About First AG

About Jesus

God expressed himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified for the sins of us all, was buried, rose again from the dead, and ascended to heaven.

Colossians 1:13-23 and Colossians 2:8-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Matthew 22:36-40 ; John 14:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3; Acts 10:42-43; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

About the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, sent from God to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ, teaches, comforts, and empowers us, giving each follower diverse gifts, fostering unity, interdependence, productivity, Christ-like character, and love among Christians. The empowering of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, is available for every Christian.

Acts 1:8; 2:4; Romans 5:5 and Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 4:3-4, and Ephesians 5:18; John 14:26 and John 16:7-14

About the Bible

We believe that God speaks to us in the Bible, His inerrant word.  It is our privilege to seek to understand God’s message and apply it responsibly to our lives. The Bible is our standard in all we say and do. We believe that God’s unchangeable Biblical message ought to be presented in a relevant way portraying a real hope, to a real people through a real God.  It’s our desire that this message is free of religious jargon and understandable to the people of our community. 

Matthew 5:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Hebrew 4:12; 2 Peter 1:16-21 and 2 Peter 3:14-18; Psalm 19:7-11 and Psalm 119:9-16; Joshua 1:7-8; Acts 17:11

Service Experience

Our services are informal and have a family atmosphere. Come as you are! No dress clothes needed. Jeans, shorts, t-shirts and sandals are fine with us. We want you to come! The clothes you are wearing don’t bring you closer to Jesus. God invites us all to come and know him. Not a perfect person? Great, we are not either. We are all on our journey towards Jesus, He was the only perfect person so imperfection is where we all are. Come be a part of our family!

Church History

Early History-1969

Many good things have had a small beginning.  The beginning days of this church were no exception.  God raised up the church here in Conneaut.  He raised it in the fires of prayer, fasting and a hunger for God.

• There was a work here (though unorganized at the time) that arose from prayer meetings held in the homes of Christians in Conneaut and surrounding areas.  Some were from the Methodist Church, some were friends and neighbors.  But all had one thing in common . . . that hunger for all that God would do in their lives.
• According to early records this group took on the form of a more organized group, even having pastors coming to lead the fledgling group.  E.S. Williams, who served the Assemblies of God as General Superintendent for twenty years (1929 – 1949) and as President of Central Bible Institute from 1929 to 1948, arrived in Conneaut, Ohio as pastor during the Fall of 1912.  He pastored here for two years before moving on to Bradford, Pennsylvania, and into the history pages of the Assemblies of God.
• In what became known as the Liberty Street Prayer Meetings, a congregation of believers was formed, later meeting in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Tucker.  Pauline (Tucker) Mallory recalls:  “In 1922 there was a sewing bee held at the home of my Mother, Bertha Tucker, on Rockwell Street, making clothes for a missionary to India, Anna Helmbrecht.”  She goes on to tell how she fell down the steps and hit her head, injuring a nerve that controlled motion and power to her left side.  “The doctors said ‘paralysis with no hope.”  Her parents, Howard and Bertha Tucker, believed in healing.  She was prayed for by her parents and their friends at church fervently throughout the year.  “One morning when Father went out to work he found three men sitting in a car in the driveway who had been there through the night praying for my healing.  That morning I move one finger, indicating that God was starting to heal me and giving these people added faith.”  With one year of gradual progressive healing, Pauline regained full use of her left side.  “And they all gave God the praise and glory.”
• Rev. Burton Ellis shares some of his memories of those “Precharter” days.  “During 1917, 1918, 1919 and early twenties, I was there and before.  At that time no one had ever heard of the Assemblies of God, Church of God, Foursquare or Pentecostal denominations.  Someone was able to come into possession of the Bridal Call, a magazine which related the great outpouring and ministry of Aimee Semple McPherson.  They began reading of the various accounts and with a passionate hunger said “Why can’t we have this here also?”  There was quite a large group.  Finally house meetings began.  I recall most of them.  Sister Blakesly, a widow, on Liberty Street; people laid on their faces with heads under their chairs for hours.  Sometimes it was sunrise when they went home.  Maxine Morgan, who also lived on Liberty Street, editor then of the Conneaut newspaper; Charity Smith, lived across from the Dairy Queen, the Tucker family on Depot Street, mighty warriors for God.  George Schray, Harbor Street, a tailor uptown.  Frank Swap family, Father of Alice Hathaway, on Buffalo Street, the Helmbrecht family on the East side of Conneaut, one of them eventually went to India as a missionary.  Ross Jones was a scientist and assistant principal of the junior high school, a prophetic dispensational teacher and youth leader, and Dwight Ellis, Main Street, all of these and many more, prayed and sought God continually.”
• Prayer meetings were common.  They were held in a variety of places such as the homes of Dr. and Mrs. Upson, George and Nettie Hannah, Ross and Ethel Jones, the Gee family, and many others.
• Brother Ellis goes on to say:  “On the Liberty Street old school grounds, now a playground, Nell Mays, a woman, erected a tent.  It was there for weeks.  People could hardly get near it for the crowds.  On Broad Street, a tent was put up and it was the same way.  At one time the group rented a hall in the block just east of St. Mary’s church.  The hall would seat possibly 200.  Ministers came such as Harold Cornish, J. Clark Savels, L.A. Hill, and Ray Shearer.  Such meetings I have not seen until this present time.  Nearly everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In all of these meetings it seemed all of Conneaut came … the Postmaster, Mayor, and business people, and from all walks of life.  I was there and went with my Father and Howard Tucker to Levittsburgh, near Warren, to meet with Gayle Lewis who was associated with the Assemblies of God, concerning leadership for the church’s future which finally evolved.”
• Gayle F. Lewis eventually became a Pastor in Conneaut and went on to become General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God.
• One writer speaks of the early “established” days in the following manner: “At 450 State Street in the small store room at $7.00 per week (with heat and innumerable cockroaches thrown in) was the first established meeting place where many of us were blessed and baptized in the Holy Spirit. This was first under the ministry of Brother Ray Shearer and several evangelists including Daddy and Mother Kerr.”
• The Assembly of God Church at Conneaut, Ohio was set in order as an organized church on February14, 1925 by J. Clark Soules of Byersville, Ohio and we incorporated with the State of Ohio September 24, 1925. Our first place of worship was in a building at Depot and Broad Streets. Later in a store room at 450 State Street. The church building at 299 Broad Street was erected in 1929 and 1930 by Roy Harley, who died from injuries received from a fall during construction. The church building was dedicated November 29, 1931.

