By Mark Ambrogi
Traders Point Christian Church North’s driving motivation for expansion was clear.
“Our mission is removing barriers that keep people from Jesus,” Traders Point North Campus Pastor Greg Anderson said. “One of the barriers is distance. People were traveling 20 to 30 minutes to the Northwest campus (in Whitestown). That’s just too far for people to be involved and be engaged. We want to go where people are and remove that barrier.”
The first service in its new Carmel church, 1242 W. 136th St., was Feb. 19. The building was formerly the home of Central Christian Church, which has moved to a new building in Westfield.
“We love the location. It is in the center of Carmel and right off 31,” said Anderson, a Zionsville resident. “We’re drawing more from east Carmel, so it’s an easy commute over here. People love the feel and look. But what makes Traders Point so special is the people. They love the preaching. We keep the focus on Jesus and break it down so people could understand what the Bible is saying.”
Anderson said the members are what makes the church special.
“We are loving people that are warm and caring,” Anderson said.
In April 2015, the non-denominational church announced it would start a second campus in Carmel. Services started at Creekside Middle School with a soft launch in December 2015. There were approximately 350 people at the first two services, but they kept growing.
Anderson said they averaged about 720 people at Creekside.
“We’ve averaged 1,210 in this new building,” Anderson said.
The sermon is typically broadcast from the Northwest church in Whitestown.
“Sometimes I’m preaching, but the majority of time it’s our lead pastor (Aaron Brockett),” Anderson said.
The building remodeling started in May 2016 while Central Christian Church was still conducting services.
“When we announced in 2015 we were going multi-site. We opened up this ‘cast a vision (campaign)’ and invited them to be generous beyond our normal operating expenses,” Anderson said. “The generosity of our church members is outstanding. Everything we’ve done is for the long haul.”
The church, which started in 1834 in northwest Indianapolis, moved to Whitestown in 2006 from Indianapolis. The Indianapolis downtown services started at a temporary site in January and then moved to a downtown building, 1201 N. Delaware Ave.
“A family in our church donated the building to us,” Anderson said.
An Avon campus is set to open in the fall at a temporary site at Avon Middle School.
There are three regular Sunday services. On Sunday night, there is Catalyst service for grades 7 to 12.
“We’ve seen our attendance with students double on Sunday night since we came here,” Anderson said.
For more, visit tpcc.org.
