Our Story

We are one church in two locations. We are a diverse body of believers who gather in Athens, Ohio. We are a congregation who loves our community and who desires to see the love of Jesus transform our town and our world.

Our roots in this town go back more than one hundred years. In 1906, we were a small body of people sent out of Athens First UMC to the Westside of town to start a new church. For over a century, Central shifted and evolved and was refined and grew. By 2010, we had begun to outgrow our original location at 73 Central Avenue. We expanded into a dual-campus model, adding services at our Uptown location, Central Venue, located at 29 E Carpenter Street.

We believe the community in which we live, learn, work, and play has so much to teach and offer us as a church, and we like to think the same is true the other way around. So we aim to be a church that makes sense for Athens - a diverse gathering of people for whom everything from the way we treat one another, to the music we play, to the way we dress, are simply the outpouring of the people God has created us to be in the context of our community. Some might call it a "come as you are" community. If that sounds like the sort of thing you want to be a part of, we'd love to see you.