The churches of Christ are part of a world-wide movement that was introduced in America by Thomas and Alexander Campbell in the early 1800s. A call to unity among believers and to church restoration began when the Campbells grew dissatisfied with the divisions and extra-biblical traditions among established religious groups. They eventually united with similar movements led independently by Abner Jones and Elias Smith in the Northeast and by Barton W. Stone in Kentucky into a movement that has spread throughout the United States and the world.

Thomas Nesbit, who was born in Pennsylvania on April 10, 1769, moved his family from Kentucky, where he had worked with Barton W. Stone, to Bloomington in 1825. He no doubt is one of the ones who helped influence Mr. Stone to come to Bloomington in 1826. Mr. Nesbit, however soon moved from Bloomington to Richland Creek where he helped establish the Richland church of Christ which still exists today on Highway 45, five miles southwest of Bloomington. Mr. Nesbit was buried in the graveyard behind the Richland church building.

The church in Bloomington began meeting together by about 1820. After Barton W. Stone came in 1826 and preached in the new Monroe County court house which had just been completed, the congregation designated Elijah Lee, Haws Armstrong, and David Batterton as trustees for the purpose of purchasing property. In May, 1826, they bought lot #167 on Fifth Street (now Kirkwood Avenue) from George and Lucy Richey for $61.00. A log building was soon built on the lot and was used as both a church building and a schoolhouse. By 1840, the building had been remodeled, evidently by the addition of a brick exterior. In 1841, the building was doubled in size to meet the needs of the growing congregation.

Alexander Campbell visited the city in 1850 and again in 1861. On both occasions he spoke both to the congregation and to assemblies at Indiana University. During the 1850 visit, he visited and renewed his acquaintance with Dr. Andrew Wylie, the first president of the university. Early leaders and evangelists of the congregation were John Henderson, James M. Mathes, Elijah Goodwin, Benjamin Franklin, and W. B. F. Treat.

In 1876, when Hampton Carlton was the preacher, the failure to resolve several issues, including the use of musical instruments in worship assemblies, resulted in several members leaving. This group, which eventually became today's North Central congregation, purchased a meetinghouse on June 8, 1881, on the southeast corner of Seventh and Morton Streets, while the other group, which eventually became today's First Christian Church, continued to meet in the building on Kirkwood Ave.

The Kirkwood Ave. congregation built a new red brick building on the northeast corner of Kirkwood Ave. and Washington St. in 1884. They tore down the old building and built a parsonage on the same site at 213 Kirkwood Ave. using the materials from the old church building. The new church building did not last long; it burned down in 1915. In order to rebuild, the congregation purchased the lot between the burned down building and the parsonage and built a beautiful limestone building.

Meanwhile, the Morton St. church of Christ had grown to the point of needing a new building while Homer H. Adamson was the preacher. On February 26, 1907, they paid $2,500.00 for a lot on the northeast corner of East Fourth and Lincoln Streets where on June 16, 1911, they began meeting in a new limestone building.

By the mid-1960s, growth in the Fourth and Lincoln St. congregation again necessitated the move to a larger building, even after beginning other congregations in the city on West Second Street in 1957 and at Highland Village in the 1960s. The first assembly of the church of Christ at the North Central building was on March 26, 1967, when Douglas Davis was the preacher. He was followed by Oliver Rogers who served the congregation as evangelist from 1969 until 1992, and now serves as an elder. Derek Pfeifer served as evangelist from 1992 to 1995 and Alan Phillips served from 1996 to July 2001.

North Central began a full-time campus ministry in 1978 which grew to more than 100 students in 1981. Since that time the congregation has strongly supported an active ministry of outreach and training to Indiana University students.

Today, Steve Sikes, who was North Central youth minister from 1981-86, serves as North Central pulpit minister, Brian Fuller serves as associate minister working with the youth, Aaron Brooks serves as campus minister, and Bobby Davis serves as children's minister. (For more about Steve, our elders and others, you can read their bios in "about us").