Faith Evangelical Free Church Garrettsville, OH Church History

A Brief History of our Church
by Rodger Pettit, Church Historian

The history of our church began in the year 1920 as Silica United Brethren Church. In 1946 after a merger, the name was changed to Evangelical United Brethren Church. The church was then located in Windham Township on Silica Sand Road. In 1968, the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to become the United Methodist Church. Soon it was learned that under Ohio State law, churches that are governed by a higher body do not own their property. This includes the building, any fixtures, and treasurers. Also, pastors are assigned by this higher authority. After 48 years of what we thought was our own congregation and building, and after much discussion and prayer, our congregation withdrew from the newly-merged denomination. We made a decision to form our own church. On the last Sunday, we asked Reverend Glover to join us to be our pastor. Our offering that afternoon was $200.00.

A very short time later, we contacted the Nelson Township Trustees to use their Community House at the Nelson Circle to hold Sunday School and church services. We used this building for the next 2 years. We elected trustees, a Board of Stewards and other officers. In the meantime, we pursued the purchase of property for the purposes of a future building site.

In July of 1969, we purchased five acres of property owned by Edward and Maxine Mullet. The original price of the land was $10,000, but Mr. & Mrs. Mullet donated $5,000 toward the purchase, so our cost was only $5,000. This property is where our church building is located today. In October of 1968, we affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America. Each church is independent and governs itself with its own constitution and by-laws. After much prayer and discussion, we chose the name of Faith Evangelical Free Church.