Hope Church 1855 - Present



150 Years of Service to God and Community

Our Past / Present / Future
Hope Church’s mission is to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ, found in Matthew 28: 19-20.

“Go and Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We take our Lord’s command seriously, and have done so ever since our humble beginning in 1855. Though this task will not be finished until our Lord returns for His church at “the very end of the age”. We take joy in celebrating what Hope Church has been privileged to do for our members, for our community, for the world, and for God’s kingdom during the past 150 years.




Akron had a population of less than 3,500 when Samuel and Suzanne Gaugler drew together a little band of eight families to found Hope Church in 1855. The first meeting was held on Feb. 24, 1855 at their home, which is a quarter of a mile down the road from the existing church. Bishop John Seybert, a pioneer preacher of the Evangelical Association and its first bishop, with John Woolpert came to the Gaugler house in “New Portage,” which is now part of the city of Akron, Ohio. A Sunday school class was soon begun called the Gaugler Class. John Woolpert was assigned as the first pastor of this young church.

A movement was soon under way to build a meeting place. George Weyrick, who was one of the original converts of the church and a charter member, deeded the land for a church and cemetery, which was on the corner of Waterloo Rd. and Cory Ave. A subscription list dated December 1855 and a building contract of February 1856 indicates that the first building fund pledge drive of Hope Church was an overwhelming success. Bishop Seybert preached the dedicatory message for this first building, which was erected at the cost of nine hundred dollars. In 1874 the church was remodeled.

Under the ministry of E.A. Weatherwax in 1902, it was decided a new church needed to be built on the same site. In 1916 Hope Church was assigned her first resident pastor, J. Paul Jones Sr., who returned to Hope Church in 1965 for the 110th Anniversary Celebration. All prior ministers had served circuits of churches and did not reside in the community. If records are correct then from 1855 to 1916, forty-five different men served the church as pastor.

Ernest E. Koepp Served Hope Church from 1917-1922. Under his pastorate the church was enlarged to twice its size. In 1922 the parsonage on Cory Ave. was erected. Rev. Koepp help to organize the Women’s Missionary Society of Hope Church in 1918.

Rev. Harry Deeds, 1946-1951, saw the name of Hope Church change to Hope Evangelical United Brethren, which was the only church in Kenmore for 50 years. In 1949, a land parcel was purchased for three thousand dollars, which would serve as the spot of our new Hope Evangelical United Brethren Church.

In January 1952, the Council of Administration voted to establish a “New Church Fund" with a starting balance of one thousand dollars. Two years later in June, our members began giving steadily through the “Centennial New Church Drive” in keeping with the celebration of the church’s first 100 years of ministry.

March 13-20 1955, Hope Church celebrated the Centennial Anniversary. Rev. Dumm, who was chairman of the building committee, oversaw the building of the new church. D’Alesico Construction company won the bid to build our new church for $198,500. The contract was signed the day before Christmas 1957.

The ground breaking service was held on Sunday December 29, 1957 at the site of the main entrance to the new church at 2650 Cory Ave. on the lots already purchased in 1949. By January 1, 1958, the funds for the new building were $88,919.55 and finally construction could begin. The year of 1958 was one of great anticipation as the building progressed. Each phase of construction brought Hope Church nearer to the realization of its dreams and plans of a new house of worship.

The first service was held on Christmas Sunday, Dec. 21, 1958. The dedication services were held on Sunday March 1, 1959. Dr. Merle Hayes, District Superintendent, gave the dedicatory prayer, and Bishop Paul Herrick brought the Dedicatory message.

The new contemporary church, which was constructed on two levels, made use of the contour of the land. On the main floor of this L-shaped building is a sanctuary, which seats 350 with an overflow area.

In October 1983, the Administrative Board voted to begin a preschool at our church. The personnel for the preschool will be from the church membership. In January 1984, Hope Preschool was started. The first day there were ten children present. The preschool is still going strong today.

So what was going on in the church’s backyard in December 1984? We were building a softball field, filling in the low-lying ground and building a sports complex. This field was a place to practice and play softball games. It would also be used for youth meetings, Sunday school picnics and other church functions. In 1994 on a beautiful July day the field was dedicated to Bob Reeves. It is known as the ‘Reeve’s Sports Field.

In December 1989, Hope UMC received a gift of money from First Christian Church in Alliance so that a hand bell choir could be started.

Family Night (formerly the Logos Program) resumed in September of 1997. In 2004, Wednesday nights received another change. The people attending begin with a meal. Then if you are an adult, you can go to a class or bible study, the youth go to their meeting, and the boys go to stockade and the girls go to pioneers girls.

A praise and worship team was formed in 2003.

The old parsonage went through another renovation. This time in preparation for something, but no one really knew what. After the remodeling, a rental tenant came and went, and the Trustees sought God's leading through prayer.

The Lord answered our prayers through an individual by the name of Tom Walkley, Cafe 41:11's founder, who proposed a joint venture that is slowly becoming the Hope House ministry. Both the Cafe and Hope Church are finding the creation of this ministry slow going, but in the meantime we are mentoring the person who currently lives there. All involved are learning and benefiting from the experience. A joint Committee of Hope Church and Cafe people meets from time to time to work on the ministry-to-be. The house is ready to be occupied by God’s next gift to the community and Hope Church – the Masters Hope House. Our Purpose is to provide a safe place for young adult men, the “chosen homeless,” to live while they begin to learn and grow spiritually, emotionally, socially and relationally, and as they begin to develop the skills necessary for success in life. Café 41:11 is developing a Christ-centered program to mentor young men in skills leading to productive employment. Hope Church will provide spiritual development, life-skills training and housing for those who need a place to live while participating in the job-mentoring program. Our Mission is to provide for these very practical needs even as we further our Church’s mission of making disciples. The residents of the Hope House will be individuals attempting to lead productive lives, having or learning to have a job, attending church regularly and practicing moral living.



This history has brought us up-to-date with what has happened at Hope Church from the beginning to present day. There are still Great things to come!

We hope you have enjoyed reading the history of our church.

We look forward to the next 150 years of offering H.O.P.E. to the community and to the world.