First Christian Church Jeffersonville has been part of the Jeffersonville, Indiana community since 1830, making it the oldest Indiana congregation established from the Stone-Campbell Movement and organized from its founding as a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). On Sunday mornings, people gather at 3209 Middle Road around a square communion table that sits at the heart of the sanctuary, with the pews curving toward it on every side. The table is open. It always has been. Whoever you are and wherever you have been, the congregation says, you are welcome here.
The Table at the Center
The sanctuary of First Christian Church Jeffersonville was built in 1973 around a single conviction: Christ’s table belongs at the middle of worship. Rather than arranging the pews to face a stage, the room was designed in a broad circle around the communion table, with ministers seated among the congregation because they, too, are part of the gathered community. From nearly every seat, you can see most of the people in the room, a visual reminder that worship is something done together.
The table itself is square, with no head or foot, and from it the rest of the church’s life takes its bearings. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) practices an open table, meaning everyone is welcome to share in communion. The invitation is not based on church membership, certainty, or having all the answers. Whether you have worshiped your whole life, are returning after time away, are uncertain what you believe, or are simply exploring, communion is offered to all each week. On most Sundays the bread and cup are passed through the pews. On fifth Sundays, and during Advent and Lent, the congregation shares communion by intinction, coming forward to tear a piece of bread and dip it into the cup.
Surrounding the sanctuary, stained glass colors the room with light tied to the rhythm of the day. Red windows to the east hold the hopefulness of sunrise, blue windows to the south carry the clarity of midday, and gold windows to the west speak of the peace of sunset. Green and white glass at the north entrance recalls the mystery of the Northern Lights and the ever-present mystery of God among us.
Sunday Mornings Around the Table
Worship begins at 10:30 AM on Sunday mornings and is unhurried. The Disciples Class, the church’s adult Sunday school, meets at 9:30 AM on the lower level, where teaching rotates among members of the class and conversation drives the discussion.
Worship itself moves from gathering and song through scripture and a message, and it closes every week with communion. Some people sing every song; others simply listen. Some have been worshiping for years; others are walking in for the first time. On any given Sunday, a visitor may hear familiar hymns, contemporary worship songs, and special music offered by the choir or other musicians. Worship is not a performance. Presence matters more than perfection, and the service is intended to feel both reverent and alive.
The offering is received each week to support the ministries and mission of the congregation. Visitors are not expected to give. The plate is passed during the service, giving boxes stand near the sanctuary doors, and online giving is always available.
For families, the nursery opens at 9:30 AM and stays open through the end of worship for infants through age three. Preschoolers and elementary children begin worship with their families before being invited forward for the Children’s Blessing at the communion table, where they receive a prayer and high fives from a pastor before heading to their own classes. Children are always welcome to remain in worship, and worship boxes at the back of the sanctuary hold coloring pages, crayons, an LCD writing board, and quiet fidget toys.
Children, Youth, and Family Life
Children are not the future of the church at FCCJeff, the congregation says, they are an important part of it today. Each Sunday morning offers a full progression of faith formation beginning with the nursery and continuing through fifth grade.
Spark, for older threes through pre-K, uses the Frolic curriculum from Sparkhouse to introduce preschoolers to God’s love through Bible stories, music, creative play, crafts, and hands-on activities. Worship & Wonder, for kindergarten through second grade, is a Montessori-inspired approach that invites children to enter the stories of the Bible with wonder, listening, reflecting, and discovering how God’s story connects with their own lives. Connect, for third through fifth grade, uses the Sparkhouse curriculum to help older elementary students explore scripture through discussion, videos, creative activities, and real-life application. On the last Sunday of each month, Connect students stay in worship with their families to grow more familiar with the rhythms of corporate worship.
For middle and high school students, Youth Director Luke Farrell leads Sunday evening gatherings during the school year, with students in grades 6 through 12 meeting for food, games, conversation, and faith formation. Each summer the church sends groups of children to Indiana Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) camps, and Vacation Bible School brings an evening of Bible stories, music, crafts, games, recreation, and creative activities to elementary-aged children. Family events throughout the year include a Breakfast with Santa, an Easter Egg Hunt, a Family Pool Party, and other seasonal gatherings.
Music as a Central Voice
Music carries much of the spirit of Sunday morning at FCCJeff. Music Director Don Allen has led music here for more than thirty years, working closely with the pastoral staff to plan worship each week. A live band leads music every Sunday, and the choir shares in worship monthly while preparing special music during Advent, Lent, and an annual cantata. The worship draws on contemporary worship songs, familiar hymns, and special music that reflects the diversity of the congregation. Choir and worship band rehearse on Wednesday evenings, and new singers and instrumentalists are always welcome.
