A Church on Bruen Street Since 1844
Midway Christian Church sits one block off Railroad Street in the historic center of Midway, Kentucky, the small Woodford County town that has grown up around the rail line between Lexington and Frankfort. The red-brick Victorian Romanesque building at 123 East Bruen Street was dedicated in 1896 on a site where the Christians of Midway have gathered for worship since Christmas Day 1844, when the founding minister, Dr. Lewis L. Pinkerton, preached the dedicatory sermon for the first structure. The present sanctuary still carries the stained-glass windows that were purchased for $275 in the 1890s, including the "Daisy Blackburn Memorial" placed in memory of a young woman whose life ended in a tragic accident. One of those windows honors L. L. Pinkerton himself, the founder whose name is woven into the history of Midway University as well, since he and members of this church chartered the Kentucky Female Orphan School in 1847.
From the moment its 32 charter members were incorporated by the Kentucky Legislature on March 2, 1844, the church has called itself by the simple conviction that animates the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): "No Creed but Christ. No Book but the Bible." The motto is engraved in the congregation's identity, and visitors who step through the doors on a Sunday morning will hear it lived out in a service that centers the Lord's Supper, opens wide to every guest, and reads the world through the wide lens of a Kentucky Bluegrass congregation that knows it belongs to something larger than itself.
Welcome as Both Identity and Practice
If one word could describe the heartbeat of Midway Christian Church, it is the word that the congregation spells in all capital letters on its own materials: WELCOME. The church adopted the mission acronym W.E.L.C.O.M.E. - Worship, Education, Love, Community, Open Table, Mission, Evangelism - as a way of giving shape to a calling that the people of Midway Christian have practiced for years. Each letter points to a habit of the church, and each habit points to a table. "Whoever welcomes you welcomes Me," the church reads from Matthew 10:40, and from that text the whole congregation understands itself as "people of the Table."
The WELCOME mission is paired with a stated vision of being "a Christ-centered community of faith, building on our historical mission of loving God and one another, in an atmosphere of spiritual growth, worship, and witness." The pairing is deliberate. Worship that does not send its people out to love their neighbors is not the worship Midway Christian is after. Therefore the same Sunday morning that fills the sanctuary with hymns, prayers, and preaching is the same Sunday that sends the same people back to their porches, their workplaces, and the Fellowship Hall table where the community gathers on the last Monday of every month for a free dinner open to anyone in Midway.
Theology of the Open Table
The Disciples of Christ have a reputation for being creed-light and Bible-heavy, and Midway Christian wears that identity with pride. As a Disciples of Christ congregation, the church does not use formal creeds to determine the correctness of a person's belief. The congregation instead says, with the wider movement, "In essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty," and it invites every believer to interpret the Bible for themselves. The theological freedom is paired with a deep regard for education, for the centrality of the Lord's Supper, for baptism by immersion, and for an open communion table that has no theological fence around it.
Midway Christian teaches that baptism is more of a foundation of faith than a result of it. Persons who can profess on their own that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God" are ready to consider baptism, and classes are available to prepare candidates. The church also welcomes into its fellowship those who have been baptized in other traditions. Communion, the church insists, is celebrated at every service, and everyone present is invited to share in the bread and the cup. No person could ever be worthy of such a fellowship, the church teaches, so the table is set for all.
The chalice symbol that the congregation uses draws on the X-shaped cross of the disciple Andrew, a reminder that every person has a ministry and that evangelism belongs to the whole people of God. Just as importantly, the church reads itself into a long Disciples of Christ story of justice-making. Isaiah's words about letting justice roll down like waters, the prophets' concern for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger, and the Galilean habits of Jesus all shape the way Midway Christian preaches, votes with its offerings, and shows up in the life of Woodford County. "We are a church that values justice," the teaching page declares, "believing that followers of Jesus are called to be partners with God in creating on earth the way that it is in heaven."
