who we are

We are a community of people from East Canton, Ohio and the surrounding communities in Northeast Ohio who are seeking God and living out our faith.

We welcome anyone and everyone to join us. We come together to worship weekly on Sundays, but we also have other opportunities for worship, small groups, and other ministries throughout the week.

  • Our Affiliation

    We are affiliated with the Church of God (Anderson, IN), which is a non-denominational church movement. 

    You can learn more about the Church of God by clicking here.

    Here are some other links that might interest you:

    Ohio Church of God Ministries: www.ohchog.org

    NEO Retreat Center: www.neoretreatcenter.org

  • Our Vision

    Following Jesus together.


    Following Jesus:

    This seems almost too simple, but in today’s common culture, which can be both combative and apathetic, we need a simple statement that will define who we strive to become. When the common culture presses against us, each saint is reminded to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews. 12:1-2)


    Together:

    While each of us seeks to follow Jesus, we have learned that He has called us to be united in the following and therefore, follow Jesus together!” In the Church of God, in particular, we are called to worship, serve, and fellowship in the unity of the Holy Spirit. As Paul says, we are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

  • Our Mission

    The mission of the East Canton Church of God is very simple: "To glorify God by loving God, loving people, making disciples of Christ."


    Simply put, we live this mission out by living our lives in such a way that we

    Draw people to Jesus,

    Develop people to be like Jesus,

    Deploy people to serve others in Jesus' Name, and

    Delight in Jesus and each other!

    Come and join us to live our lives for Jesus!

  • Our Beliefs

    WE BELIEVE in one eternal, holy, and loving God who calls us to respond in faith. We, therefore,

    give the following testimony of our faith, realizing that for testimonies of faith to be Christian

    they must conform to God’s revelation in the Holy Scriptures. Although we can never put into a

    short document all that we are taught in the Bible, we do affirm the following.


    REVELATION

    God is revealed generally in the created order and in the human conscience. This Living God,

    however, has spoken especially to us in the covenantal story of the whole of Scripture and

    definitively in Jesus Christ.


    We believe in, treasure, and cherish the Bible as the written Word of God, and hold that the

    sixty-six books of the Protestant biblical canon constitute the Holy Scriptures. We believe that

    both the Old and New Testaments are necessary for understanding God’s revelation in

    Scripture, both of which are to be interpreted in light of the revelation given to us in Jesus

    Christ. The Bible is inspired by God, and is fully authoritative and sufficient for Christian life and

    practice. We further believe that the Bible is historically reliable, and that its message is

    faithfully preserved in the textual tradition.


    GOD

    We believe in one God in three persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — who created all things

    visible and invisible, and out of chaos created order. Our hearts are made glad that God is fully

    revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, who was born to the Virgin Mary

    through the agency of the Holy Spirit, and lived on earth as both fully human and fully divine.

    We are grateful that the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, convicts us of sin, leads us to and

    incorporates us into Christ, and empowers us for Christian witness.


    SIN AND SALVATION

    We acknowledge that all have sinned, thus breaking our relationships with God, self, others and

    the whole created order, but give thanks for God’s salvation from sin.


    We believe that, through his exemplary life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection, Jesus

    Christ is the only sufficient atonement for our sins. In keeping with the messianic prophecies of

    the Old Testament, Jesus died on the cross and was raised for our salvation. He returned to the

    Father and there inter- cedes for us. God’s work of salvation is all by grace, not by our merits.

    We receive this great salvation when, by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, we repent of

    our sin and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We hold that we are secure in our

    salvation so long as we remain faithful to Christ. We are grateful that the same power that

    raised Christ from the dead raises us from spiritual death, saving us from sin to follow Christ in

    this life and to live with him eternally.


    We believe that it is God’s will for us to live in holiness. Indeed, it is God who makes us holy.

    We, however, are called to present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and accept- able to God

    for the sake of God’s mission in the world. We understand the life of holiness to be

    wholehearted love for God and neigh- bor. Although we are never to seek suffering for the sake

    of suffering, we are convinced that holiness often is deepened through life’s inevitable

    sufferings. Furthermore, Christ invites us to participate in his sufferings in this fallen world.


    We recognize with Scripture that Satan and demons exist as spiritual realities in opposition to

    God. But we are grateful that God has conquered all sin and evil, thereby giving us victory both

    now and forever.


    THE KINGDOM OF GOD

    With gratitude we believe that we experience the Reign of God as the presence, love, and

    power of God in our lives, in the church, in history, and in the whole created order, now and in

    the future consummation.


    We believe that Jesus lived and pro- claimed the Reign of God, a life of reconciliation and

    peacemaking in fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. Under the Reign of God, we are required

    to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.


    We believe that God comes alongside the vulnerable and oppressed, and stands against every

    form of evil, even when found in the institutional church. As the people of God, we too are

    called to make justice and to intervene when injustice occurs.


    We anticipate the future consummation of the Reign of God, at the time of the one and only

    return of our Lord, who will carry out final judgment separating the righteous and the

    unrighteous.


    THE CHURCH

    We believe the church is the fellowship of the redeemed, the body of Christ, the people of God,

    chosen by God for mission in the world.


    At the beginning of time God created humankind to be partners in mission. However,

    humankind failed in this partnership. In the course of time, though, God chose Israel to bless all

    peoples. But in the fullness of time it was in Jesus Christ that God brought salvation for all

    people. And until the end of time God has chosen the church to be the body of Christ with the

    mission of making disciples. It is for this purpose that God continually reforms the church so

    that it will be conformed to the image of Christ.


    We are grateful that in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, God poured out the Holy Spirit on the day

    of Pentecost. We believe that the evidence of this outpouring is the personal holiness of God’s

    people and their empowerment for divine mission in the world. The Holy Spirit distributes a

    variety of spiritual gifts among all members of the church for accomplishing this mission.


    We believe God calls all people to respond in faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ, whereby they

    become members of the universal church of God. With Christ as the head, this community is

    the body of Christ on earth. We understand each local congregation to be an expression of this

    universal church, and that it is God’s will for each believer to be a committed member of a local

    congregation.


    In obedience to our Lord, we baptize believers by immersion as a sign of death to sin,

    resurrection to new life in Christ, and incorporation into the mission of the people of God. We

    celebrate the Lord’s Supper as participation in and proclamation of the death and resurrection

    of our Lord until he comes. We wash each other’s feet, following Jesus who assumed the role of

    servant by washing the feet of his disciples. We anoint with oil in the name of the Lord and pray

    that people may be healed.


    We believe that all who repent and confess Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord are

    part of the church of God. We seek mutually enriching fellowship with all who share this

    personal faith. Aware of racial, cultural, and other diversity around the globe, we are

    committed to working for the visible unity of the one church that is rooted in biblical faith.


    Our Lord empowers believers to do the work of ministry. Jesus instructed us to model our

    ministries and manner of leadership after his example of being a servant rather than seeking

    positions of power. We understand that it is the church’s responsibility, in response to God’s

    call, to appoint and equip gifted women and men to a variety of leader- ship responsibilities for

    building up the body of Christ.


    CONCLUDING AFFIRMATION

    In devotion to Christ as the head of the church, we desire to be a biblical people, a people who

    worship the triune God, a people transformed by the grace of God, a people of the Kingdom of

    God, a people committed to building up the one, universal church of God, and a people who in

    God’s love care for the whole world.


    (Taken from the pamphlet, “We Believe”, 2003, Anderson University School of Theology)

Core Values

  • Intergenerational Ministry:I We unite different generations through experiences, fellowship, and mentoring. We value all generations by providing an environment of spiritual growth and discipleship for all stages of life. (Psalm 145:4, Deuteronomy 4:9)
  • Next Generation: We treasure our youth and children by providing resources, mentorship, service, and encouragement for leadership to use their spiritual gifts. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 3 John 4)
  • Biblical Foundation: All worship, sermons, teaching, events and fellowship are founded in Scripture, encouraging members to increase their Biblical literacy and spiritual growth. (2 Timothy 2:15, Psalm 86:11)
  • Mission/Service: We serve Northeast Ohio and the world as God calls. (Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 4:5).
  • Welcoming and Faithful: We show hospitality by welcoming and including all of God’s image bearers without compromising Biblical truth. (Romans 12:13)
  • Communication: We value communication by listening and understanding before responding. Communication is two-way; messages are timely and clear, and actively received. (Matthew 22:37-40, James 1:19, Proverbs 18:13)
  • Living out our Faith: We live out our faith, seeking to serve in Jesus’ Name to grow in our faith, demonstrating the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces through us. Each of us have a ministry within the mission of the church to live out as a part of the Body of Christ. (Galatians 5:22-23, 1John 4:19, 1Corinthians 12:12-31)
  • Prayer: We are a praying church. (1 Chronicles 16:11, Romans 12:12, Colossians 4:2, Ephesians 6:18)