Adults Find Their Own Door
Connection at FCCJeff is not limited to Sunday morning. The church has worked to build many doors so that people can find their way in through the one that fits their life.
Coffee Chat meets Tuesday mornings from 10:00 AM to noon at Panera Bread on Veterans Parkway in Clarksville. The pastoral staff often drops in, but the conversation belongs to the group. The Moms’ Group brings together mothers with children from preschool through high school for monthly gatherings of coffee, crafts, service projects, and outings. The Ruth Group, the church’s Christian Women’s Fellowship (Disciples Women) group, meets on the third Monday of each month from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, using the Woman to Woman Bible study to explore scripture, discuss current events, and find practical ways to serve.
Theology on Tap is a monthly gathering held on the last Monday at Harry’s Taphouse & Kitchen in downtown Jeffersonville. Discussion begins at 7:00 PM, and those who would like to eat dinner together are invited to arrive around 6:30. Down the Rabbit Hole meets Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the church’s coffee table area, and the Holy Rollers Dungeons & Dragons group gathers Tuesday evenings. The Optimist Club, Relay for Life, Bunco, and a variety of other fellowship groups add to the weekly calendar. Senior adults gather for fellowship, service, and care, and children fill the hallways during Vacation Bible School and Sunday mornings.
Wellness and Recreation in the Grace Center
The Grace Center connects the current ministry to the generations who came before. A stained-glass window from the original sanctuary overlooks the space, which houses a gym that is home to regular basketball and pickleball, two of the church’s most popular fellowship activities. PiYo combines the strength of Pilates with the flexibility of yoga in a low-impact fitness class for a variety of ages and fitness levels. Wellness with Izzy offers teens and young adults a supportive setting to stay active and build friendships. Throughout the year the church hosts American Red Cross blood drives, extending its care for neighbors beyond the congregation.
A Congregation That Shows Up for Jeffersonville
Being rooted in Jeffersonville shapes how FCCJeff lives out its faith. A Little Free Pantry and Little Free Library sit at the entrance to the parking lot on Middle Road, where neighbors can pick up food, leave groceries, or share books. During the school year the church partners with Riverside Elementary to pack fifty backpacks of food each week for children experiencing food insecurity, so students have meals to take home over the weekend. Throughout the year the congregation supports the Center for Lay Ministries, a Jeffersonville organization that serves vulnerable neighbors through its food pantry and Bliss House residential recovery program, and hosts food collections during Vacation Bible School and around Thanksgiving.
Loaves & Fishes, a weekly community meal hosted at St. Luke’s United Church of Christ, is another cornerstone partnership. Several times each year FCCJeff takes responsibility for the Saturday meal, with volunteers preparing food from 9:00 to 11:30 AM and serving and cleaning up from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Clothe-a-Child raises funds to give local children a $75 gift card for school clothes, and during the Christmas season the Angel Tree collects gift cards for local families while the church also gathers toys for Toys for Tots.
Global outreach runs through Week of Compassion, the relief, refugee, and development mission fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Each year the church participates in the denomination-wide offering and responds to special appeals when disasters and other needs arise, joining Disciples congregations across the United States and Canada in disaster relief, refugee support, and long-term community development.
An Open-Table Faith
First Christian Church Jeffersonville is part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a movement of churches seeking to follow Jesus by gathering around Christ’s table, reading and wrestling with scripture, serving neighbors, and growing together in faith. The Disciples describe themselves as “a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.” Unity is found in Christ rather than in complete agreement on every question, and FCCJeff encourages thoughtful faith and honest questions.
That conviction shapes the congregation’s welcome. The Senior Minister, Jeremy Skaggs, who joined the staff in July 2023 after serving congregations in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and completing his theological education at Phillips Theological Seminary, often returns in his preaching to the image of God in every person, the importance of community, and God’s work of restoring people to wholeness. His favorite part of every worship service is gathering around the communion table, where God’s grace is shared with everyone. Associate Minister Andrea Woolley, who joined the staff in September 2025, collaborates with the Christian Education team to create opportunities for children and adults to grow in faith through worship, learning, and community, and helps plan weekly worship, seasonal experiences for Advent and Lent, and opportunities for the congregation to connect with the wider community through outreach and service.
The church has been a presence in Jeffersonville for nearly two centuries, but it does not lean on that history alone. The backpack ministry that feeds fifty kids every week, the moms’ group that began because someone needed support, the coffee chat that notices when someone is missing and figures out who will check on them: none of it is staff-driven. The congregation shows up for itself, and for Jeffersonville. Around the table, surrounded on every side by people of every age and every stage of faith, the welcome that has been at the heart of this church since 1830 continues today.