Sunday Morning at 10:55
Worship on Sunday mornings begins at 10:55 a.m. ET, both in the sanctuary and through livestreams on Facebook and YouTube. The order of service is rooted in a four-to-six-week rhythm that lets scripture, prayers, and music build a single theme together. The chancel choir leads traditional hymns, the hand bell choir lifts the music several times a year, and the pianist and organist accompany both old hymns and praise songs. Two large screen monitors display all lyrics, scripture, responsive readings, and unison prayers; hymnals and pew Bibles are also provided in the pews.
Each week the service moves through a responsive call to worship, an opening hymn, an invocation, a time for the congregation to share joys and prayer concerns, the choir's anthem, the sermon, a unison prayer of confession, the celebration of the Lord's Supper, and the receiving of tithes and offerings. The service closes with a hymn of invitation, an open moment for those who wish to join the church to come forward or contact the office. Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, who has served as minister of Midway Christian Church since August 2006, prepares the sermon by studying the history and context of the lectionary text, engaging in conversations with church members through the Theology Tuesday correspondence, drawing on her own experiences, and listening for connections to current events. "Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both," Karl Barth is quoted as saying; the principle still shapes the pulpit here. Dress is casual, and Communion is served every Sunday.
The Word at the Fellowship Hall Table
Sunday School meets at 9:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall, an open room attached to the sanctuary that doubles as the church's largest gathering space. The hour opens with fellowship and the sharing of joys and concerns before moving into the lesson itself. Recent series have asked the congregation to read America's unholy ghosts through the writings of Joel Edward Goza, to wrestle with the question of whether the American dream is the same as God's dream, and to walk through Lenten studies rooted in the prophets. The Sunday School hour has become a place where the adult congregation continues the conversation that the sermon begins, sometimes through film series, sometimes through small-group discernment guides, and always through a shared meal of questions.
Children, Youth, and the Young Adults Next Door
Midway Christian takes seriously the promise that "faith formation starts in the earliest stages of life." A nursery is available for babies and toddlers, and children between the ages of three and eighteen take part in Children Worship & Wonder, a Montessori-style program that gathers them for fellowship and learning in age-appropriate ways. Sunday mornings also welcome college students from Midway University, which sits within walking distance of the church. Midway Christian's relationship with the university goes back to its earliest days: Pinkerton and members of this congregation helped raise the funds that opened the original school, and the church is proud of that heritage. University students find a "safe space for worship and fellowship" here, and the congregation counts them as part of its ongoing ministry of welcome.
Adults have their own year-round opportunities for study and spiritual formation, including speaker series, discipleship meetings for women, and retreats. The Disciples Women of Midway Christian Church have long hosted rummage sales, retreats, and service projects; a cookbook, "Welcome to the Table," preserves the recipes of church members along with dishes served at the annual Epiphany Dinner fundraiser.
The Music That Shapes the Service
Music is a defining feature of Midway Christian's worship, and the Music Director holds one of the most visible jobs in the church. Alex Vorhaus joined the staff in April 2025 as Music Director, serving as both choir director and accompanist. A graduate of Midway University who chose to make Midway his permanent home after college, Vorhaus has served in church music roles throughout his life, including choir member, head chorister, organist, and music director, and he is a member of the American Guild of Organists, Lexington chapter. Under his leadership the chancel choir, the hand bell choir, and the congregation share in the singing that turns the sanctuary into a single voice. Anthems and special music mark the seasons of the church year, and CD recordings of services are made available to homebound members.
A Monthly Table Set for the Whole Town
Since August 2011, Midway Christian Church has opened its Fellowship Hall on the last Monday of each month for a free community dinner. Volunteers from the church prepare, serve, and clean up the meal, and the doors swing wide for anyone who wants to come. "All in the community are invited to come to our table, to come and be in relationship with one another, to come and experience the abundance of God's grace, all through an invitation to dinner." Church attendance or membership is not required to attend, and the dinner is available in person or by delivery. It is, in the church's own words, "our way of being a set-apart church for the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth," and it is one of the most visible expressions of the WELCOME mission in the life of the town.
