Vision

Building into the Next Generation is about relationships: being in a growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ; being built up in Christ, through relationships with other believers; being active in promoting the gospel with unbelievers through relationships.

 

Laying the Foundation for the Future

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. – Acts 6:7

Our vision includes:

• Equipping ourselves to share the Gospel in the everyday events of life. Speaking the truth in love: growing up into Christ and being edified, and in turn, multiplied.
   
• The rediscovery of our commitment to the two-fold necessity of the large gathering for prayer and proclamation and the smaller gatherings for fellowship and outreach. We also desire that our midweek life groups would continue to expand throughout our region.
   
• Planting additional regional churches around Northeast Ohio and beyond. We continue to develop younger men for pastoral ministry, in part, to provide the personnel needed for new congregations.
   
• An expectation to see our global ministries and partners double within the next decade as God continues to provide the necessary resources and personnel.

God's Faithfulness in the Past

In 1968, a small group of businessmen who were committed to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, met weekly for prayer and Bible study on Cleveland’s East Side. This devoted group of men and women grew, faithfully serving Christ, and setting in place the convictions upon which our church is built.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Acts 9:31

How we came to be:

1968 - A small group of businessmen began meeting.

1970 - The group met for Sunday evening services at Grace Episcopal Church in Willoughby and established a formal Bible study at The Church of the Western Reserve in Pepper Pike. As attendance grew, so did the conviction to form a local church.

1972 - After extensive prayer and study of the Scriptures, a new congregation was formed called The Chapel. The Lord supplied the first full-time pastor, Walt Hansen, and Sunday service attendance grew to more than 200 people.

1974 - The Chapel congregation outgrew the space in Pepper Pike and moved to the B’rith Emeth Temple in Beachwood.

1975 - Attendance grew and exceeded the temple’s 350-seat capacity requiring another move, this time to Orange High School. The fellowship of believers at The Chapel began praying about having their own facility.

1976 - Property in Beachwood was purchased for the first church facility.

1978 - The Chapel held its first service at the Beachwood facility on New Year’s Day.

1980 - Walt Hansen was called to the mission field. Over the next three years, the elders provided leadership and strong pulpit teaching.

1983 - Prayers were answered when Alistair Begg accepted the position of Senior Pastor. Leaving his native Scotland, Pastor Begg arrived on September 3, 1983. Attendance continued to grow and the strain on the Beachwood facility could not be ignored.

1987 - The Lord provided a 26-acre building site in Solon and a buyer for the Beachwood facility. The congregation relocated services to Solon High School during the preparation for the new building program. Due to zoning complications, the Solon property was sold and 40 acres in Bainbridge were purchased.

1992 - The Chapel changed its name to Parkside Church in anticipation of the move to the new home in Bainbridge.

1993 - On January 7 the cornerstone was set in place with the reminder from Psalm 138:2, “For you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

2000 - The grand opening of “The Commons” marked the addition of two levels of classrooms, a bookstore and café, and a large gathering area for fellowship and special events.

2009 - In January 2009, Parkside Church adopted Harvest Bible Church in Green, Ohio, to open a second location with the goal of becoming its own independent elder-led church.

2012 - In September 2012, Parkside Church planted its first church in Lake County, Ohio under the leadership of Scott Kennedy. Since then, they have become Shoreline Church, and have purchased a building, and anticipate worshipping in the remodeled building in the summer of 2019. 

2014 - The 45,000 square foot Children's Wing opened, allowing us to double the number of children we serve on a weekly basis.

2015 - In the fall of 2015, Parkside planted a second church in Lakewood, Ohio, under the pastoral leadership of Matt McAlvey. This latest church plant is another step for us in seeing local churches established in the greater Cleveland area.

2016 - The Auditorium was remodeled in order to increase opportunities for weekly, global, and regional outreach. These improvements provided updated technology and increased seating capacity.  

2018 - Parkside began live-streaming their 9:45am morning service, allowing us to broadcast and distribute our locally-based Bible teaching to those who are unable to attend, as well as reach missions partners and people around the world.

The commitment to teaching God’s Word is a hallmark of Parkside Church today and serves as our guidepost that helps us to continue running the race which God has marked out.

God's Faithfulness in the Present

As we ask for God’s wisdom in determining the best path for our church’s future, we would like to share several observations of God’s faithfulness in the season in which we now find ourselves.

