Grace Polaris Church History
It All Began with Three Families
In the early 1960s, three families came together to answer the call of planting the first Charis Fellowship church in Central Ohio.
In the summer of 1964, thirteen people began gathering in Marion and Dorothy Forrest’s basement for a Bible study led by Nathan Meyer. Within two months, the group tripled in size.
A Growing Congregation
We quickly outgrew the Forrest’s home and began looking for a permanent meeting space. Pastor Dave Hocking followed the Lord’s leading and answered the call to become the first pastor of what was then known as Grace Brethren Church of Columbus.
A Permanent Home
In May 1965 we purchased a plot of land on Worthington Galena Raod and began construction of our new building. In the fall of 1966 the completed chapel was dedicated.
New Leadership & Growth
In the spring of 1968 Jim Custer was called to be our new lead pastor. The next few decades were a time of growth for our church. A new building was constructed with a larger auditorium, classrooms, and a basement in which the newly-founded Grace Brethren Christian School began meeting (now known as Worthington Christian School). As the church expanded to another new building was constructed a few miles down the road at what is our current gathering space, known as the Worship Center.
More Space for Ministry
For several years services were held at both the original chapel building and the new building, and a shuttle service ran between the two. In the mid-2000s the original building transitions to office spaces and ministry meeting space, and all worship services were held at our current building. Over the next few decades, more additions would be built onto the Worship Center, including the R. Fred Hogue Family Center, the DeArmey Discipleship Center, the Custer Family Early Childhood Center, and the Forrest Family Ministry Center.
A Common Mission
In 2007, Dave Plaster was installed as our lead pastor. Pastor Dave was well-known and loved in the Charis Fellowship and he had a profound impact on the lives of many. After a brief and unexpected illness, Pastor Dave passed away in March 2010.
On Sunday, August 29, 2011 Mike Yoder was installed as our new lead pastor. During his 11 years in this role, Pastor Mike rallied the church around a common mission: Honoring God by multiplying devoted followers of Jesus through worship, community, training, and witness.
On Sunday, May 7, 2023, Zac Hess was installed as lead pastor. Prior to this role, Pastor Zac had been on staff at Grace for many years. Pastor Zac began this role with a commitment to the ongoing mission of Grace and with a fresh vision on how to pursue that mission.
Gospel Ambition
In 1991, we planted Grace Brethren Church of Powell, and in 2001 we planted Grace Brethren Church of Upper Arlington. Now known as Grace Powell Church, that first church plant went on to plant churches that have planted churches, and there are now four generations of Charis Fellowship churches that can trace their roots back to Grace Polaris Church!
Grace Polaris Church remains committed to our founding principles of biblical authority and Gospel centrality. For the past sixty years, God has used our church to impact the lives of thousands of people through a variety of ministries, leaders, and faithful servants.
We are grateful that God continues to write His story through us.