The Hospitality of Midway Christian extends well beyond the monthly dinner. AA and Al-Anon meetings are held weekly in the Fellowship Hall. The church has been a Bluegrass Bike Partner since 2011, offering bike racks, parking, rest rooms, and changing rooms for cyclists on the Bluegrass Cycling Club's Wednesday night rides, and the church hosts a rest stop during the Horsey Hundred Memorial Day cycling weekend and a breakfast for the families of runners during the Iron Horse Half Marathon in October. Midway Christian also partners with Midway Presbyterian Church to support the Weekend Backpack Project, which feeds children who might otherwise go hungry over the weekend.
The Wider Web of Outreach
The same impulse that fills the Fellowship Hall on the last Monday of the month sends the church's giving, time, and attention far beyond Midway. Locally, the church supports the Hope Ministries Food Pantry of Woodford County and contributes to the Midway Ministerial Association's emergency assistance fund, which helps community members with rent and utilities. The church partners with the Midway Food Pantry housed at Midway Baptist Church and contributes school supplies through the Woodford County Backpack Project. In Lexington, the church collects supplies for the Hope Center, which provides shelter and meals to those in need. The church supports Un-Shackled By Love Ministries, a residential program for women affected by the sex trade, addiction, and trafficking.
Midway Christian also walks alongside other congregations in Midway. The Midway Ministerial Association brings together Midway Christian, Historic Second Christian Church, Midway Presbyterian, Midway United Methodist, Midway Baptist, St. Matthew's AME, and Pilgrim Baptist for cooperative ministries. The MMA hosts a community Thanksgiving service each year, an Easter Sunrise worship, an Ash Wednesday gathering, and a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day service. Once a year, on World Communion Sunday, Midway Christian joins with these neighbors and other Christians around the globe to celebrate the Lord's Supper as a single act of witness. The church also walks a particularly close road with Historic Second Christian, the sister congregation organized out of Midway Christian before the Civil War so that enslaved people could have a place of their own to worship. The two churches gather together at Pentecost to commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.
Scouting, Schools, and the Long Table
Midway Christian has hosted Scouting since the 1990s, holding charters or providing meeting space for Cub Scout Pack 41, Boy Scout Troop 40, Daisy Troop 2261, and Girl Scout Troop 1038. Scout Sunday is one of the special Sundays the church sets aside each year to honor those programs. Christmas Family Adoption and the Christmas Shoebox Project bring the congregation into direct contact with Northside Elementary through the school's Family Resource Officer; the church sponsors one or more families at Christmas and fills shoeboxes for children who might otherwise go without. Each Thanksgiving, the church hosts a Community Thanksgiving Dinner, generally the week before Thanksgiving, with food, fun, and fellowship open to all.
Tending Creation with Green Chalice
Midway Christian became a Green Chalice congregation in 2010 when it entered into the Alverna Covenant, the Disciples of Christ program that helps congregations live out their faith by caring for creation. The congregation attained the Certified Green Chalice level in 2015. The Midway Green Chalice Team meets on the fourth Thursday of each month in the Fellowship Hall, and Earth Sunday is observed each year as a chance to reflect on the call to be stewards of the world God made. The church is a partner of Kentucky Interfaith Power & Light, joined that partnership in August 2018 at the "Earth Steward" level, and in 2016 was named runner-up in the Sacred Grounds category of the Cool Congregations Challenge. Members have given presentations on topics ranging from climate migration to the geography of plastics in our own bodies, and the church has received recognition for its work in energy conservation and land stewardship.
The Wider Communion of the Disciples
The congregation's giving reaches beyond Midway and Woodford County. Midway Christian supports the Disciples Mission Fund and its Special Day Offerings, Week of Compassion, the Reconciliation Ministry, and the ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kentucky, the regional body that connects the church to Cane Ridge Meeting House, Christian Care Communities, the Kentucky Council of Churches, Lexington Theological Seminary, and Transylvania University. The church gives to Christmount Christian Assembly, the Disciples retreat center in the North Carolina mountains, and to Camp Wakon' Da-Ho, the summer camp in Casey County where children and youth grow in their relationship with God. Midway Christian accepts donations year-round to purchase an "ark" of livestock through Heifer International, and the congregation encourages its members to support fair-trade artisans through Equal Exchange, Eternal Threads, Mira Fair Trade, and Ten Thousand Villages.
