Who are we
The Sugarcreek Church of the Brethren is a church built on traditional Brethren Values: Peace, Simple Living, and Community!
We are a body of believers in Jesus Christ! First and Foremost, Our church is the hands and feet of Jesus reflecting His love to a hurting world!! My hope is that what you experience at our church is people who are making disciples as the great commission commands us. Our desire is to Love the community into a relationship with Jesus Christ and turn people into deep followers of Jesus Christ and Our Mission is this: Sugar Creek Church of the Brethren is here to serve God through the teaching and preaching of the gospel, witnessing for Christ, extending Love and Forgiveness, and meeting the spiritual needs of others.
Our promise is that when you come to our church, you will experience messages from the Word of God that are relevant, music that is uplifting, real relationships, a safe place for your children in our children’s church, and I hope you will come to our Sunday morning worship celebration!
We are a Church family who celebrates Jesus together. The Bible is our guide for faith and practice.
What we Believe
About the Bible: It is God’s divinely inspired word. God inspired the writers to put it down on paper and it is without error. Brethren do their best to follow what the Bible says. It is our guide for faith and practice!
About God: God is the divine Creator. God also exists in three diving persons: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Second Person of God is Jesus. As devout Christians, we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Way to the Father. The Third Person: The Holy Spirit is what God sent to be His presence today and forever!
About Human Beings: God created us in His divine image and wanted fellowship with us. In Genesis, we have an account of the Fall or the disobedience of human beings in the Garden. This brought pain at child birth for Women and Death for us. The Fall resulted in the fact that we need God. We cannot achieve salvation and forgiveness on our own.
About Salvation: We believe that what Jesus did on the cross shedding his blood for our sins brings us Salvation. Jesus dies for us and our sin to bring us salvation.
About the Christian Life: If we are truly followers of Jesus, we must life a life that shows this commitment. It means taking of your cross daily and following Jesus. It means going the extra mile. It means reading and learning about what is in the bible. It means daily worship. It means making disciple.It involves a strong commitment to following Jesus!
About the Church: We believe the church is the Body of Christ, in which Jesus is the Head. The Brethren say: We Continue the Work of bringing people to Jesus as his disciples. We do this Peacefully, Simply, and Together! The Purpose of the Church is to Love, Learn, Live, and point people to Jesus in this Corrupt lost World!
Worship
Our worship is a mostly traditional experience, however, we are trying to be guided by the Holy Spirit as well.
Nevertheless, Jesus remains central to our beliefs. As the Old Brethren used to say, “No Creed but the New Testament.”
As a church body, we gather around the Word of God every Sunday in worship at 10:30 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.
To learn more about our denomination, visit www.brethren.org.
Our History
Sugar Creek Church of the Brethren was first founded in 1833 by Abraham Miller (1796 – 1862). He was a pioneer and settler originally from Rockingham County Virginia who settled along the Sugar Creek near Lima, Ohio with his wife, Salome (Sally) Frantz, and family, as well as his second wife Catherine Leedy (1802 – 1877).
The city of Lima was established in 1831. Sugar Creek church originally began meeting in homes in 1833 as a fellowship. The church building was erected in 1853.
Sugar Creek has been remodeled and updated and now includes an elevator, making us handicap assessable. Sugar Creek membership became so large, that our building could not accommodate our numbers. The two churches that grew out of Sugar Creek, include Pleasant View Church of the Brethren (currently on Thayer Road) and Elm Street Church of the Brethren (in Lima).