A Brief History of
Easton Worship Center
Easton Worship Center (EWC) began with a small group of believers who met for the first time in the North Linden School on Cooke Road on Sunday, February 7, 1965. We adopted the name Northland Assembly of God, with the Reverend James Millsaps serving as pastor. Pastor Millsaps had communicated to the Ohio District Superintendent, "God laid a burden on my heart for Columbus."
As Pastor Millsaps trusted God completely, his vision began to grow. He signed the application for affiliation with the General Council of the Assemblies of God on January 28, 1971 with 44 charter members. Of that original group, six remain active members of EWC today. During the years, Northland Assembly of God met at various locations in northeast Columbus: North Linden School, Medina Junior High School, a house on East Cooke Road, a church on Aberdeen Ave, and then at Como Elementary School until 1972.
Following the resignation of Pastor Millsaps in early 1972, we organized under the Board of Trustees of the Ohio District Council. A grant from the Ohio Missions Program helped purchase a parsonage/chapel at 4161 Maize Rd.
Reverend Ronald Meade was selected to lead our church in September 1972. Regular attendance grew to 60 when ground breaking took place in April 1974 for a permanent sanctuary at our Maize Rd. location. We moved into our new worship facilities in September of that year under the name Maize Rd Assembly of God. By June 1975, attendance had doubled to 120. As the church continued to experience growth, our membership voted to sell the existing facility and relocate to a larger property.
In November 1978, we moved into the Woodward Park Junior High School. During this transition period, we located a new site and began construction. In 1980 we moved to our present location. At that time, we changed our name to Forest Edge Assembly of God.
In 1982, Reverend David Yannatone, then the Ohio District Youth Director, assumed the pastorate of Forest Edge Assembly. In 1984, we incorporated as an autonomous assembly with our own Board of Directors, in affiliation with the Ohio District Council and General Council of the Assemblies of God. Under Pastor Yannatone's leadership we established a thriving Daycare, Preschool and Kindergarten program that served over 70 families in the Westerville/Strawberry Farms areas. Our congregation grew from an average attendance of 125 to over 203 in the first quarter of 1986. Our median age was approximately 39, and we had approximately 80 members. Over 100 families claimed Forest Edge Assembly as their home church.
In 1985, we purchased over 4 acres to be used in a master plan to include additional educational space, a small gym, and a sanctuary to seat 1200 people. Studies were made to discover the feasibility of providing care for senior citizens through a life-care center.
In 1986, we planned to launch an outreach to mothers of preschoolers who have opted to not work but to stay home with their children. Since divorce has such a profound effect on children and adults, we planned to begin Divorce Recovery Workshops.
In June 1988, Reverend Harry Campbell was selected as our pastor and continued to oversee the spiritual growth of the church. Many people opened their homes to Small Group Bible Studies as the church grew in numbers.
In August 1992, Reverend Edward Wright was selected as our pastor and continued to shepherd us on our path to our future.
In 1999, Reverend Randy Feldschau was selected as our pastor. In spring of 2001, we voted to change our name to Easton Worship Center. This change better reflects our geographic location, allows the community to more easily identify with us, and emphasizes our focus as a place of worship.
Our present Senior Pastor, Ed Deming, was selected to lead Easton Worship Center in October 2003.