But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. Acts 12:24

Gospel Impact in Our Community

God has blessed our congregation in numerous ways, most notably through the expansion of ministries at Parkside over the last 10 years. The ability to provide more than 40 ministry groups to our 4,000-5,000 attendees has been an answer to our collective prayer to see unbelieving people become committed followers of Jesus Christ. A number of factors have combined to give us a sense of confidence moving forward. 

A Story of Gospel Impact in our Community: Fermin & Donna Gomez

Donna grew up on the east side of Cleveland; Fermin, the west. They met in the middle in downtown Cleveland when
they started high school at the Cleveland School of Science. Donna remembers getting to know Fermin when they started sharing their math book, but Fermin confesses that he left his book at home on purpose. “I just kept forgetting it and forgetting it, and then the next thing you know, here we are,” smiles Fermin. True high school sweethearts, Donna and Fermin (pronounced fehr’ Meen) Gomez were married in the same year that they graduated from high school. This past December marked their 24th wedding anniversary.

Read more>

Gospel Impact in Our Region

God has guided our regional presence in Northeast Ohio with the addition of Parkside’s Green Campus. Formerly known as Harvest Bible Church, the Green Campus is located some 40 miles south of Bainbridge near Canton. In the past, the leadership team had discussed the desire to plant additional campuses that would eventually become independent Bible-teaching churches that share our same conviction and confidence in the authority and sufficiency of God’s Word in all levels of ministry. We believe that the addition of the Green Campus is a first step in making that vision a reality.

A Story of Gospel Impact in Our Region: Parkside Church, Green

On a Sunday evening during the first heavy snowfall of winter, a core group of committed congregants gather for their evening service at Parkside Church - Green. Approximately 50 folks braved the slippery roads on this cold and blustery night, not quite the 200 to 350 people that typically attend the Sunday morning service. The numbers are notable because the church in Green has survived several ups and downs over the last 25 years.

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Gospel Impact in Our World

God has amazed us over the last decade in how He has used our missionary pastors who have been dispatched across the globe. In Bolivia and Mexico, we have 15 indigenous pastors along with 500 people who are being trained to study, live, preach, and teach God’s Word. In Peru, our missionaries are translating the Scriptures into the country’s native languages and teaching the local pastors how to preserve the nuances of those languages and dialects to best present the Gospel. In South Africa, we have established and fully funded a South African national pastor. Throughout Europe, we are nurturing and strengthening our relationships with our missionaries in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Scotland. In India, we continue to expand our partnership with the Delhi Bible Institute through sponsorship and participation in their pastors’ conference and preaching courses. We are fully supporting 20 full-time local missionaries through the Institute.

A Story of Gospel Impact in our World: Faithful Preaching of God's Word Worldwide

“What new thing are you doing here? I don’t like it,” said the main pastor of a church in Bolivia.

“I am teaching the Bible,” replied Hugo, a local pastor who enrolled in the Equipping Servants Internship (ESI) program at the Iglesia La Comunidad (ILC Church) in La Paz, Bolivia. Hugo explained that from his study of Romans in ESI, “I have become convinced through my study of God’s Word that God wants me to teach the full counsel of God. I have to teach the Bible.”

Read more>

God's Guidance for the Future

As we look to the future we believe that the best is yet to be for us as a church in our community, across Northeast Ohio and in our world.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Acts 16:5

Gospel Growth in our Community

As we envision Building Into the Next Generation, we believe that the improvements to our Bainbridge facility are just part of the investment into our most valuable resource: the people of Parkside. We want to send out our people every week as missionaries and ambassadors for the Gospel in all the places where God has placed them. Dual goals of discipleship and evangelism are central to this mission.

Gospel Growth in our Region

Building Into the Next Generation also includes taking additional steps along the journey of reaching out to Northeast Ohio with the development of additional regional church plants. Our first steps in exploring this aspect of our vision was realized with the addition of Parkside Green, Shoreline Church (formerly Lake County), and Parkside Westside. We believe this is just the beginning of planting churches throughout Northeast Ohio.

Gospel Growth in our World

Our global emphasis for Building Into the Next Generation will build upon what we’ve learned over the past 40 years as we’ve pursued our worldwide mission to see unbelieving people become committed followers of Jesus Christ. It has been our experience that the greatest opportunities for spreading the Gospel abroad involves the identification and training of indigenous believers. In all of our mission fields, we have seen dramatic Gospel growth by equipping local pastors who have been trained by our missionary team members.