A Neighborhood Church Born on 16th Place, Anchored on Eugene Street
Christ Missionary Baptist Church sits on the corner of Eugene and Rader Streets on the near north side of Indianapolis, in a neighborhood the congregation has called home for nearly seven decades. The church was organized in 1919, when the minister conducting a wedding at 451 W. 16th Place looked around and told the gathered friends, "This would be a good time for a church to be organized in this area." That small group accepted the challenge, held services from house to house for several weeks, and laid the foundation for what is now one of the oldest Black Baptist congregations in the city. After 36 years meeting as 17th Street Baptist Church, the members found the present site in 1955 and built the edifice that has anchored the community ever since.
Across 104 years of ministry, the church has been served by eight pastors and has given rise to three daughter churches: 25th Street Baptist Church in 1931, Pilgrim Baptist Church in 1939, and Pleasant Union Baptist Church in 1964. The longest-tenured pastor, Dr. M.B. Girton, Sr., led the church from 1964 to 2015 and was himself raised up in the congregation, having been converted and baptized at age eleven. His son, Rev. John E. Girton, Jr., known affectionately as Pastor G, was unanimously voted in as Senior Pastor on March 29, 2015, and continued the work of community engagement until the current pastor, Rev. Raymond Gaffney, accepted the call in 2021.
Loving People Where They Are
The motto of Christ Missionary Baptist Church is simple and direct: Loving People Where They Are! It is printed across the church's materials, spoken by members, and embodied in every part of its ministry. The phrase captures a conviction shared by the pastoral staff and ministry leaders that the gospel meets real people in real circumstances, and that the church's first work is to show up.
That conviction shaped the church's response to the needs of its own block. After the passing of a longtime member, Brother Archie Wells, Sr., the church launched The Well Ministry, the first initiative under Pastor G's leadership. The Well was created to clean up the neighborhood and meet residents outside the walls of the church, echoing the encounter at the well in John 4. In 1998, the church purchased the mall on the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Eugene Streets and opened "Flowing Waters" Laundry Mat on August 6, 1998, followed by "Your Ice Cream Parlor" on June 14, 1999, both designed to serve the surrounding community. The Christ Missionary Baptist Church Institute of Christian Education was added in October 2006 to expand biblical instruction across the congregation.
Pastor Dr. Ray Gaffney
Reverend Raymond John Gaffney is a passionate servant-leader, preacher, counselor, educator, and shepherd, and is the current Senior Pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church. Born in Detroit, Michigan, to John Henry and Beverly Gaffney, he accepted the call to preach in 1991 and was ordained in 1996 by the late Rev. Dr. Robert Lee Harris of Holy Savior Missionary Baptist Church. He is a veteran of the United States Army, holds a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University, a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Christian Bible College and Seminary, a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling Psychology from Southwest Seminary, and a Master of Arts in Ministry from South College, where he is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree.
Before coming to Indianapolis, Pastor Gaffney founded Potter's Hand Church in Toledo, Ohio, and served as Senior Pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Defiance, Ohio, where the ministry expanded to two locations under his leadership. He has served at the district, state, and national levels of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., including as Midwest Regional Coordinator of Evangelism, and as President of the LOGOS Baptist District Association Congress of Christian Education in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A certified instructor with the National Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board and the author of Hot Topics for Youth & Young Adults, he is committed to biblical education, leadership development, and a holistic approach to ministry. He and his wife, Jaton S. Gaffney, are the parents of six children: Eric, Brianna, Donovan, Daniel, Joshua, and Jeremiah.
Sunday Mornings at 1001 Eugene
The church's primary gathering each week is the Sunday morning worship experience. Sunday School begins at 9:00 AM, followed by Morning Worship at 10:00 AM. During the service, children ages twelve and under are dismissed at 10:30 AM for Children's Church. The 10:00 AM service is livestreamed on the church's Facebook page for those who cannot attend in person. The atmosphere is rooted in the Black Baptist tradition, with a strong Adult and Youth Choir, a dedicated Worship Team, and preaching and teaching that Pastor Gaffney delivers in a way members describe as biblically grounded and relevant to everyday life.
On Sunday evenings at 6:00 PM, the church offers Virtual Discipleship 101 and Discipleship 102, taught over Google Meet so members and newcomers can join from anywhere. Midweek teaching comes on Wednesday at noon with an in-person Bible Study in the Fellowship Hall, also available online. In the evening, three small group Bible studies meet at the same hour in different parts of the city: Eagle Creek with Jackie Harris, College Park with Rev. Melody Boone, and Riverside with Jody Cole. Each small group can be joined in person or by Google Meet and dial-in phone line.
