Castleview Church sits on Hague Road on the northeast side of Indianapolis, where it has become a steady presence for families drawn to its gospel-centered rhythms and its commitment to expositional preaching. The congregation gathers twice on a Sunday, once in the morning and once in the evening, with adult and student Bible classes filling the hour before the morning gathering. At the center of the church's life is a set of clear priorities: the primacy of the gospel, the authority of Scripture, congregational singing carried primarily by the gathered voices, and a church-centered mission that aims to reach Indianapolis and the ends of the earth through the planting and strengthening of local churches.
Sunday on Hague Road
The Castleview week builds toward Sunday, and Sunday itself is structured for formation. At 9:00 AM, adults gather for elective Bible classes that explore a topic or a passage of Scripture and that can also be approached as a cohesive multi-week course. The current offerings are listed on the church calendar. At the same hour, students in 7th through 12th grade meet for an adult-led discussion in room 204, where they break into small groups throughout the building.
The morning gathering begins at 10:30 AM. Castleview describes this as a single gathering for all, with Bible reading, singing, and a sermon that works carefully through a passage of Scripture in a faithful, approachable, and meaningful way. School-age children are welcome to join their families in the Worship Center.
At 5:30 PM, the church gathers again. Most evenings this second service takes the shape of an intimate time of corporate prayer, congregational singing, and a shorter message from God's Word. The church has called its morning gathering the week's main spiritual meal and the evening gathering its dessert. Castleview Members' Meetings are held on the third Sunday of every odd-numbered month and are reserved for the church family.
A First-Time Visit
Visitors are encouraged to enter through the main doors under the canopy or the doors adjacent to the front. Once inside, the Welcome Center is the first stop, with the Children's Desk nearby for families who need to check in children. Handicap-accessible entries are provided, and general parking is available adjacent to the building. The main doors under the canopy have wheelchair-accessible doors, and visitors who need to drop off passengers can pull up under the canopy before parking.
There is no dress code. Castleview attendees wear anything ranging from casual to suit and tie. Those who want to learn more about the church are pointed to Castleview 101, a five-week class that covers who the church is and what it believes, and that serves as the first step toward membership.
The Gospel at the Center
Castleview's leaders are explicit that the gospel is "of first importance." The church holds that the good news of Jesus is the only way to enter God's kingdom and the means by which believers are transformed into Christlikeness. If the church loses clarity on the gospel, they write, it risks losing everything. The church's gospel presentation is anchored by a quote from Charles Spurgeon: "The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ."
That conviction runs through the church's statement of the gospel. God is presented as the perfectly holy creator and sovereign ruler of all he has made. All people, though created good, are described as sinful by nature, alienated from God, hostile to God, and subject to his wrath. Jesus Christ is confessed as fully God and fully man, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross to bear God's wrath in the place of all who would believe, and rose from the grave to give his people eternal life. The response the church calls for is repentance and faith, a turning away from sin and self-sufficiency and a resting entirely on Christ's obedient life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection.
Eight Priorities that Shape the Church
A document called Mission and Vision lays out the eight commitments that animate Castleview's life together.
- Gospel primacy. The gospel is the center of the church's life together and the basis for everything it does.
- Biblical preaching. The church is committed to expositional preaching, working straight through books of the Bible in consecutive expositions.
- Word-centered worship. When the church gathers each week, the Bible is the foundation for everything: reading the Word, preaching the Word, praying the Word, singing the Word, and seeing the Word in baptism and the Lord's Supper.
- Congregational singing. Singing is both vertical and horizontal; the gathered church sings to God and to one another. Theologically rich songs, old and new, are carried primarily by the church's collective voice.
- Meaningful membership. Members commit to love one another and to hold each other accountable to live as Christians, with a clear distinction between the church and the world.
- Intentional discipleship. Every Christian has the joyful duty to make and mature disciples, and elders equip members to build up the body of Christ.
- Corporate prayer. The evening gathering is described as a time for the whole church to pray with and for one another.
- Church-centered mission. The Great Commission is carried out in and through the church, with members equipped for personal gospel conversations and gospel partners sent to plant and strengthen local churches, especially where Christ is not known.
Pastors and Elders
Nathan Lugbill serves as senior pastor. He came to Castleview in 2012 as an associate pastor and became senior pastor in 2017. Before Castleview, he served as a pastoral assistant at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. He studied at Indiana Wesleyan University (B.A.) and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.). He and his wife, Jess, have seven children.
Kelly Wright and Gus Pritchard serve as associate pastors. Kelly studied at The Master's College (B.A.) and The Master's Seminary (M.Div., Th.M.) and previously served on pastoral staff at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, where he was also an adjunct professor. He and his wife, Vanessa, have three children. Gus previously served as senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Johannesburg, South Africa, and as a pastoral assistant at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. He holds a commerce degree from the University of Cape Town and a theological degree from Cape Town Baptist Seminary (MTh). He and his wife, Kate, have three children.
