History of Akron Church

AMC was founded on October 4, 1959 by 89 adults and their children.  They had been attending the Monterey Mennonite Church some 15 miles away and wanted to have a congregation in the same community where they worked and lived.  For some the work was at the Mennonite Central Committee and for others it was in the businesses that they owned in Akron.

As word of AMC spread through the national church community persons moving to this area were quick to join this new and dynamic congregation.  Some were engaged in various professions and others in trades.  A smaller number of the early joiners were from the Lancaster Mennonite Conferences.  AMC belongs to the Atlantic Coast Mennonite Conference and to Mennonite Church USA.

From the beginning, the defining dynamic of the church was to live simply and to identify with the larger Mennonite denomination theology, especially its’ perspective on peace and justice.  There was, and still is, a broad diversity in the ways Anabaptism is practiced at AMC.  Many of the members have come from other parts of the country and Canada. In recent years persons from other countries have become active members.  Racial diversity, though, is minimal although much attention is given to finding solutions for racism locally and the broader world.  That is important to many members who have lived in other countries and are committed to the personhood of all.  Average attendance on Sunday morning is approximately 200. Just as AMC was once a “daughter church” it has also given birth to 2 congregations, Pilgrims Mennonite nearby and Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster.