One Church, Seven Campuses Across Indianapolis
Traders Point Christian Church began in 1834, when ten charter members gathered in their homes near what is now the northwest side of Indianapolis. Almost two centuries later, the same conviction still drives the church: gather to worship, then scatter to proclaim the name of Jesus. What started as settlers trading turns hosting services in cabins has grown into a multi-site church with seven campuses stretching from downtown Indianapolis to Westfield, plus a global livestream that connects people around the world.
The church describes itself with two sentences that hang over everything else: "We believe Jesus changes everything. We'll do anything to get people to Him." Mission, vision, and strategy all flow from that single conviction, and the weekly rhythm of Traders Point is built to support it.
Today the church operates from seven locations across central Indiana: Northwest, Carmel, Downtown, Fishers, Midtown, Plainfield, and Westfield. The church calls itself "one church in multiple locations." Each campus has its own pastor, its own flavor, and its own gathering times, while sharing the same teaching, the same beliefs, and the same lead pastor's message broadcast live from the Northwest auditorium.
The Seven Campuses
Traders Point Northwest is the flagship campus, sitting on Indianapolis Road in Whitestown with easy access off I-65. The 156,000-square-foot facility seats 2,600 people and houses The Park, the indoor playground described below. Marshall Hawn serves as campus pastor. Weekend gatherings are Saturdays at 4 PM and Sundays at 8, 9:30, and 11:15 AM.
Carmel sits just off US-31 and minutes from the Carmel Arts and Design District, on West 136th Street. Bart Shaw leads the campus, which gathers Saturdays at 4 and 5:30 PM and Sundays at 8, 9:30, and 11:15 AM.
Downtown anchors the Indianapolis presence at North Delaware Street, within walking distance of Lucas Oil Stadium, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and the city's restaurant and corporate corridors. Kyle Riley is the campus pastor. Weekend gatherings are Saturdays at 4 PM and Sundays at 9:15 and 11 AM.
Fishers, on East 116th Street off I-69 near the Nickel Plate District, is led by Mac Bruton with Sunday gatherings at 9:15 and 11 AM.
Midtown sits at East 62nd Street in the Broad Ripple area and is pastored by Alex Diaz. Sunday gatherings are at 9:15 and 11 AM.
Plainfield serves the west side of Indianapolis, including Brownsburg and Avon, with Taylor Warren as campus pastor. Gatherings are Saturdays at 4 PM and Sundays at 8, 9:30, and 11:15 AM.
Westfield is the newest campus, just west of Grand Park Sports Campus and south of Highway 32. Will Huberty pastors it. Gatherings are Sundays at 9:15 and 11 AM.
For anyone unable to attend in person, the weekend teaching is broadcast live at traderspoint.tv, with services also available on the Traders Point app for Apple TV, Roku, iOS, and Android.
What to Expect on a Weekend
Traders Point encourages visitors to come as they are, whether that means a suit or shorts. Across the campuses, dress tends to be casual. Free parking is available at every location, with a parking team ready to direct first-time guests. Flashing your headlights signals a first visit and unlocks a quick handoff to guest parking.
Each auditorium is equipped with accessibility seating, assistive listening headsets borrowed from Info Central before the service, and Spanish translation during the late morning gathering (the 11:15 AM service at Northwest, Carmel, and Plainfield, and the 11 AM service at Downtown, Midtown, Fishers, and Westfield). Info Central lends the translation device and the headphones, a small gesture that turns a barrier into a doorway. ASL interpretation is available on request.
Worship is contemporary, led by bands, with a Spotify playlist of the songs used in services for those who want to listen ahead of time. After worship, the same sermon preached live at Northwest is broadcast to every campus, so the entire church sits under one teaching each weekend. Guest speakers and the lead pastor alternate, with messages archived online.
Info Central is the on-campus hub for questions, prayer requests, translation devices, accessibility help, and general "I don't know where to go" moments. The team there is part of the broader Engagement group that helps newcomers find their way.
For Kids: Birth Through Sixth Grade
Traders Point Kids exists for children from birth through sixth grade, and the church describes it as "a fun, safe space where kids can know Jesus, build strong friendships, and take bold steps in their faith." On a weekend, families head to the Kids Guest Check-In Desk, where a team walks them through check-in and shows them where their child will go. Pre-registration speeds up that first visit.
The Kids team uses secure check-in and pick-up with a parent tag, age-specific rooms and teaching, background-checked leaders called Difference Makers, engaging worship, interactive Bible stories, and fun activities. The team recommends arriving 15 minutes before service to get kids settled.
For children with disabilities, the Disability Ministry offers tailored teaching, individualized support, and inclusive classrooms. For sixth graders, the church keeps the door open between Kids and Youth, so preteens can belong to both ministries all year as a bridge rather than a hard cutoff.
