On River Road, where Princeton meets the route south toward Trenton, a small Christian fellowship that began meeting in private homes in the late 1940s grew into the congregation now known as Princeton Church of Christ. The present building was constructed under the leadership of the church's first full-time minister, Ervy Boothe, and dedicated by 1971. The impulse that gathered those early brothers and sisters - to restore the simplicity, teaching, and fellowship of the early church - still shapes everything from the format of Sunday worship to the way members take communion, pray, and read Scripture together.
The church's vision statement puts it plainly: "We seek to be a church that invites people from all walks of life into a community where FAITH grows, HOPE abounds, and LOVE shows." Today's congregation lives out that vision through Sunday morning worship at 10 a.m., a robust schedule of weekly Bible studies, ministries for every stage of life, an active Hispanic ministry, and outreach that reaches from Princeton across Mercer County, into Trenton, and overseas to rural Guatemala.
Sunday Morning on River Road
Worship at Princeton Church of Christ is intentionally simple, modeled on the assemblies of the early church described in 1 Corinthians 14. Members sing together, lead prayers, and direct reflections on the Lord's Supper, which is observed every Sunday in obedience to Acts 20:7. A practical, biblical sermon follows, typically taught by Senior Minister Bruce Wadzeck. After the service closes, members take time to talk, pray for one another, and welcome newcomers.
The service begins at 10 a.m. in the building at 33 River Road in Princeton. Visitors are welcomed as honored guests. The congregation extends a warm "WE WELCOME YOU!" to first-timers, with coffee, sweet bites, and "food for the soul" shared in the fellowship hour that follows. Services are offered both in person and via livestream on YouTube.
Recurring sermon series are a hallmark of the teaching calendar. Recent series have included The New Testament Pattern (eleven parts), Resurrection/Anastasis (an eight-part walk through the doctrine of bodily resurrection), Stages of Faith Development (an eleven-part study tracing spiritual growth through figures such as Abraham, Jacob, Job, and Paul), and Spiritual Growth (a seven-part series on the disciplined, Christ-centered, and biblically oriented life). Each sermon is outlined and archived on the church's YouTube channel, where a sizable library has accumulated over the years.
The most recent teaching arc, Spiritual Growth, walked through topics such as disciplined thinking, the ACTS method of prayer, the Jesus method of making disciples, and a study of Ephesians focused on what it means to be biblically oriented and Christ-centered. Members are asked to consider themselves guests at any service. The teaching ministry emphasizes the practical handling of Scripture: how to read the Bible in its literary context, how to use the original languages for study, how to understand historical and cultural background, and how to interpret verses in light of the whole counsel of Scripture.
The Week Around the Word
Weekly Bible study is the pulse of the congregation's spiritual life outside Sunday morning. Three regular gatherings feed that rhythm, all held online so members and friends near and far can take part.
Tuesday Bible Study meets at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, led by Bruce Wadzeck via Zoom. The current study is Ephesian Epistle - The Mystery of Christ, working through the book of Ephesians in depth. Past series have included extended treatments of Romans, Genesis, and Revelation. The format allows members and friends across the region and across the country to participate from a computer, tablet, or phone. Recap videos are posted online so anyone who misses the live session can stay current with the group.
Men's Ministry gathers for a weekly devotional on Thursday evenings, again online. The ministry exists to biblically encourage men in their walks with God and equip them to be spiritual leaders. Through Bible study and monthly gatherings, the men of the church study Scripture together, support one another in service, and host a periodic Men's Breakfast announced through the church calendar. Bradley Brock coordinates the Men's Devotional meetings, and all men are invited regardless of age or church background.
Women's Ministry has been a productive fellowship at Princeton Church of Christ for many years. Their weekly Bible study meets over Zoom and connects women of the congregation with women from other Churches of Christ around the country. Studies are chosen to encourage spiritual growth and discipleship, and the group welcomes new participants throughout the year. The ministry has been an especially fruitful place for fellowship and accountability for women at every stage of adult life.
A Bible Study Series collection archives recurring studies and topical series for any member or visitor who wants to revisit a series from the beginning or work through a book of the Bible at their own pace. Sermon video playlists and past series are also available on the church's YouTube channel.
Eight Decades of Princeton Church of Christ
The story of Princeton Church of Christ begins with a small group of Christians who began meeting regularly in Princeton in the late 1940s. Fifteen years later, in 1963, Ervy Boothe came from a young congregation he had planted in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to serve as the church's first full-time minister. Under his leadership the group grew, and the present building on River Road went up by 1971. Bro. Boothe resigned from the pulpit in the mid-1970s and continued to serve the congregation as an elder into the late 1990s.