Two pastoral assistants round out the pastoral team. Braxton Bragg is an Indianapolis native, married to Jules, and a student in the M.Div. program at Indianapolis Theological Seminary. Nate Hendrickson has been a member at Castleview since 2021 and is pursuing the M.Div. at Indianapolis Theological Seminary as well.
The elder team also includes Andrew Jones, Matt Rose, Tristan Lengacher, and Julian Strickland. Andrew has been a member at Castleview since 2016 and is a local high school teacher. Matt joined the church in 2016 after moving from Louisville, Kentucky, and works in consulting. Tristan and his wife, Katrina, joined Castleview in 2012; he has served as a deacon and as a teacher of several Sunday School classes. Julian, an Indianapolis native and member since 2023, attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and works full-time as a firefighter for the Indianapolis Fire Department.
Deacons and Their Work
Castleview's diaconate is organized around specific responsibilities. Jake Christian serves as Deacon of Budget, coordinating the church's budget process and advising on budget matters; he is employed as a mechanical engineer. Mike Evans serves as Deacon of Benevolence and also leads a Fellowship Group. Brenda Gilligan serves as Deacon of Funeral Care, coordinating and helping to plan funerals held at Castleview. Stephanie Lambert serves as Deacon for Women's Ministries. Brad Mabrey serves as Deacon of Ordinances and, together with his wife, leads a team that ministers to the healthcare facility across the street from the church. Steven Tolliver serves as Deacon of Greeters and teaches children's Sunday School.
Children, Students, and AWANA
Family Ministries at Castleview begins with secure check-in for every child. Parents check children into age-appropriate classrooms with screened adult instructors, and every child and volunteer receives a name tag before entering the classroom. New families are asked to submit a check-in form ahead of time to speed up the process.
Babies and toddlers receive playtime interaction and care. Children from age three through sixth grade participate in crafts, activities, and interactive lessons drawn from Children Desiring God and The Praise Factory. During the morning gathering, kindergarteners join their families for the first half and are dismissed prior to the sermon. During the evening gathering, children preschool-age and older are released following the singing for structured play supervised by screened childcare volunteers.
AWANA is the church's midweek children's discipleship program, with registration available online. Adam Zoeller directs Student Ministries and has worked with the ministry since he began attending Castleview in 2009. He took on a part-time position with the church in 2017. He and his wife, Jessica, have five children.
Becoming a Member through Castleview 101
Castleview describes church membership as meaningful: members commit to pray for, support, challenge, and love one another. The path toward membership follows three steps. Attend begins with Castleview 101, a class offered multiple times a year for those interested in membership, new to the church, or wanting a refresher on who the church is and what it believes. Ask follows, with an interview with one of the elders arranged through the church office. Affirm is the moment when the members of Castleview vote to welcome the new member into the local body after hearing the elder's presentation of their profession of faith.
Confession of Faith and Church Covenant
Castleview subscribes to a confession of faith with eighteen articles covering the Scriptures, the true God, the fall of man, the way of salvation, justification, the freeness of salvation, grace in regeneration, repentance and faith, God's purpose of grace, sanctification, the perseverance of the saints, the harmony of the law and the gospel, a gospel church, baptism and the Lord's Supper, marriage and family, civil government, the righteous and the wicked, and the world to come. The church teaches that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that the Lord's Supper is a commemoration of Christ's dying love, preceded always by solemn self-examination.
The church covenant gathers these convictions into a series of commitments: to gather regularly, to walk together in Christian love, to pray with and for one another, to guard the spiritual and scriptural purity of the church, to contribute to the financial support of the church and the relief of the needy, to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to win others to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The covenant closes with the apostolic blessing: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Indianapolis, the Seminary, and the Nations
Castleview's mission extends beyond its own building. The church lists three local and global partners: the Indianapolis Theological Seminary, Gracia y Verdad Indy, and Plant Indy. Several members of the staff and elder team have studied or are studying at the Indianapolis Theological Seminary, including Braxton Bragg, Nate Hendrickson, and Administrative Director Noah Debaun. The church supports gospel partners who plant and strengthen local churches, especially where Christ is not known. Members who want to go deeper in regular Bible study and prayer can join a Fellowship Group by reaching out to the church office.
Sermon audio is released on Sunday afternoons through the Castleview LibSyn feed, and sermon videos are available on the church's YouTube channel. Pilgrim's Talk is the church's own podcast, and Spotify playlists carry the songs prepared for Sunday gatherings under the titles "This Sunday's Songs" and "Castleview Playlist." An online bookstore through 10ofthose lets members browse resources, and the church calendar and member database are accessed through Church Center and CCB. Giving is available online through Pushpay, with ACH transactions preferred because they keep processing fees low.
Castleview's weekly rhythm on Hague Road is straightforward: classes at 9:00 AM, gathering at 10:30 AM, evening prayer at 5:30 PM, and a community shaped by a confession of faith that begins with the Bible, centers on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and aims to make disciples in Indianapolis and to the ends of the earth.