaphor has become a small working theology of welcome - the color is a visual reminder to anyone walking in that they are seen as a child of God before they are seen as anything else.
What the Church Believes
Purple Door describes itself as part of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in America, and grounds its teaching in the historic doctrines of the Christian faith. The church is orthodox on the Trinity, the divinity and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the authority and inspiration of Scripture, the reality of heaven, and the centrality of personal confession and faith in Christ for salvation. Two sacraments are celebrated: Holy Communion and Baptism. Tithing is taught as an act of obedience rooted in Malachi 3:10.
The church also names emphases that have marked Methodism from its beginning: the availability of God's grace for all, salvation understood as both personal and social, the church as a community of disciples on mission, the inseparability of knowledge and vital piety, the pursuit of holiness of heart and life, "connectionalism" as a shared cooperative ministry, and the linking of Christian doctrine to Christian living. The outward-facing shape of the church is not an add-on to its theology; it flows directly from a Methodist conviction that life change often happens through small-group discipleship and through service to neighbors.
Children, Teens, and the Family Approach
Children's ministry at Purple Door is built around the conviction that families grow in faith together. Theologically, the church reads Psalm 127 - "children are God's best gift" - and pulls its ministry design from there: the family is the primary place of discipleship, and the church's role is to walk alongside parents.
On Sunday mornings, school-aged children join their parents in the 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. contemporary services for musical worship, then move to age-appropriate classes in the Family Life Center. The 11:00 a.m. service has the broadest range of classes, with Sunday School offered from nursery through twelfth grade.
Mid-week, families meet during the school year for MERGE, Wednesday-evening programming that runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Throughout the year, special events fill the family calendar - Vacation Bible School, an Easter Egg event, a Christmas program, Trunk or Treat, and family trips. The Family Ministry Facebook page is the main place updates are posted.
For teens, Ignite is the weekly gathering for students in seventh through twelfth grade. It meets Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center with dinner, worship, a message, and a service opportunity built in. Confirmation is offered for sixth graders and for older students who have not yet completed it, with baptism taking place at the end of the class. Christian Adventure Camp ("CAC") runs each June for students entering fifth grade through high school graduates, with college students serving as assistant counselors. Operation Grove City is a yearly event that pairs faith, service, and community engagement for the high-school group. Boys' and girls' small groups meet on the second Sunday of each month at 5:00 p.m. for preteens and older. College students are intentionally partnered with adults in the congregation for encouragement, and graduating seniors are eligible for scholarships.
The Mission Task Force: Feeding, Clothing, and Serving the Neighborhood
The most distinctive thing about Purple Door's outward-facing life is its Mission Task Force, a sprawling ministry with more than a dozen active projects. The list is long and concrete.
The Community Meal is served free of charge on the second Saturday of each month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center, with the goal of feeding 150 or more people. The meal is run by Mark and Andrea Nance with a team of kitchen, plating, dishwashing, serving, and "fellowship" volunteers; everyone sits at tables and welcomes guests. Each plate costs about two dollars to produce, and the congregation can "sponsor a plate" for $2.50. Local restaurants partner to provide sides like bread and drinks.
The Free Store is open every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. and serves between 150 and 275 people weekly, with a significant number of guests coming from halfway houses and recovery centers. Clothing, coats, new underwear, and toiletries are distributed; no appliances, toys, or furniture are accepted. John Hampson coordinates the store.
Bags of Hope is a food-and-backpack partnership with local schools. Currently 133 weekend food bags per week go home with children across eight schools, and the church maintains an Amazon Wishlist that can be shipped directly to 2650 Columbus Street. The wishlist includes cereal, ramen, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables, fruit cups, peanut butter, jelly, granola bars, soups, canned meat, fruit snacks, and basic toiletries.
Other named projects include the Garden of Hope, the Sport Closet, Angel Tree, Christmas Bags of Love, School Supplies, the Car Show, Touch a Truck, Street Cleaning on the first Saturday of each month, the Bed Brigade (delivering beds quarterly to children on a regional waitlist), the international mission trip and local mission trip, and La Casita ("the little house") at the St. Mark's Campus, which collects kitchen gadgets, small appliances, dishes, bedding, and - when donated - larger items like washers, dryers, and loveseats for families arriving in Columbus with nothing.
Two ongoing community partnerships extend the giving further. Shoppers at Kroger can link their rewards card to "Grove City United Methodist Church" (organization XY804), and Walmart customers can round up their change through the Spark Good program in support of GCUMC. Aluminum can recycling is also ongoing; cans with tab tops are preferred and proceeds go to mission trips.
Bible Studies, Small Groups, and Sunday School
The Bible-studies-and-small-groups philosophy at Purple Door is explicit: small groups are "the lifeline of your daily faith journey." No one is expected to have been there from week one - people are told they can join at any point, and several studies are offered on Zoom for those who can't be there in person.
