At the bleakest point slightly more than a year ago, North Christian Church leaders examined whether they could continue as a congregation, because of the declining attendance and support.
The custom-designed air conditioning system in the 1964 building went out — and restoring it included a price tag of more than $500,000 for a church averaging 25 or fewer people per week in worship attendance.
They considered gifting the world-famous Eero Saarinen building and the 13-acre Dan Kiley-landscaped grounds, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places, to another entity.
But the days of literally sweating through that severe hardship are gone. And North Christian, with renewed support from a broad range of entities, now boasts a restored air conditioning system, a leadership more resolute about the hope of the future, and a new, part-time ambassador position to help the congregation expand the facility’s community use.
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The Rev. Tonja Gerardy, North Christian’s minister for the past three years of challenges — first on transitional basis and then officially installed — mentioned that she is now optimistic.
“There was initially a lot of hesitation about making anything public about our situation (last year) until we knew exactly what we were going to do,” Gerardy said. “There were so many possibilities and options to weigh and to consider.”
The situation might have seemed especially awkward to some since North Christian had long been the home church of wealthy industrialist and community leader J. Irwin Miller and his wife, Xenia Miller, both strong North Christian financial supporters, and friends of Saarinen.
Since that financial hurdle last year, the church was able to use money from its endowment fund to pay half of the $525,000 cost for the air conditioning. The other half was picked up by a grant from The National Fund for Sacred Places based in Philadelphia and also the Indianapolis-based preservation agency Indiana Landmarks.
“As a result of this tremendous gift, the congregation has enthusiastically committed to stay here, in this place, and not only survive, but thrive and grow,” Gerardy said.
Plus, Indiana Landmarks has been assisting North Christian in various ways since 2015 with everything from fundraising to building maintenance issues. The nonprofit secured national attention for North Christian last year when it named the building to its 10 Most Endangered List, highlighting Hoosier structures at risk of significantly decaying or being lost.
Gerardy mentioned she is glad that North Christian supporters now can dedicate themselves to growing the congregation. That already is happening with regular attendance at 30 to 40 people per week, representing a slight uptick.
“The rumor mill (in the past) caused us a lot of problems,” she said, adding that some people who approached her locally somehow thought North Christian had closed its doors. “Obviously, it’s not easy to grow a church some people believe no longer exists.”
David Frederick, director of Sacred Places Indiana with Indiana Landmarks, reeled off a lengthy list of agencies, foundations and groups that have worked to stabilize North Christian’s present and future.
“It truly has taken a village,” Frederick said. “But we’re not totally out of the woods yet.”
He added that it’s rare for his agency to have the chance to preserve a building by three great designers known worldwide: Saarinen, Kevin Roche and Dan Kiley.
“It seems that maybe nine out of 10 times when you see a promotion of Columbus and its architecture, the picture used is that of North Christian Church, given that it’s so well recognized and iconic,” Frederick said.
Gerardy mentioned that North Christian’s congregation “always has considered itself a beacon for the community, and a hub of activity (for meetings and more).”
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North Christian Church leadership is seeking ways to use its building to better serve the community, whether that comes in the form of meeting or performance space or some other function.
Information: 812-372-1531 or northchristianchurch.com
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