A Lindenwood Avenue Congregation Since 1909
West Side Christian Church has stood on SW Lindenwood Avenue in Topeka since 1909, when a group of women dreamed of a place that could bless the surrounding neighborhood. More than a century later, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation still lives out that founding impulse through a vision summed up in a single phrase: WEAR Love. The four words, Welcoming, Encouraging, Accepting, and Returning, appear throughout the church's teaching, signage, and sermon series, and shape the way newcomers are received.
The church describes itself as a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, West Side opens its communion table to everyone, and members are quick to describe their experience in words like family, being cared for, and belonging. The congregation includes all ages, from infants in the nursery to adults in choir robes, and the building hums on Sunday mornings with the sound of handbells, children's music, and conversation.
What Sunday Looks Like
Worship begins at 11:00 a.m. and is described as traditional yet informal. The order of service includes music, prayers, a children's time, commentary, and communion, with the elements prepackaged for the time being. Visitors are told to dress up or dress down, with no expectations about clothing or Bible literacy. Questions about God are not just tolerated but encouraged, and longtime members are ready to walk alongside newcomers who are sorting through their own answers.
Before the service, small groups meet for all ages at 9:45 a.m. from September through May. Classes take a break during the summer months of June, July, and August. Adult Sunday school runs alongside a full slate of children's programming, including a staffed nursery for infants through age three, a Worship and Wonder experience for PreK through third grade, an upper elementary class for grades four through six, and a middle and high school Bible study for grades seven through twelve.
Services are livestreamed on YouTube at the channel searchable as @wsccTopeka, and an archive of past sermons lives on Vimeo. Visitors who are nervous about walking in alone can email the church office in advance to request a Sunday pal, a designated member who will meet them at the door and sit with them during worship.
WEARing Love, Sermon by Sermon
The congregation has produced a series of WEAR Love sermon videos that introduce newcomers to the church's core values. The series takes each letter of the acronym in turn: Welcoming, Encouraging, Accepting, and Returning. These short Vimeo clips offer a low-pressure way to learn what members mean when they talk about their community before ever setting foot in the building.
A Building Full of Children
Children are a visible presence at West Side. The staffed nursery is open from 9:15 a.m. to noon on Sundays for children from birth through age three, and staff have been trained in special needs care. Across the hall, the Worship and Wonder classroom invites children in PreK through third grade into a slow, sensory experience of Bible stories. Simple wooden figures without faces let children imagine for themselves what a character like Moses or Mary might have felt, and arts and crafts supplies invite them to respond. A storyteller explains the rhythm this way: "In this special place we have all the time we need. We don't need to hurry. We can take our time to talk with God."
Older elementary children gather for an upper elementary class at the same hour, where they watch videos, read the Bible, and complete activities together. Children are always welcome to stay in the main worship service too, with lesson-themed worksheets and crayons on clipboards available for them. Children ages three through six can also step out to Story Time after the service begins, in a room across from the nursery.
Teens in grades seven through twelve meet for Bible study and fellowship at 9:15 on Sunday mornings and then join the wider worship service. Outside of Sunday mornings, they participate in Crossroads, a combined youth group shared with First Christian Church that includes food, fun, service projects, and summer camps at the Disciples Center at Tawakoni.
Music Across the Generations
Music is woven through every layer of West Side life. An adult choir and a handbell choir lead worship from the front, while a children's music program introduces younger voices to the same tradition. During Advent and other seasons, special music and a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service round out the choral year.
Small Groups for Every Season
Two small groups anchor the church's midweek ministry. Peace in Chaos is an intergenerational group that meets every other Thursday at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom, mixing lively discussion, prayerful reflection, and laughter. The Fireside Men's Group gathers in person every other Sunday evening at 7 p.m. Both groups welcome newcomers, and interested participants can leave a message at the church office at 785-234-0469.
Sharing Love Across Topeka
Outreach is a regular rhythm at West Side, not an occasional project. The Kids' Closet offers free children's clothing, including socks, shoes, jackets, and coats, for ages three through ten on the first Wednesday of each month from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the church building on Lindenwood Avenue. Volunteers from West Side serve quarterly at Doorstep, which provides food, clothing, and utilities to neighbors in need, and the church is a ministry partner with the organization. Small groups have also cleaned at the Ronald McDonald House and donated meals there, and they have volunteered at the Topeka Rescue Mission, serving meals, sorting gifts, and helping clients during the Mission's Christmas event.
West Side also partners with Midtown Community Services, a nonprofit working in the Greater Auburndale, Potwin, Kenwood, and Ward-Meade neighborhoods that runs a baby closet, a kids' closet, a free food pantry, and outreach to Meadows Elementary. On months with a fifth Sunday, the congregation takes its offering for a designated mission, and one hundred percent of donations given to Week of Compassion and designated for Ukraine relief pass directly through to the Disciples of Christ relief agency.
Getting Involved
Anyone interested in learning more about West Side can email the church office, set up a pre-visit, or simply show up on a Sunday morning. The congregation is led by Pastor Donna, who also coordinates the Crossroads youth ministry with First Christian Church. Visitors who want to dig into volunteering, whether their passion is kids, music, Bible studies, building projects, grounds work, or community outreach, are invited to talk with Pastor Donna about how to plug in, or about starting something new. Giving is available online through Givelify.