The weekly rhythm includes a Monday evening Bible study on Zoom at 7:00 p.m.; a Thursday morning Bible study in the Sanctuary at 10:00 a.m.; a Saturday morning women's Bible study on Zoom at 8:00 a.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays; Bible Journaling that meets in the Fireside Room on the third Monday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and at the church office on the fourth Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.; and a Sunday morning Sunday School class in the Hospitality Room. A Friday afternoon Bible Study is currently on break.
Members also have access to Right Now Media, an online library of Bible studies and social groups for individuals, families, children, and small groups. Access is free and is coordinated through Pastor Brandi.
United Women in Faith and the Men's Group
The women's ministry at Purple Door operates under the United Women in Faith banner and is organized into three "Circles," each meeting monthly and each open to new members whether or not they attend the church. Rebecca Circle meets on the third Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., Hannah Circle on the second Monday at noon, and Miriam Circle on the third Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The Circles take on missions projects throughout the year.
There is also a separate Purple Door Women's Group that focuses on parishioners and shut-ins, meeting the second Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m.
The Men's Group, "Rooted in Christ, Stronger Together, Built for Purpose," meets on a rotating monthly schedule: Sunday meetings at noon are potluck and devotional in the Fireside Room; Friday meetings at 6:30 p.m. are a dinner out, sometimes paired with a service project. The group stays connected between meetings through the Band app.
Recovery, Mental Health, and Grief Support
Purple Door hosts a constellation of recovery meetings that are open to the wider community. Alcoholics Anonymous meets on Sundays at 6:00 p.m., Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., and Fridays at 6:00 p.m. Al-Anon meets Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous meets Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. Nar-Anon meets Mondays from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m.
For families dealing with mental health, Real Talk is a peer-led, social-emotional support group for parents and caregivers of children with mental health struggles. It meets twice monthly: the second Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at The Buckeye Ranch's Mary Dunn Building (5665 Hoover Rd.), and the fourth Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room at the Purple Door Campus. The group has its own Facebook page and a coordinating website at RealTalkOhio.org.
A GriefShare group is also offered at the church.
Prayer, Prayer Box, and Adopt-a-Family
Prayer is taken seriously as a ministry, not just a moment in the service. A Prayer Team meets every Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. to pray over Sunday's prayer requests, the needs of the church, and the wider community; the team also prayer-walks the building and grounds.
A small purple Prayer Box sits at the front of the parking lot facing Columbus Street. Anyone in the neighborhood can drop a written prayer request into the box at any time; requests are collected weekly and prayed over by the team. Prayer cards are also available in the pews and in the offering boxes outside both worship spaces.
Adopt-a-Family is a mentor program based on Psalm 145:4 and Titus 2. Members are paired with another family and asked to pray weekly, connect at church, share two meals in a year, check in monthly outside of church, and offer resources or handwritten notes at birthdays and other milestones. The aim is generational: "when the generations learn from each other, the church will be stronger."
The Staff
The lead pastor of Purple Door is Brian, who has served churches in Ohio for more than thirty years. A graduate of Asbury University and Asbury Theological Seminary, he completed his Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Preaching at Asbury. He and his wife Kelly have three grown children and four grandchildren, all in central Ohio.
Brandi Blackstone is the Associate Pastor and the primary teaching pastor of the 11:00 a.m. contemporary service. Her role covers discipleship from birth through adulthood. A graduate of The Ohio State University (BA in Communications) and Ohio Christian University (MA in Theology), Brandi is a Licensed Local Pastor appointed to Purple Door. She and her husband Bo have three children - Liam, Jonah, and Eva - and serve together as a family.
Lizzy (Elizabeth) Alatorres is the pastor of the St. Mark's / Iglesia Hispana Campus and the primary teaching pastor for both the English and Spanish services there. She and her husband Sammy have one young son, Samuel Eli. Lizzy holds a bachelor's degree in Early Education from Colegio Labastida in Mexico and a bachelor's from John Wesley Seminary in Mexico. She is a Licensed Local Pastor with the West Ohio Conference.
Nichole Amicucci serves as Director of Contemporary Worship and Communications. She came to the role in May 2023 after eighteen years in healthcare as an emergency-room nurse and nurse practitioner. She and her husband Nick have three children and make their home in Grove City.
Visiting and Giving
Sunday mornings at the Purple Door Campus offer four service options to fit almost any schedule. Parking is available on site, and the church office can be reached at 614-875-5612 during regular business hours or by email at communications@gcumc.org. Worshippers are welcome to come as they are; services last about an hour.
Giving is offered three ways: in the offering plates during services, in the giving boxes outside both worship spaces, and online through the church's Engage giving platform. Online giving can be one-time or recurring, and donors may opt to cover processing fees. Gifts support not only the church's ministry but also its many local missions, which the church frames as taking God's love "outside our walls into a community and a world that so desperately needs Him."
For those who cannot attend in person, the 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. contemporary services and the 11:00 a.m. traditional service livestream on Facebook and YouTube; archived services are available through Purple Door Productions on YouTube.