History

Ellettsville Christian Church is a church with a long history in the town of Ellettsville.

Early Beginnings

The Ellettsville Christian Church was established in 1928. On August 5th, 1928 services were first held in the Oriental Theater on the west side of Sale Street. The members paid rent of $5.00 per week and did their own sweeping of popcorn and peanuts left by the Saturday night movie crowd. Two buckets of coal were brought from home to fire the stove which heated the building.

In 1930 the congregation purchased the two story old-fashioned Taylor May home on West Sale Street. The large high-ceiling rooms were converted into a sanctuary which served the needs of the congregation throughout the depression years. As the church had no baptistery, the congregation used Jack’s Defeat Creek behind the house.

A New House of Worship

By 1941, the congregation appointed a committee to direct the construction of a new house of worship since the old building had become too small. The congregation moved into the old Presbyterian Church building on East Vine Street for services while the old building was being razed. All members worked from dawn to dusk, with the men tearing down the old building and constructing the new one. A beautiful white frame church with a belfry resulted from these efforts.

Our Current Location

As the congregation was growing and needing a larger building, they again appointed a building committee. On May 16, 1971, 117 members gathered in a rain storm for a ground-breaking ceremony at our current location at 731 Independence St. A total of 326 persons were present for the first service held in the new building on January 9, 1972. A new educational wing was added to the building and dedicated in the early part of 1984. In 1989, they added a multipurpose gymnasium and kitchen to the church building. In 2014, they remodeled the sanctuary and the foyer and upgraded the sound system and lighting. We currently have approximately 500 members.