The pulpit after Ervy Boothe was filled briefly by Bill Bowen, who then left to teach at a Christian college near Villanova, Pennsylvania. Wayne Crump, a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, succeeded Bowen. In late 1980, Tom Turnbull was hired to begin campus outreach and to preach part-time. He and Wayne Crump overlapped briefly until Crump moved to a pulpit in Washington, D.C. Tom Turnbull was soon joined by Scott Chase and Scott Bell in campus ministry at Rutgers University, Princeton University, and the College of New Jersey. Many college students and young professionals came to faith through their labor, and several of those new believers helped plant what became the Central Jersey Church of Christ. Tom Turnbull later led a small team from Princeton to Paris, where they planted a French-speaking congregation.
Tom Reynolds came from the University Church of Christ in Denver to preach and to work with Princeton University students. He revived the growth of the congregation and stayed until the 1990s. Bruce Wadzeck, who had worked with Reynolds in Denver, joined the Princeton staff in 1988 and has served the congregation ever since - more than thirty years of pastoral ministry on River Road. Under Wadzeck and Reynolds together, the church created its Divorce Recovery ministry, started an English-as-a-Second-Language outreach that reached many Hispanic immigrants, and concentrated on evangelistic Home Bible Studies. Together they helped plant roughly six Spanish-speaking congregations across New Jersey and, in the 2000s, assisted in planting a Filipino-speaking fellowship in the state.
The congregation has been served over the years by a long line of elders: Ervy Boothe, Ken Stone, Dick Chandler, Stan McNally, Gordon Malick, Ed Bellow, Ed Davies, Harry Westerholm, Bruce Wadzeck (who served as an elder before and alongside his preaching role), Dan Rich, and Andy Pratt. Several men raised in the Princeton church went on to full-time ministry, including Brock Roby, Mark Steiner, Kelly Petre, Gregg Pond, and Chad Westerholm. The congregation has supported church planting in New Jersey, France, Australia, and Ghana, and continues to look outward with the same pioneering spirit that shaped its earliest years.
Reaching Beyond River Road: Guatemala, Trenton, and Mercer County
Princeton Church of Christ has a long history of outreach that stretches well beyond its own walls. Three ongoing programs anchor this work, with several others rising in response to seasonal and special needs.
Guatemala Missions grew out of relationships with members who moved to New Jersey from Guatemala years ago. These members gather funds, food, and medicine and take them to rural congregations in Guatemala, where they partner with local churches and a medical center to provide food supplies bought in bulk and prescriptions for patients who cannot afford them. The Guatemala ministry is member-led, with the Princeton congregation serving as a sending and resourcing partner rather than a short-term mission trip organizer.
Feed the Needy is a monthly partnership with Clinton Avenue Church of Christ in Trenton. On the second Saturday of each month, members of the Princeton congregation help prepare and serve a hot meal to people in need in urban Trenton. Desserts for the meal are prepared by Princeton members in advance. The partnership reflects a deliberate commitment to work alongside another Church of Christ in the region rather than operating parallel programs.
The church also maintains a fully stocked Food Pantry that provides food to families in need both within the church and in the broader Mercer County community. The pantry is sustained by member donations and is available for pickup by anyone in the surrounding area facing food insecurity.
Other projects surface at different times of year: an annual drive to donate school supplies for children in local school districts, volunteer support for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), donations of food for holiday baskets, and ongoing financial support for disaster relief in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Members of the congregation organize and lead each of these efforts, with the support of the elders and the wider church family.
Marriage, Family, and Healing: Life-Stage Ministries
Family and life-stage ministries are central to the congregation's identity. The congregation offers programs for children and families, youth, young adults, couples, women, men, and those walking through the trauma of separation and divorce.
The Children and Families ministry provides teaching and care during the Sunday hour and is a frequent entry point for parents visiting the church. Youth ministry gathers students for fellowship, teaching, and service. Young Adults and Couples ministries cultivate the next generation of leaders and offer targeted support for dating, engaged, and newly married couples. The Couples ministry draws on Bruce Wadzeck's decades of pastoral counseling and preaching on marriage, including the long-running "Couples for Christ" sermon and other series that have walked through what it means to build a home around the gospel.
The Divorce Recovery Program has been offered for over twenty years, emphasizing personal growth and community for people facing the trauma of separation and divorce. The program historically hosts support groups on the first and fourth Fridays of each month, led by trained facilitators in an open-discussion format. Frequent clinics on the practical skills of recovery supplement the support groups. While the program is not currently meeting in its regular format, materials, recordings, and clinics continue to be available through the church's YouTube channel, and the leadership is ready to restart the gathering when interest warrants.
