Living God, Loving People, Changing Lives
Northwest Avenue Church of Christ sits at 737 Northwest Avenue, on the corner of Northwest Avenue and Thomas Road in Tallmadge, Ohio, just north of the Akron line. The congregation has grown up around four commitments: discipleship, being Spirit-led by the Bible and prayer, serving, and relationships, that frame everything from Sunday morning worship to small groups meeting in members' homes during the week.
The motto painted across the church's welcome page, "Living God. Loving People. Changing Lives," is not decoration. Lead Minister Scott Baker unpacks each phrase from the pulpit as a working vision. Living God means pursuing holiness as Scripture commands. Loving People means treating love as an action rather than a feeling. Changing Lives means being a catalyst for connecting people to God so He can move them from darkness to light. The aim is disciple-making, the same calling Baker says defined Jesus' own ministry.
From a Mission School on the Gorge to a Building on Thomas Road
The congregation's roots reach back to the winter of 1926 to 1927, when a handful of Christians began meeting as a Sunday School in the Thurber Home at 605 E. Cuyahoga Falls Avenue in Akron. They called themselves the Gorge Mission School, a mission work of the High Street Christian Church.
By January 1928, the High Street trustees had purchased two lots on Riverside Drive to house the Mission School and lay groundwork for an established congregation. A third lot was added, and in September 1928 the trustees authorized construction of a building at a cost of $2,700. The new chapel was dedicated on December 3, 1929, with High Street minister George Knepper preaching the dedicatory sermon. On January 1, 1930, the Riverside Church of Christ was officially organized with thirty-six charter members, nineteen of whom transferred from other congregations.
Henry Shaw became the first minister in June 1929. The next several decades brought a steady procession of preachers, including Everett Scott, C. H. Pickering, W. H. Baker, C. A. Freer, and then C. Waller Jordan, whose nine-year ministry from 1939 to 1948 saw the church separate from the United Christian Missionary Society and become independent of the High Street Church. A baptistry was installed, an east-side addition added classrooms, and on November 25, 1956, a ceremony burned the mortgage on the church and parsonage.
By the mid-1960s, the Riverside building had outgrown the congregation. After a search that began in 1966, members settled on 2.6 acres at Northwest Avenue and Thomas Road in Tallmadge. The Riverside building sold for exactly what the new land cost, $30,000. The congregation also decided on a new name: Northwest Avenue Church of Christ.
Construction on the new building began almost immediately after a March 3, 1968, groundbreaking. For nearly two years, the church had met in the Akron Bible Institute building downtown, with teachers hauling supplies each week and communion juice stored in the Coke machine. Wednesday evening prayer services were held under open sky on the construction site, with fifty-eight worshipers sitting on planks among the huge beams. The first service in the new building came on November 9, 1968, followed by a week of revival in which thirty-one people accepted the invitation. Dedication followed on September 7, 1969.
A 1978 groundbreaking launched a second story over the educational wing, dedicated in September 1979. A L.O.V.E. (Let Our Vision Emerge) capital campaign paid off the mortgage, bought neighboring properties on Thomas Road, and funded the next wave of improvements. By the early 1990s, the church had run out of worship space and parking, leading to the B.T.B. (Beyond The Building) renewal campaign.
Kenneth Baldwin retired as Senior Minister in 2001, and Scott Baker, then in his thirties, was called to succeed him. Baker has now served the church for over two decades. Carl Goodlet, who had served as part-time associate lay minister to seniors since 1993, died in October 2004. Keith Doyle, who grew up attending Northwest as a youth in Cuyahoga Falls, joined the staff as Family Minister in January 2017.
Sunday Mornings at 737 Northwest Avenue
The Sunday schedule is built around three back-to-back hours. Adult Bible Fellowship runs from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. (no childcare during this hour), followed by the main worship service from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. A second hour called Huddles runs from 11:15 a.m. to noon.
Worship is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel every Sunday at 10:00 a.m., and recordings remain available afterward. The service blends congregational singing with preaching. During the hour, children in kindergarten through fifth grade are dismissed to their own Kid's Worship. Preschool, toddler, and nursery classes also meet during the worship hour, and junior high students are dismissed after the music for their own class. Children's ministry continues through the Huddles hour as well, with Kid's Huddles, preschool, toddler, and nursery classes all meeting alongside the adult small groups.
