I'm New Here

Welcome to Central Avenue, a vital and growing community of people who are seeking a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Grab a complimentary cup of coffee or tea on your way in to one of our worship celebrations.

Here at Central you’ll find a friendly mix of college students and townfolk, young and old, from a variety of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds-in fact, a pretty good reflection of the Athens community as a whole. We are a part of the United Methodist Church, but our style may be different than the typical Methodist (or other denomination) church you might have experienced.

Whether you're a mature believer or a skeptic just curious to check out this "Jesus thing," we welcome you to join us in our quest to know God better through contemporary worship, relevant Scriptural messages, and loving service to the world around us.

Worship Celebration Times

On Sunday mornings we hold identical contemporary worship celebrations at 9:15 and 11:00 AM. During the academic year, we also have a Saturday-evening service at 6:00 PM. Not sure which schedule to follow? Check the sidebar at the right for the current schedule. Or, call the church office at 592–2389; the current schedule will be announced on the answering machine.

Life-Changing Teaching

The centerpiece of Central’s worship celebrations is relevant, life-changing, scripturally based teaching. We are convinced that Jesus Christ is the one hope of the entire world and that the Bible is the Word of God. Therefore we are committed to studying the Bible, applying it to our lives, sharing the good news with others, and helping them grow in their faith.

What to Wear?

You won’t find a dress code, spoken or unspoken, at Central. If you walk in wearing jeans and a T-shirt, you’ll fit right in. If you show up in a suit and tie, you’ll be just as welcome! We want to be the same people on Sunday as we are during the rest of the week and our attire reflects that value.

Contemporary Music

One of the most obvious differences in is in our choice of music. We begin every worship celebration with 15 to 20 minutes of contemporary, band-led praise and worship music. There's nothing inherently more or less spiritual about contemporary music; we choose that style because it is relevant to our community—and to the population we want to reach.

What We Believe

Central desires to know and follow Jesus Christ, and to help others do the same, in the context of biblically functioning community. Learn more about what we believe by reading our statement of faith.

Our Vision

We desire to sacrificially follow Jesus Christ, to boldly love our neighbors, and to faithfully equip and encourage one another for lives of service to the body of believers, the community of Athens, and the wider world.

A Word About Money

Like many churches, we collect tithes and offerings as part of our Sunday worship celebration. However, we emphasize that this part of the service is for those of us who are committed to Central as our church home. If you're a visitor, we don't expect you to contribute and we don’t want you to feel pressured in any way to give.