The Congregation of Hudson Community Chapel
A HISTORY

Beginnings
Back in 1980 eight Hudson families who had been meeting together for some time for Bible study had a vision to start a church here in Hudson. They approached Jim Colledge, who was then an assistant pastor at The Chapel in Akron, and asked him if he would serve as pastor for the tiny congregation. He agreed to do so. A charter was drawn up, the church was incorporated, and the Hudson Community Chapel began meeting in June of 1981 with thirty-two people. The primary mission of the church, since its inception, is to bring men, women, and children to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and to grow in an intimate relationship with Him. 

The Early Days
During those first several years, the congregation rented space at the Barlow Community Center for its Sunday services, weekly Bible studies, and choir practices. Weekly setup for Sunday required volunteers to move furniture and equipment from the garage of one member to the community center and then move it all back after the last service. The church leaders determined from the very beginning that we would have a global impact for God's kingdom by supporting missionaries around the world. That emphasis has grown over the years in our effort to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ internationally as well as locally. The church grew steadily, but eventually felt stifled by the limitations of the community center. We began seriously thinking about the need to have our own building and the clear identity that would accompany having a home of our own. As a congregation of a little over a hundred adult members, we knew our financial resources would be stretched hard if we were to purchase land in Hudson and then finance a building project. To our amazement, a 9-acre parcel of land on Stow Road was offered to us for $50,000. We purchased it and broke ground for a building in the fall of 1986.

The First Building
The building project was financed by sacrificial giving by Hudson Community Chapel members. No outside funds were received. To keep costs at a minimum, we agreed to do as much of the work ourselves as we could. For example, the men of church raised the walls Amish barn-raising style. One of the members who is an electrician donated his services and with his son did the electrical wiring for the entire building. Another member coordinated dozens of volunteers—men, women, and teenagers—in the painting of the interior. The decorative moldings were cut and installed by the church member who also made the baptistry curtain and built bookshelves in the pastor's study. Others donated their services in such things as making cabinets and landscaping. It was truly a group effort to complete the building. We held our first service in July of 1987; our dedication service was in September, with Dr. David Burnham, former pastor of The Chapel (Akron), giving the dedication sermon. For the first year, our members continued to care for the building sacrificially. For example, a team of volunteers did the weekly cleaning—vacuuming, polishing, taking out the trash, even cleaning restrooms. Two of those volunteers, truly men of humility, eventually became chairmen of the Board of Elders. 

Rapid Growth Leads to Expansion
The congregation grew far more rapidly than we anticipated, and by the end of our first year in the building we realized that we had underestimated our space needs. It became apparent that we had to put on a classroom addition and expand the sanctuary to accommodate the many new families that had come into the church. In 1990 the sanctuary was expanded and a two-story wing was added that housed 16 classrooms and a gymnasium-sized multipurpose room. An influx of new families and a baby boom soon swelled the nursery and Sunday school classes to their maximum capacity. Going to two worship services provided some relief but not for long. We expanded the available parking by adding a gravel lot, but by the end of 1995 we were facing a serious space shortage both in classrooms and in parking. It was during this time of growth that Joe Coffey, Mark Lile, and Ted Kruse joined the staff. 

A Decision to Relocate
Our leaders began praying specifically for God's direction for the future of the church and how best to accommodate the growth we were experiencing. In the spring of 1996 we enlisted the services of a company specializing in church facilities and growth management. They did a feasibility study based on our records of attendance, rate of growth, present facilities, and projected that even if we built the maximum that zoning would allow on the property, we would outgrow it in a few years. Selling the property, although finding a buyer would be a long shot, and rebuilding was deemed to be the best way to go. At about the same time we were studying our situation and looking for a solution to our space problems, a group that was in the process of trying to start a Catholic school expressed interest in leasing our facilities. Believing it not to be in the best interest of the church, we declined the offer of a lease. The Catholic school group, which formally organized as Seton Catholic School, continued to look at our facilities and began to indicate a possibility of purchase if they raised the financial support. Negotiations went on for about six months until an offer was presented that our Board of Elders felt was favorable to both the church and the school. The church membership voted overwhelmingly on March 9 to accept the offer.

A New Building Means New Opportunities
In the fall of 1997 we purchased 26 acres of land at the intersection of Route 303 (Streetsboro St.) and Terex Road on which to build a building that would meet our present and future needs. Construction began in 1998 on the 78,000 sq. ft. facility; the building was completed in June 2000. During the three years that the building was under construction, our services were held at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, with whom we have had a long-standing partnership. We leased office space at the Evaporator Works complex in Hudson. The congregation grew steadily, even while we were meeting at CVCA. Since we moved into our present location, the congregation has grown tremendously. We have close to one-thousand families that worship at four service times, three on Sunday and one on Saturday evening. Various ministry areas have been developed and expanded to meet physical and spiritual needs both in the church and in the community. The impact of the Hudson Community Chapel continues to be felt locally and internationally as we pursue our goal of bringing the love of Christ to a lost world.

Revised 6/03