Huddles: Small Groups for the Hour After Service
Huddles are the church's signature small-group format. They meet on Sunday mornings at 11:15 a.m. and are built around two questions: What is God saying to you? And what are you going to do about it? The expectation is mutual accountability. Members share what they sense God prompting them to do and then support each other in following through. The church describes the culture as "high challenge and high support." Childcare is provided during the Sunday Huddles at the church. There are no Huddles when the calendar has a fifth Sunday.
Six Huddles meet. The Dream Team, led by Justin Harris, meets in room 109. Messengers of Hope, led by Don Gergely, meets in room 106 and is a group for those who are grieving. Home Not Alone, led by Ryan Dove and Russ Gergely, meets in the Family Life Center. Sister Act is a women's Huddle meeting in room 307. The Seekers, led by Dave Sobey, meets in the conference room, and The Searchers, led by Jim Brooks, meets in the Family Life Center. Visitors are encouraged to try a few before settling in.
Children from Birth Through Fifth Grade
Children's ministry begins at birth. On a typical Sunday, parents check children in at a children's check-in station that prints a name tag and a matching parent stub. The stub's code is required for pickup, so only the parent can collect the child. From there, parents walk children to their classrooms.
Classes are organized by age. Nursery covers birth through thirty months. Toddler serves children from two-and-a-half to four. Pre-K and Kindergarten covers ages four through six, and Elementary covers first through fifth grade. Children's ministry also continues during the Huddles hour, when Kid's Huddles, preschool, toddler, and nursery classes meet alongside the adult small groups. Keith Doyle oversees the program as Family Minister.
IMPACT: Student Ministry for Grades 6 Through 12
The student ministry, called IMPACT, gathers every Sunday evening during the school year from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. The name is a one-word statement of purpose: the eternal impact of God's love is the most powerful and necessary part of life. IMPACT is led by Keith Doyle.
During the summer, the Sunday evening schedule gives way to a different rhythm. On Wednesday nights, students gather at the Smith home for swimming, which takes the place of the regular Sunday evening meeting.
Adult Bible Fellowship and Life Groups
Adult Bible Fellowship is the more traditional Sunday school hour from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Visitors can pick up a booklet at the Welcome Center with details on each class and teacher.
Mid-week connection happens through Life Groups, smaller gatherings that meet on different nights during the week, generally in a family home. Life Groups combine fellowship, teaching, and mutual challenge as members work at becoming more like Christ.
The Team Behind the Church
Scott Baker serves as Lead Minister and has been at Northwest for twenty-two of his more than thirty years in Northern Ohio. Originally from Virginia, he and his wife Rhonda have been married for thirty-three years and have three grown sons, two of whom are now married. A turkey hunter and fisherman, Baker often hunts and fishes with his sons in Ohio, West Virginia, and Florida. His own story threads through the church's vision. He believes the church's main job is disciple-making, and he treats the spiritual conversations he has with people searching for deeper faith as good for him as well.
Keith Doyle, the Family Minister, grew up in Cuyahoga Falls and attended Northwest as a youth. He and his wife Jacqueline have three children: Mitchell, Emmalynn, and Addison, and the family lives in the Falls. Doyle oversees children's ministry, Huddles logistics, and the IMPACT student ministry.
Janelle Harris has served as the church's Administrative Assistant for seventeen years. She and her husband Justin have two sons, Jacob and James, and they live in the Ellet community, where they hike, bike, and follow the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Guardians, and Cleveland Cavaliers. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and during the Sunday morning service from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Visiting and Staying Connected
The church building stands at 737 Northwest Avenue in Tallmadge, Ohio, with the office reachable by phone at 330-929-5776 or by email. Online giving is set up through a Realm giving form. Sermon replays and the Sunday morning livestream are both available on the church's YouTube channel at youtube.com/@NorthwestAvenue, with live broadcasts at 10:00 a.m. each Sunday. Visitors are welcome to come as they are. The church's teaching emphasizes that grace and truth work hand in hand, that no one is too far from God's grace, and that the way of Jesus is the work of making disciples one conversation at a time.