- September 22, 2013
Grace Church of Mentor originated as a church plant from Erieside Gospel Church. (Erieside has since been renamed First Baptist Church of Willowick in Willowick, Ohio.) Pastor Paul Cell was the Pastor at Erieside, and it was his desire to reach the growing population in the northern Eastlake, Willoughby, and Mentor area with the Gospel. What started as a bus route grew so large that Erieside knew that they should begin a church. Pastor Cell's evangelistic heart was rewarded with joy when in May of 1948, Grace Baptist Church was incorporated under the laws of the state Ohio.
In the early years, several pastors headed this little ministry. In 1972, Pastor Robert Potter heeded the call of the Lord to come from a small work in Parma, Ohio to Grace. Through his ministry and work, the church was renamed and relocated, even before the times of non-denominational ministries! In 1979, Grace Baptist Church became Grace Church of Mentor to more reflect the New Testament Church model. Our church moved from a little white building on Lakeshore Boulevard to our present location on Reynolds Road. Pastor Potter’s ministry focused on turning people to the Word of God as their source of direction for life. He led the church with the verse, "For the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9). The church continued to grow throughout the years until there was need for a full time youth pastor, hired in the fall of 1991. Two more staff members joined in 1997 – one a future church planter and the other a music and children's director. Those men have been called to other ministries, and others have come in their place.
Today our original 1979 building comprises portions of our present Fellowship Hall and its bathrooms, the Shepherd's Room, and storage rooms! Over the years, God blessed Grace Church by allowing us to add a small addition in 1986, our present auditorium in 1995, and an educational wing in 2004. Nine years later, we purchased a duplex next to the church to house our offices and free up more classrooms in the church building.
Pastor Robert Potter finished his ministry at Grace in 2005 after 32 years at Grace Church of Mentor. We praise the Lord for his faithfulness, his concern about the holy Word of God, and his passion for souls. Pastor Tim Potter became the senior pastor after serving 14 years as youth pastor. Pastor Potter assisted and planted several church ministries here in Northeast Ohio under Grace Church until going home to be with the Lord in 2015.
Under Pastor Tim, Grace Church continued to advance the gospel, disciple new converts, and plant new churches in Northeast Ohio. Over time, we have enjoyed a disciple-making culture built around relationships rooted in God’s Word with the goal of making more disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).
In 2024, Pastor Tim shifted his focus to encouraging and assisting church planting in the United States and abroad through Arch Ministries, and Pastor Steve Sindelar became the senior pastor. Pastor Steve had been mentored by more experienced pastors on staff since 2010 while he served the congregation as pastor of youth and administration (2 Timothy 2:2). By God’s grace, he prays that Grace will continue to grow in “rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) as our elders and their families gently and patiently lead by example, encouraging the church to joyfully persevere with right doctrine and practice.