From a Pulpit Question to a National Bestseller
Central Congregational Church traces its beginnings to December 11, 1888, when a new congregation formed in Topeka and called the Rev. Charles Sheldon to its pulpit. Sheldon had been preaching in Vermont when a Central parishioner invited him to Kansas. During his long tenure, from 1888 to 1920, Central stood at the forefront of progressive reform in the state.
Sheldon and his congregation turned outward almost immediately. Working with formerly enslaved Southerners who had migrated to Topeka's Tennessee Town neighborhood, they helped residents find work and organized a community garden, a library, and training programs. In 1893, Central underwrote the first Black kindergarten west of the Mississippi River.
In 1896, Sheldon began preaching a sermon series built around a single moral question: "What would Jesus do?" when facing hard choices. That pulpit question later became the spine of his novel In His Steps, which for sixty years was the best-selling book in the United States after the Bible. It has sold more than thirty million copies and been translated into twenty-seven languages.
Selling the Steeple, Finding a Home
For more than 125 years, Central worshipped at the corner of Huntoon and Buchanan streets. As the twenty-first century wore on, the venerable building grew harder to maintain and a declining membership could no longer carry the bills. In 2017, Central sold its historic structure to El Shaddai Templo de Alabanza, a Spanish-speaking congregation, and met for roughly a year at Temple Beth Sholom.
The Rev. Gage Church arrived in July 2018 and led the congregation to its current home at the Topeka Woman's Club, 5221 SW West Drive, where the church shares space with a small nonprofit. Members describe the partnership as a way to lighten their reliance on Creation's resources and to support each other in new and interesting ways.
A Progressive, Open and Affirming Faith
Central calls itself a progressive Christian church and has been an Open and Affirming congregation since 1993. The church's welcome statement affirms Christ's call to love God and love neighbors, and to invite, receive, and value all people regardless of gender, race, age, culture, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic circumstance, family configuration, or difference in ability.
The church teaches the scriptures seriously but not literally. It describes itself as a pro-gay, pro-woman, pro-poor, pro-immigrant community grounded in extravagant hospitality, with a deeply ecological faith that affirms the integrity of all faiths and values questions more than answers.
Sacraments
Two sacraments are celebrated. Baptism is understood as a symbolic washing away of old life and entry into a new life of seeking to be at one with God. Holy Communion remembers Jesus' Last Supper through the sharing of bread and wine or juice, a symbolic meal in which the Christ spirit is especially marked as present.
The Eight Points of Progressive Christianity
Central subscribes to the eight points of Progressive Christianity written by the Center for Progressive Christianity. Members commit to following the path and teachings of Jesus as one way into an awareness of the Sacred and the Oneness of all life, affirming that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience that Sacredness. They seek community that includes conventional Christians and questioning skeptics, believers and agnostics, women and men, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, and people of all classes and abilities. They hold that the way they behave toward one another is the fullest expression of what they believe, find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes, strive for peace and justice among all people, strive to protect and restore the integrity of the Earth, and commit to a path of lifelong learning, compassion, and selfless love.
Sources of Revelation
The Bible is honored as written by people and inspired by God, produced in particular times and contexts and needing to be interpreted anew for every generation. Reason is treated as a gift from God and a tool of revelation, with God also made known in science, the arts, and human experience. Church tradition can inform understanding, though members do not feel bound by dogma or ritual.
Statement of Faith
Central also treasures the United Church of Christ Statement of Faith, a sweeping affirmation of the Eternal Spirit made known in Jesus, of the church called into discipleship, and of the promise of forgiveness, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in a kingdom that has no end.
Sunday Morning at Central
Worship at Central is one Sunday service at 10 a.m., lasting about an hour. Sermons are described as interactive and meaningful, and music draws from upbeat classics, praise hymns, and performances from members. Services are followed by the sharing of fellowship, food, and laughter.
The congregation follows a Christian calendar that includes a Maundy Thursday communion service at 6 p.m. with a potluck supper, a Good Friday prayer vigil held between 4 and 6 p.m., and an Easter celebration. The Easter service is held at Old Prairie Town at Ward-Meade Park, 124 NW Fillmore Street, and includes the remembrance of baptisms and the celebration of Holy Communion.
Doorstep, JUMP, and the Wider Topeka
Central's longest-running community partnership is Doorstep of Topeka, an agency the church helped launch in 1966 in the wake of a tornado that devastated nearby neighborhoods. Doorstep provides food, clothing, rent assistance, transportation, and other help to families in crisis and is now supported by more than fifty local faith communities. Central continues to hold fundraisers for the organization.
Members also participate in the Justice United Ministry Project, known as JUMP, which fights for justice for marginalized groups and seeks to change policies and funding in Shawnee County. Central takes part in Topeka Pride each year with a booth at the annual festival at Energy Plaza, and many members do private volunteer work at Brewster Place and other organizations throughout the city.
The congregation's history of community engagement reaches back to its founding. In 1975, a Central committee sponsored two Vietnamese families relocating to the Topeka area. Through the decades, members have organized community meals, donated clothing, fought for justice, and joined ecumenical and interfaith efforts across the city.
Leadership and Music
The pastor is the Rev. Gage Church, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a former newspaper journalist. Born in Nebraska and reared as the second of three children, he graduated from Drake University with a degree in journalism and mass communication and worked for more than twenty years as an editor and manager at newspapers including The New York Times, USA Today, and the St. Petersburg Times, finishing his journalism career in 2006 as deputy managing editor of the Des Moines Register.
He met his husband, Tim Sharp, at the St. Petersburg Times; they were married in Ogden, Utah, in 2013. After answering a long and lingering call to ministry, he attended United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in New Brighton, Minnesota, where he received awards for his social justice studies and preaching. His internship was with Associated Church in Owatonna, Minnesota, and he served a chaplain residency at the Mayo Clinics and Hospitals in Rochester, ministering to patients in general medical, cancer, transplant, psychiatry, and addiction units and to clients in the hospice program. Before Topeka, he pastored Congregational United Church of Christ in Ogden, Utah, from 2011 to 2018 and served on the board of directors of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the UCC.
The music director is Linda Smith, founder, president, and CEO of the Genesis Music Foundation and an adjunct professor at Washburn University. She holds a bachelor of music from Oklahoma City University, a master of music from the Eastman School of Music, and a degree from the Conservatoire National de Région in Paris.
A Long Table in a New Place
Central Congregational Church is a small congregation with deep roots, an international literary footprint, and a reputation for asking hard questions about what it means to follow Jesus in Topeka. Its members trace their lineage to Charles Sheldon's social gospel pulpit, embrace the Open and Affirming welcome declared in 1993, and continue to build partnerships beyond their walls through Doorstep, JUMP, Topeka Pride, and quiet volunteer work across Shawnee County. Today they gather in the Woman's Club home on SW West Drive, share one Sunday service at 10 a.m., and trust that, as Pastor Church writes, their best years are ahead.