Some notable events:

– Mortgages on church building burned June 15, 1941, with Gayle F. Lewis speaker.

– The auditorium, basement and Sunday School rooms were dedicated April 5, 1942, again with Gayle F. Lewis speaker.

– Groundbreaking for Sunday School annex was Sunday, June 3, 1951, with District Superintendent James Van Meter speaker. The Sunday School annex was dedicated October 4, 1953 with T.E. Hartshorn speaker.

– The Sunday School annex mortgage burned October 14, 1962, with District Superintendent C.W. Hahn speaker.

– Baptistry framework built by William Dodge with assistance from church men. Metal baptistery tank installed by Melvin Hart and was dedicated by Pastor Earl E. Hart October 9, 1960, at time of first baptismal service.

– The present building was dedicated October 2, 1969 with the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Rev. Thomas F. Zimmerman as one of the guest speakers, along with a host of former Pastors. The congregation moved to the new building and began having services at its current location at 389 West Main Road.

1970-2020

Under the pastorate of Dr. Damiani, ministries thrived and the numbers climbed. Buses were used to go to surrounding areas and bring families in for services.

The youth and children’s ministries were full and prolific in their competitions and camps around the state. Over the years there was a preschool that ran into the 1990s and many families were affected by that ministry.

Paul Holmquist 1990-1994

Jack Woods       1995-2003

J. Archie Strong 2003-2004

Andrew Warren 2004-2006

George Fink       2009-2018

2020-Present

In 2020 Pastor Chris Steele was brought in as Lead Pastor. He has worked on focusing the church on the initial teachings of the church, Evangelism and Outreach ministries, empowered by the Holy Spirit! With his background outside of ministry being Construction and Drama, He has led the church to continually do small projects to repair and upgrade the 53 year old property. And regularly adds a creative flare to his sermons that enrich the message and convey the word of God through powerful means.