Practical details get worked out: no regular snacks in classrooms, with allergy-friendly options posted and available on special occasions; diapering stations in view of team members; two-leader restroom assistance; and a private nursing room at each campus with the service on TV. There is a Family Dedication guide for parents who want to mark the milestone of dedicating a child, and resources for parents who want to lead their kids toward baptism when the time comes.
For Teens: Midweek, Youth Nights, and Camp
Traders Point Youth is built for students in grades six through twelve, with the goal of helping them connect to Jesus, community, and kingdom purpose. The flagship gathering is Midweek on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, running at Northwest, Carmel, Plainfield, Midtown, and Fishers, with Westfield's Midweek meeting at the Westfield Lions Club.
Each Midweek includes three pieces. Pre-Party is free dinner plus games and friendship time. A Message is a teaching moment aimed at helping students explore and apply their faith. Small Groups create space to ask real questions about God and grow with peers and caring adults. No registration is required; new students can just show up.
Several times each school year, all the campuses combine for Youth Nights at the Northwest location, where sixth through twelfth graders from across Indy pack in for worship, connection, and high-energy programming designed to be bring-a-friend friendly. Summer Nights picks up the pace during the summer months with three Wednesday evenings at five locations.
Three summer camps round out the year: Kids Camp for fourth and fifth graders at Allendale Christian Camp in Trafalgar, Middle School Camp for sixth through eighth graders at Country Lake Christian Retreat in Underwood, and High School Camp for ninth through twelfth graders and graduated seniors at Taylor University in Upland.
Clear the Way: Mission, Vision, and Beliefs
Mission is framed in three movements: Clear the Way (do whatever it takes to get people to Jesus), Equip for Battle (develop strong, steady, durable disciples), and Deploy for Impact (step out as salt and light to make a Kingdom-difference). The vision is "Take Ground for the Kingdom across Indy and beyond," and the church says it has been led to launch a campus a year until 2034, its 200th anniversary.
Beliefs are rooted in the Bible, which the church holds to be the authoritative and inerrant Word of God. Traders Point teaches the Trinity, God eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all fully God. Jesus Christ is God incarnate, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose again, ascended to Heaven, and will return to rule forever. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God living inside each follower of Christ, teaching, empowering, sanctifying, and giving gifts for ministry.
Salvation is a gift from God, given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, never earned by works. Baptism is practiced by immersion as a public confession of faith, modeled by Jesus, and open to anyone who has professed faith. The church teaches that marriage is a one-flesh covenant between one man and one woman, and that all human life is sacred from conception through natural death. Final interpretive authority on doctrine, practice, and discipline rests with the elder team.
Everyone is welcome at Traders Point, regardless of whether or not they believe what the church teaches. The church's invitation is that people belong before they believe.
First Step, Baptism, and Groups
First Step is the church's 30-minute on-ramp, designed to help newcomers meet their campus team, learn the heart behind Traders Point, and discover ways to move from attending to belonging. It happens twice a month at every campus and typically leads to joining a group, becoming a Difference Maker, or getting baptized.
Baptism is taught as the first act of obedience for every believer, not the finish line. The church practices baptism by immersion, celebrating baptisms on the first full weekend of each month (when Saturday and Sunday both fall within the same weekend), during worship across all locations. Anyone who has professed faith in Jesus can be baptized, and the team walks children and parents through questions like "How do I know if my child is ready?"
Groups create environments where adults can connect in meaningful relationships, grow to be more like Jesus, and be equipped as disciple-makers. Small Groups meet in homes and around the city. Rooted is a 10-week group experience designed to deepen connection with God, His church, and purpose, covering community, prayer, daily devotion, serving, generosity, worship, and sharing your story.
The Park: A Free Indoor Playground
The Park is a free, interactive indoor playground attached to the Northwest campus, open to the community. The church describes it as a way for families to let their kids play in a safe environment while connecting with other families. Foster and adoptive families are invited to a monthly gathering at The Park on the fourth Monday of each month from 5 to 7 PM, free and with no registration required.
Care for Every Season
The Care ministry exists "to provide comfort, truth, grace, and a path to restoration to people who are hurting," and its reach extends across marriages, mental health, parenting, grief, addiction, blended families, domestic violence, anxiety, depression, and more. Traders Point ministers are available to listen and pray, and the team can be contacted by email.
The church maintains a vetted referral list of Christian clinical counselors in the Indianapolis area who hold similar values and integrate faith with evidence-based clinical practice. The list includes counselors across Fishers, Carmel, Indianapolis, Plainfield, Greenwood, Brownsburg, Westfield, Lebanon, Greenfield, Zionsville, and beyond, with specialties ranging from marriage and family therapy to EMDR, trauma, addiction, anxiety, postpartum support, and adolescent care.
Financial assistance is offered for rent or utilities for residents of Marion County and surrounding Indiana counties, with applications reviewed by the Care team. A separate Food and Housing Assistance resource list gathers local programs for those facing acute needs.
For weddings, premarital counseling is offered with trained counselors, and ministers may be available to officiate once those sessions are complete. For funerals, pastors are available to deliver a funeral message when requested through the Care team.
Foster and Adoption Ministry
The Foster and Adoption Ministry (FAM) responds to a specific calling: "to defend the fatherless." With more than 12,000 children in Indiana's foster system, the church comes alongside foster, adoptive, and kinship families with wraparound support, handyman help, and groups.
Resources include a Resource Center stocked with brand-new items (diapers, wipes, car seats, beds, baby gear) at no cost; Care Communities where volunteer teams rally around a family with childcare, tutoring, meals, and encouragement; trauma-informed education through partnerships like Trauma Free World; financial grants (matching adoption grants up to $2,000, plus foster grants for childcare, schooling, trauma education, counseling, and extracurriculars); a Mentor Program pairing new foster parents with experienced ones; and a Handyman Team for small household tasks.
Monthly gatherings include a Women's Support Group on the second Monday at the Northwest campus and on the third Thursday at the Fishers campus, both from 7 to 9 PM, plus a Men's Group on the fourth Monday from 7 to 9 PM.
Serving Near and Far
The Serve ministry divides into three streams. Serve Here means being a welcomer, a Kids leader, a worship team singer, or a member of any number of weekend teams. Serve Near partners with local Indianapolis organizations to meet physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs in the city, with monthly Serve Saturdays pulling the whole church into hands-on projects.
Serve Far is the global mission stream. GO Trips run six to ten days and partner with global organizations making real-world impact. The church also partners with child sponsorship programs through Missions of Hope International and Compassion International.
Awaken and Generosity
Awaken is the church's two-year generosity initiative, asking the congregation to commit time, talents, and resources to what God is doing in and through the church. The initiative is framed around awakening to new perspective, significance, position, and action.
Generosity flows through one fund that supports all ministries of the church and many local and global partners. Giving is available online through PushPay (debit, credit, automatic withdrawal, or cryptocurrency), through the Traders Point app, through wall boxes outside the auditoriums at every campus, by mail to the Finance Department, or by stock and mutual fund transfer. The church is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
Almost Two Centuries of Faith
Traders Point Christian Church was organized as the third Christian Church in Marion County in the spring of 1834 under the name Ebenezer Christian Church. Ten charter members took turns hosting services in their homes until Annie Wilson donated land south of Fishback Creek, where the first log cabin church was built. Membership grew to nearly 100 by 1853, and a new building was dedicated in 1859 at a total cost of $949.80.
In 1886 the building was physically moved to a 1.5-acre lot in the Village of Traders Point, and the church was renamed Traders Point Christian Church in 1925. The Civil War, World War I, and the Great Depression tested the congregation, but the doors stayed open through sacrificial giving. The first full-time minister arrived in 1942. In 1949 Traders Point established its first full-time mission program, supporting missionaries in Japan.
The first part of the Lafayette Road building opened in 1964. In 1976 Traders Point Christian Nursery opened with 15 kids, the seed of what would become Traders Point Christian Academy. Howard Brammer became lead minister in 1983 and grew the church from under 300 to more than 1,000. The current Northwest auditorium was dedicated in May 1988, and an additional Sunday service was added.
In 2004, 92 acres on Indianapolis Road became available, and the 156,000-square-foot Northwest facility was dedicated in April 2007. Howard Brammer retired in 2007, and Aaron Brockett was hired as lead pastor at age 31. Through the Humble and Hungry campaign beginning in 2013, Traders Point launched its multi-site strategy, opening Carmel in 2016, Plainfield in 2017 (into a permanent building in 2022), Midtown in 2020, and Fishers shortly after.
COVID-19 forced six months of online-only services beginning in March 2020. The team responded with Traders Point Online, reaching an average of 6,721 viewers weekly across 80 countries. Physical gatherings relaunched with about 2,500 people each weekend. Outreach Magazine named Traders Point the fifth-fastest-growing church in America in 2016, and the church has been recognized as a Best Christian Workplace by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute for eight consecutive years.
From log cabins in 1834 to a network of seven campuses almost two centuries later, Traders Point Christian Church remains a church that has always drawn from the Source of Life to get its strength in tough times, taking ground for the Kingdom across Indy and beyond.