The breadth of life-stage ministries reflects the conviction of the elders and the congregation that the church should be a place where every age finds a home. From the nursery to the senior adult Bible studies, the assumption is that discipleship is a lifelong journey and that each season of life brings its own questions and callings.
The Hispanic Ministry and Spanish-Language Resources
The Hispanic ministry at Princeton Church of Christ is a welcoming group of church members whose first language is Spanish. The ministry translates the weekly sermon notes into Spanish for those who prefer to follow along in their native language. Spanish-speaking members and friends also meet outside the Sunday service for meals and to read Scripture together, building friendships and Bible knowledge across the language barrier.
Outreach to Hispanic neighbors in the broader Mercer community is woven into the ministry's calling. A library of full Spanish sermon transcripts, including extended series like El Misterio de la Historia (a fifteen-part study of Ephesians) and Juan - El evangelio de Vida (a series on the Gospel of John), is available alongside the English sermon archive. Translated resources help the entire congregation engage with what is being taught each Sunday.
The Hispanic ministry is one of the most visible fruits of the English-as-a-Second-Language outreach Bruce Wadzeck and Tom Reynolds started in the 1980s and 1990s, and it remains a vital part of the congregation's identity today. Those wishing to learn more about the group or to join a meal and Bible study can reach the ministry through the church office.
Restoring the New Testament Church
Princeton Church of Christ is part of the Churches of Christ fellowship, a network of independent, autonomous congregations found in almost every country. The congregation has no creed but Christ and no rule of faith except the Bible. Members come from a wide variety of religious and nonreligious backgrounds, but share a common new life in Christ and a loving spiritual community.
The congregation's statement of values names the impulse clearly: "We do not seek to be part of any religious tradition or to reform any ecclesiastical organization. Instead, we desire to restore the early church's spirit, teaching, and life, as revealed in the New Testament." Restoration begins with the renewal of the Creator's image in each member's life (Colossians 3:10) and grows as members develop Christ-like character in Christian community. Members remain conscious of their own imperfection, and the church teaches that transformation comes through the power of God (Romans 12:2).
Spiritual leadership rests with elders - also called pastors, bishops, overseers, or shepherds - who are selected according to the Bible's instructions (Titus 1:5). Deacons work alongside elders to serve the local congregation. The New Testament teaching that Jesus is head of the church (Colossians 1:18) means that the congregation sees itself as part of God's kingdom, with Christ at work through His people to bring about His purposes (Philippians 2:13).
Worship is described as characterized by simplicity and group participation, like assemblies in the early church. Members sing, lead prayers, and direct the reflections of the Lord's Supper. Communion is observed weekly, the service includes a practical biblical sermon, classes follow, and members linger to encourage one another spiritually. The church's mission is summarized by Matthew 28:18-20 - to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching - and the work of disciple-making is described as reaching the lost, advancing members to maturity, and equipping every member for service, with much time given to prayer.
The church also teaches that core beliefs are Christ-centered and biblical, that many opportunities and resources are provided for individual growth in knowledge of the Christian faith and the Bible, and that everyone is encouraged to study and think for themselves. While core beliefs are common orthodox Christian perspectives, members reserve the right to restudy and question some beliefs, believing that the truth of God is relevant and speaks powerfully to the world today.
Bruce Wadzeck in the Pulpit
Senior Minister Bruce Wadzeck has been part of the Princeton Church of Christ ministry team for more than thirty years. He holds a B.S. in Business and an M.A. in Old Testament from Abilene Christian University. He began preaching full-time in 1970 and has served congregations in Texas, Virginia, and Colorado before coming to Princeton in 1988. He hosted a weekly radio program called Transition on the New Jersey Network for over twenty years and is a certified Pastoral Counselor. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor at the Disciples Seminary in Princeton.
Bruce and his wife Becky, his high school sweetheart whom he married in 1969, concentrate on mentoring leaders and on counseling that promotes healthy families and spiritual growth. He also served as one of the elders of the congregation. The couple continues to be a steady presence in the church family at Princeton.
A Continuing Invitation
Visitors to Princeton Church of Christ find a community shaped by a single conviction: that the New Testament pattern of worship, devotion, and mission deserves to be lived out today. The building on River Road, the families and singles who fill it on Sunday, the online classes that bring members together in the middle of the week, the table shared with neighbors in Trenton, the long partnership with rural congregations in Guatemala - each is an expression of the same restoration impulse that launched the small house meeting in the late 1940s.