We are an imperfect community of inclusive, authentic Jesus-followers striving to be a community of healing and growth, for ourselves and our city.

We envision a world where trauma is healed, community is authentic, poverty is alleviated, injustice is corrected, unconditional love is experienced, and everyone knows they are a beloved child of God.

We hope to be a community of healing—for each other, our neighbors, and the world. We are a community where everyone is welcome to grow in their faith while they experience unconditional love and healing from life's traumas.

Healing can take a lot of forms, and involve more than just traditional “miracles.” Doing the hard work of recovery to overcome an addiction—that’s a miracle! Taking the time to care for yourself so you can heal from past church trauma—another miracle. Finding a place where you can be your authentic self, no matter who you are or how you identify—miracle! Becoming a church that is made up of inclusive, authentic, diverse Jesus-followers? We’re trying to become this kind of miracle.

We are a community of imperfect people attempting the impossible. Where no one is turned away, no matter what doubts, fears, questions, or anxieties they come with. We embrace the chaos and messiness of real people struggling through their life and faith together, offering each other grace when we fail and joining our resources and talents to make the world a better place.

We don’t just talk about it—we do it. We believe the church becomes the church when it engages in thoughtful, practical work in the city, meeting tangible needs. We want to be a blessing to our city and make it a better place for everyone. And we want our city to know that we are here for them—that our gathering place is their gathering place: a space for the entire community to connect and grow.

With our two styles of worship, children’s ministry and friendship class, we’re a great place for families, children, young adults, empty nesters, and adults with developmental disabilities. We’re small, multigenerational, anti-racist, and LGBTQ affirming.

Whoever you are, we’d love to have you join us.

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Our History

On July 2nd, 2023 Central City Church and St. Luke’s on 5th merged to become Cityview Church.

St. Luke’s UMC started 1952 and since has a rich history of serving and ministering to the 5th by Northwest and Grandview areas. St. Luke’s is proud to be an affirming church for LGBTQ, a safe place for adults with disabilities through the Friendship Class, and offers a casual, traditional worship.

Central City Church launched in 2017 as a new church in the Grandview area. Central City has tried to build a safe space for everyone, especially those with spiritual trauma, engage in issues of justice and mission, and launch and support grassroots initiatives that meet tangible needs in the community, like Little Bottoms Free Store.

Values that Guide our Mission:

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU:

You’ll never be judged, no matter who you are, or what you believe.
You can share the real you, as much or as little as you want.
Your views on science or politics don’t have to be checked at the door.
You will never be expected to hide your doubts or questions.
You won’t be forced to do something you disagree with.

Here are a few other values that guide our mission:

We value intergenerational ministry. We believe that strength in ministry is derived from having people at different stages of life working together. We value both singles and families. No matter what stage of life people are in, we want to help them grow to their fullest potential in Christ and to support them through life's transitions

We value humor, creativity and the arts.

We value irreverent reverence. We take God seriously, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously. We value humor.

We value informality.

We are a thinking church. We welcome questions and doubts as a means to expand our faith.

We value the diversity of our congregation. Diversity in race, in class, in theology, in age, and in life-stage. We value relationships among disciples of Jesus marked by humility, respect and integrity, regardless of differences in theology.

We value local. We want to love and support the community in which we live and work, supporting and partnering with local ministries, businesses and organizations. We value engagement—not separation—with our culture because we believe that Christ will use us as instruments to transform it. Increasingly so, we are trying to become a church for Columbus—a church that relates to the community around us, instead of fighting the community.

We value attending to the needs of the poor and oppressed.

We value relationships. We value people. Our decisions, work, and ministry are centered around relationships.

We value leadership development. We want to help others grow.

We value the relevance of our message. We want the Gospel to connect to everyday life.

We value radical generosity. With all that we are and all that we have. We value good stewardship of resources.

We value authenticity and transparency. “I’m not ok, you’re not ok, and that’s ok.” We value being a safe place to do “messy” ministry with real people.

We value being a safe place—no matter where you are in your spiritual journeys, you are welcome here.

We value change, and the opportunities that it brings. At the same time, we also value risk-taking and offering one another grace when we fail.

We value rest. We recognize the benefits that come from rest.

We value serving, both in the local church and in our daily lives.

We value confrontation. We value dealing with conflict face-to-face, instead of avoiding it.

LGBTQ Inclusion

We believe that everyone is a beloved child of God. This includes: people of every age, race, ethnicity, physical & mental capability, sexual orientation, gender identity, social & economic status, family configuration, religious affiliation, background, & any other distinguishing quality.

As a reconciling congregation, everyone is welcome to fully participate in the community including: fellowship, worship, leadership roles, mission, outreach, baptisms, communion, weddings, & funerals.

Anti-Racism

As Christians committed to loving our neighbors, the pursuit of justice, and the importance of rejecting evil “in whatever forms they present themselves”, we condemn racism and the racist policies that plague our nation, and have led to the persistent violence and exclusion experienced by Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC).

Going forward, we are committed to broadening our response to systemic injustice towards BIPOC. We are devoted to promoting justice, practicing repentance, and embodying racial reconciliation within our church community, practicing and modeling our commitment to diversity in all we say and do, and supporting city-wide efforts to address racism at both a systemic and personal level. This does not come without challenge as not only is our church majority white, but so is the community of Grandview. With this in mind, we commit to lean on the best practices of black Christian leaders in Columbus, while doing our part to step up and stand against historic, systemic racism.