Story of OFC

Our History  80 Years of serving

Our church has a long and wonderful history. Beginning in the summer of 1921, Rev. Reuben C. Morsch held a series of tent meetings in Allen Park. These tent meetings were the beginning of the vision for a church that would minister to the hearts and lives of the people of this community.

On January 29, 1923, the church was first organized as The Independent Holiness Church under the direction of Rev. Morsch. We first worshiped in the Swedish Methodist Church on Prairie Street until our first church building was completed in the summer of 1925. Soon after, the members voted to affiliate with the Church of the Nazarene. On September 13, 1925, the new building located at 215 W. Washington Street was dedicated as the First Church of the Nazarene.

During the pastorate of Rev. C.E. Pendry the church building was nearly destroyed by fire. On January 19, 1939, after a church cleanup day, some oily polishing cloths caught fire. This event was a near disaster but the church people turned it into victory and kept the vision alive. In rebuilding the church, it was expanded to nearly double its original size.

Through God’s faithfulness the church once again continued its growth and the vision passed to a new generation.

A Church with a Vision

Five acres of land were purchased at the corner of Route 23 and Dayton Road in the early sixties. In 1969, construction began on the new parsonage and church building. The new church was dedicated on November 8, 1970.

Through God’s continuing faithfulness, a mortgage burning ceremony was held on August 22, 1982, and in 1985, the courtyard was enclosed to provide additional Sunday School classrooms.

Our church has come to may crossroads in the past eight decades. Each time, the people of the church have demonstrated their faith for the future. In return, God has shown that he is faithful. In 1995, the Williams Family Life Center was built and dedicated. God has blessed our ministries, but to minister even more effectively to our church family and reach out to others in the community, we needed to expand our facility again.

Our church family and our community have many needs. Everyday we are bombarded by negative influences. God is using our church to make a positive impact on our community, families, and friends. Our vision, now nearly eighty years old, is one that ministers to spiritual, physical and emotional needs.

Our newest expansion was finalized in June 2004. God opened the door to 10 acres of land adjacent to our current 5 acres.

It is an exciting time! Christ is alive in our church and the church is growing. We have been enjoying God’s blessings and the work of the many faithful people who have gone before us. Now it is time for a new generation to share the vision. Future generations will be able to look back and say that we were faithful to God’s will and they too will have…
“Faith for the Future."