Beyond Our Walls

Outreach Programs

A church is not meant to keep the good news to itself. Since our first Sunday in 1981 we have gone out to meet our neighbors where they are: at the county fair, in a backyard, downtown at the rescue mission, in a classroom. Here are some of the ways our church family carries the gospel

The fair booth at night under the lights of the rides, a conversation going on beside the sign
Fair week
Memory-verse cards laid out on the turf
Club day
The church family seated on the grassy shore of Lake Anna for a baptism
Lake Anna

When you will find us out there

Summer

Our busiest season

School Year

September through May

All Year Long

Any week of the year

Where We Go

Four Places You Will Find Us

A backyard, a fairground, a rescue mission, a classroom. Each of these is a door the Lord opened, and each one is open to you too.

Children sitting on a blanket on the lawn under a tree on a summer afternoon, freeze pops in hand
A girl lying on the turf beside a row of memory-verse cards

Summer · Ages 5 to 12

5-Day Clubs

A 5-Day Club is a Bible club that goes to the children instead of waiting for them to come to us. For five days in a row, about an hour and a half each day, kids gather in a backyard, a park, or on the church lawn for songs, a Bible story, a memory verse, a missionary story, games, and a snack.

The clubs are a ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship, whose materials we also use in our Sunday school, and they cost nothing to attend. Every child is welcome, whatever their background. For many of them a 5-Day Club is the first time they hear the gospel plainly, and many trust Christ there.

How to take part

Hosting a club takes a yard, a few lawn chairs, and a willingness to invite the neighbors. If you would like to host one this summer, or help teach, let us know.

Host or Help With a ClubAbout 5-Day Clubs (opens in a new tab)

The church’s booth on the fair midway: a tall sign on a stand beside a green tent, with fairgoers gathered around it
A fairgoer reading the booth’s sign, which asks “What does your future hold?”

Every Summer · The County Fair

Fair Ministry

Every summer, when the county fair opens, our church sets up a booth on the midway. There is a sign with a question on it, a table of free gospel literature, and a few of our people ready to talk with whoever stops.

It is one of the simplest things we do and one of the most fruitful. Thousands of people walk past a fair booth in a week, and a surprising number stop, ask questions, and listen. For years, an average of forty-five people a summer trusted Christ at the fair.

How to take part

There is no special training required, only a willingness to be there and to talk. If you would like to take a shift at the booth during fair week, tell us.

Take a Shift at the FairThe Tracts We Hand Out

Boxes of donated snacks and food stacked on a folding table, ready for the mission

Akron · Ministry to the Homeless

Haven of Rest

Haven of Rest Ministries has served Akron’s homeless from East Market Street since 1943, offering hot meals, a bed, clothing, and the gospel to men, women, and children in need. It is one of the ministries our church supports, and one we take part in ourselves.

Our people go down to the mission to preach and to help: bringing a chapel message to the men and women who come in, and lending a hand wherever the mission needs one. It is a plain, practical way of doing what Jesus said.

How to take part

If you would like to come along the next time we go, or to give toward the mission’s work, speak with one of our elders or send us a note.

Come Along Next TimeHaven of Rest Ministries (opens in a new tab)

Four students with a basketball on the outdoor court on a sunny day, the school building behind them
Children on the swing set at recess

Since 1984 · A Ministry of Our Church

Hametown Christian Academy

In 1984, three years after the church was founded, we opened a Christian school with eighteen students in a rented elementary building. More than forty years on, Hametown Christian Academy shares our building on South Hametown Road and teaches its students through the individualized Accelerated Christian Education curriculum, one child at a time.

The academy was founded to disciple young people and prepare them for Christian leadership. It was never meant chiefly as an evangelistic ministry, yet over the years many students have trusted Christ through its influence, which is why it belongs on this page. In 2025 the school received its State of Ohio charter and joined the EdChoice scholarship program, putting a Christian education within reach of more families than ever.

How to take part

To enroll a student, schedule a visit, or ask about tuition and EdChoice, contact the academy directly through its website.

Visit the Academy’s Website (opens in a new tab)The School in Our Story

And More

Through the Year

Some of our outreach has a week on the calendar; some of it is simply how we live. Here is more of what we do, and where to find out about each one.

Children and leaders on the field with their arms in the air during a game

Every summer

Neighborhood Bible Time (VBS)

Our Vacation Bible School: a week of Bible lessons, songs, games, and a great deal of running around, for children from the church and the neighborhood alike. It has touched countless children and families over the years.

Dates on the Calendar
A teacher leading a lesson with children gathered on chairs around her

Through the school year

Good News Clubs

Weekly Bible clubs for elementary-age children during the school year, using Child Evangelism Fellowship materials: a Bible lesson, a memory verse, songs, and games, taught by our own people.

Ask About a Club
Campers seated in a circle around a campfire in the woods while a leader plays guitar

Summer

Summer Camp

A week of camp for our kids each summer: cabins, campfires, and the gospel preached plainly. God has used camp to bring many children to Christ (and one year, to flood every tent on the first night).

Dates on the Calendar
A pastor wading into the lake hand in hand with two young people

Every year

Baptisms at Lake Anna

We baptize new believers outdoors in Lake Anna in downtown Barberton. Baptism is a public testimony, and the onlookers a lakeside service draws often lead to gospel conversations on the shore.

What We Believe About Baptism
The cover of the gospel tract “The Romans’ Road to Heaven”

All year

Gospel Tracts & Visitation

Since the church began, our members have gone door to door through Norton and Barberton with a gospel tract and an invitation, and have visited the widows and the afflicted. The tracts we hand out come from the Fellowship Tract League.

Browse the Tracts
A frame from an episode of Ask the Pastor on TCT

Most Tuesdays, on TCT

Ask the Pastor

Pastor Tim is a regular guest on TCT’s live call-in program Ask the Pastor, answering Bible questions from viewers across the country, most Tuesdays through the school year.

Watch the Episodes

Take Part

Come Along

None of this needs a specialist. It needs people who will show up: to take a shift at the fair, host a backyard club, ride down to the mission, or go door to door with a handful of tracts. If the Lord has given you willing hands and feet, there is a place for you out there with us.

Tell Us Where You’d Like to HelpCall (330) 825-7891