The Liturgical Year, Marked from Advent to Pentecost
The Christian year sets the rhythm of the sanctuary. The first Sunday of Advent brings the Hanging of the Greens service, when the meaning of each Christmas symbol is remembered in scripture and song before it is placed in the sanctuary. The Christmas Eve candlelight service fills the building with carols and a reading of Helen Steiner Rice's "The Story of the Christmas Guest." On the fourth Sunday of Advent, the congregation gathers for a Lessons and Carols service. On January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas, the church celebrates Epiphany with a special service prior to the annual Epiphany Dinner fundraiser.
Lent is marked by Saturday-morning Lenten Breakfasts, a potluck breakfast followed by a presentation, discussion, and fellowship. Maundy Thursday's evening service remembers the Last Supper, Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, and Easter Sunday proclaims the resurrection. Fifty days later, Midway Christian joins with Historic Second Christian to commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples at Pentecost. Laity Sunday, when two or three members share testimony of their faith journey, and Baptism Sunday, when members renew their baptismal vows, are also marked as special Sundays throughout the year.
Sharing the Pulpit, Bread, and the Choir Loft
Midway Christian is served by a small but deeply rooted staff. Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl has served as minister since August 2006. A graduate of Appalachian State University with a BS in Child Development, she earned her Masters of Divinity in 2002 and her Doctor of Ministry in 2019 from Lexington Theological Seminary. She is married to Rev. Michael McColl, Minister of Children and Youth at Lawrenceburg First Christian Church and Minister for Youth and Young Adult Ministries at the Christian Church in Kentucky, and they have two children, Hannah and Jonathan.
Susan McClees joined the staff as Communications Coordinator in June 2024, bringing a background in newspaper advertising, sales, design, and production. Alex Vorhaus, a Midway University graduate and member of the American Guild of Organists, became Music Director in April 2025. James Batts, a lifelong member of Midway Christian, became the church's Audio-Visual Technician on July 1, 2021, after serving as a volunteer on the Technology Team since the early summer of 2021. Custodian Jestine has cared for the historic building since 1956; as one member is fond of saying, "Preachers come and go, but there is always Jestine!" The lay leadership of the church is organized into Standing Teams for Worship, Care, and Administration, and into Boards of Trustees, all elected by the congregation.
A Building That Has Witnessed Generations
From its founding in 1844 through the dedication of the present Victorian Romanesque building in 1896 to the installation of livestream cameras and the launch of a sermon podcast, Midway Christian has shown a steady willingness to adapt without losing its center. The Kentucky Historical Society placed a historical marker at the church (number 2280) on December 7, 2008, acknowledging the congregation's role in the founding of the town, the founding of what is now Midway University, and the founding of Historic Second Christian Church before the Civil War. The marker notes that notable visitors to the church included Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of the Restoration Movement, and Carry Nation. In 1859, the use of a melodeon in worship led to a split between the Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ, a story written into the very walls.
A People of Memory and Hope
The church's own name, Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), marks both its geography and its tradition. It is a church that is geographically situated in the middle of the Bluegrass, between Lexington and Frankfort, and it is a church that theologically sits in the middle of a long Christian conversation about what it means to follow Jesus in a world that has more questions than answers. The church's life is shaped by an unchanging center - the Lord's Table, opened wide every Sunday morning - and by an expanding circle of welcome that has come to include refugees served by Kentucky Refugee Ministries, neighbors served by the Hope Center, artisans served through fair-trade partnerships, and the people of Midway who gather around the Fellowship Hall table on the last Monday of every month.
At a coffee hour after a Maundy Thursday service, at a Scout Sunday ceremony with a hundred children in the pews, at the monthly community dinner where strangers sit down as friends, the same witness shows up: a small town church in Woodford County, planted in 1844, still gathering around the Lord's Table, still setting extra places, still listening for the sound of a voice from heaven calling each one of them Beloved.