Care Ministries for the Body and the Block
CMBC Indy Cares is the umbrella under which the church's many service and care ministries operate. The church intentionally develops authentic relationships within the congregation and with residents across the neighborhood, and it maintains a deep bench of ministry leaders to carry that work forward. Each ministry is led by a dedicated member of the church.
The Adult and Youth Choir, under Donna Johnson, supports the worship life of the church and trains the next generation of singers. Lindia Williams leads the Worship Team, the Altar Circle Auxiliary is led by Rosemary Munn, Ernestine Carroll oversees the Usher Team, and the Deacon Ministry is led by Jerry Williams with the Trustee Team under Jackie Harris. Denise Posey directs Sunday School. The Culinary Team, led by Kim Qualls, prepares meals for fellowship and community outreach. Ed Rogers, Sr., leads the Security Team, and Wendy Bentley leads the Health, Wellness, and Nurses Ministry. Tonya Wright directs the Missions Ministry, and Jackie Vaughn leads the Women's Fellowship, with a Men's Fellowship that also meets regularly.
Partners in the City
Christ Missionary Baptist Church has built a wide network of community partnerships to meet needs it cannot address alone. The church's Need Help resource list links neighbors to organizations across Indianapolis in categories that include employment, recovery, mental healing, grief and loss, senior care, marriage and family, parent and family support, health awareness, divorce care, food pantries, and HSED/GED preparation.
For those seeking work, the church points to FedEx Express and DNA Consulting. For recovery support, it partners with the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center. Mental health and grief resources include the CTS Counseling Center and Hamilton Center, Inc. CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions is the church's partner for senior care, and the Indiana Healthy Marriage and Family Coalition supports marriage and family work. For families in crisis, the church connects people with Fathers and Families Centers, the Community Alliance of the Far Eastside (CAFE), Coburn Place, the Julian Center, and Quest for Excellence. Health awareness partnerships include Raphael Health Center, Citizens Health Center, and Gennesaret Free Clinic. For food, members can pick up fresh produce once a month through the Kheprw Food Sharing Initiative. For adult education, HSED/GED classes are available at Flanner House and the Glick Neighborhood Center.
The Missions Ministry also organizes regular hands-on service in the city. On the second Saturday of each month, the church feeds people experiencing homelessness at the Central Library location, and on the same day the team serves lunch to families at Day Spring Family Center. A Divorce Care support group is in development for adults and children in the community, and the church is gathering interest through its office email to move the program forward.
What CMBC Believes
The Articles of Faith at Christ Missionary Baptist Church are adopted from the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., and the church covenant is drawn from the New Hampshire Confession of Faith. The church holds to eighteen articles, beginning with the belief that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction, the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard for all human conduct. The church confesses one living and true God, infinite and glorious, in whom there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection.
Members affirm the historic Baptist understanding of humanity's fall into sin, salvation by grace through the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ, and justification by faith in the Redeemer's blood. The articles affirm the free offer of salvation to all, the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the inseparable graces of repentance and faith, God's purpose of grace in election, the progressive work of sanctification, and the perseverance of the saints. The law and gospel are held together as both the eternal standard of God's moral government and the means by which fallen people are restored to obedience through Christ.
On the church and its ordinances, CMBC teaches that a visible church is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, and governed by his Word. Its scriptural officers are bishops or pastors and deacons, whose qualifications are set out in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, prerequisite to church membership and to the Lord's Supper. The first day of the week is kept as the Christian Sabbath, set apart for worship, the means of grace, and the rest promised to the people of God.
Member of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
Christ Missionary Baptist Church is a member congregation of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., the denomination's largest historic body, and Pastor Gaffney serves the convention in several capacities. The church actively participates in district, state, and national life. The General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Indiana, Inc. (GMBSC) holds its State Congress of Christian Education in the fall, and CMBC Indy is part of that work. The church also sends its members and leaders to the National Baptist Convention USA annual session each September. The local expression of connection is the Union District, which gathers with neighboring Baptist churches for quarterly fellowship and fifth Sunday services in the parks of the city.
A Community That Looks Like Its Neighborhood
From a handful of neighbors waiting at a wedding in 1919 to a multi-generational congregation meeting on Eugene Street today, Christ Missionary Baptist Church has built its life around the people of its neighborhood. Members worship, learn, eat, serve, and grieve together. They feed the homeless at the central library, serve lunch at Day Spring, mentor children in Sunday School, sing in the choir, take communion with seniors at Harrison Senior Living, and gather for yard sales and fellowship on the corner of MLK and Eugene. The motto on the front of every ministry plan is the same one Pastor Gaffney carries into every room: Loving People Where They Are!