Akron Springfield Assembly of God

Our History

Many newly established churches in the 20's and 30's were started as house churches. Such was the case with "The Elim Pentecostal Church," which many years later became Akron Springfield Assembly of God. House churches were held in several homes, including the homes of Amos and Viola Orndorff, Robert and Mabel Durst, and George and Rea Hohlbaugh. Members of the Elim Pentecostal Church met for the first time on January 19, 1936 as the Krumroy Pentecostal Church located on the corner of Arlington and Krumroy Road in Springfield Township. This was the former home of the Star Dance Hall and Park Furniture. The first pastor was the Rev. David Karlsson. This was the church location for three years.

In 1939, the old public school building on the corner of Krumroy and Massillon Road was purchased for $4000. This was the home of Krumroy Pentecostal Church for the next 20 years. The adjacent land was also purchased in order to build a new church at some future date. The pastors who served during this time were the Rev. David Karlsson, Rev. Ernest Berquist, Rev. Eugene Benjamine, Rev. Frank Blessing Sr., Rev. Robert Roop, and Rev. Leroy Hay. This church was later sold to a Baptist congregation and that same building still serves that congregation today.

Construction was started for the new church on Massillon Road in 1960. The first service was held in January, 1961. There were several phases to the construction of this church that was now under the leadership of a young pastor, the Rev. Joseph B. Serbin. The name was changed in 1969 to Springfield Assembly of God.

The church was growing rapidly which created the problem of overcrowding. A temporary solution was reached in 1980--two Sunday morning worship services. This relieved the problem temporarily but created other problems. A Sunday evening dinner in the early spring of 1983 launched a new building program  and relocation of the church with faith promise gifts of nearly $400,000 from the members of the congregation.

Land was purchased on Canton Road, across the street from Lakemore Plaza and a new church building was constructed at a cost of $1,500,000 with over 4,000 hours of volunteer labor. The dedication service was held in the summer of 1985 and the first service was conducted on Mother's Day, May 11, 1986. Pastor and Bernice Serbin dedicated their lives to the people of this congregation and community. One goal of Pastor Serbin's was to see that the mortgage was burned before he retired and the goal was achieved in May of 2001. Pastor Serbin announced his retirement and his last Sunday as Senior Pastor was October 28, 2001.

The Official Board announced the appointment of our new pastor, the Rev. Mark Hadinger. Pastor Hadinger served as our youth pastor for 10 years and preached his first sermon as Senior Pastor of Akron Springfield Assembly of God on Nov. 4, 2001.

The future is bright for our congregation. God's hand has been blessing us since those home meetings in the 30's and He has not removed His blessing. As Pastor Hadinger continues to move in the Spirit, God will continue to bless our congregation and we, in turn, will go out to show God's love to our community, our country, and the world to future generations, and to as many as the Lord our God shall call...