On a September Sunday in 1997, a small group of believers gathered at Williams on the Lake Banquet Center in Medina, Ohio, with a vision that was humble yet audacious: to build a church for people who had given up on church — but not on God.
That first gathering, planted by Parma Heights Baptist Church under the leadership of Terry and Janie Holley, was the beginning of what is now Heartland Community Church. Nearly three decades later, Heartland draws roughly 1,500 people through its doors every Sunday morning across two worship services.
An example of the vision becoming a reality can be seen in a story that unfolded not long ago. A young woman grew up in a home where one parent was an atheist, and for most of her life, God felt irrelevant. But an emptiness she couldn’t name kept growing. After her sister found Heartland through a Google search for “churches in Medina,” she decided to check it out. Within a few months she committed her life to following Jesus — one of 102 people baptized at Heartland in 2025 alone.
Heartland’s original vision — reaching the unchurched, the skeptical, the spiritually restless — has never left. And now, they are becoming what Pastor Dave Ambrose describes as a truly multigenerational congregation: “We love learning from each other,” he says, “and challenging one another to become more like Jesus.”
Becoming a multigenerational church is part of the drive behind the church’s current construction project, and why CIF’s partnership has meant so much to Heartland’s leadership. “When no local banks or organizations would help fund our dreams for a building,” Pastor Ambrose reflects, “CIF stepped in to make it possible.” The project now underway is designed around the next generation: a dedicated student ministry wing with a youth center, breakout rooms, basketball and pickleball courts, sand volleyball, and a disc golf course — spaces built to welcome students from the broader community who don’t yet have a church home. At the same time, the church’s children’s building is being fully renovated to include new classrooms, a nursery, and even a sensory room for neurodivergent children and their families.
What fills those spaces mid-week is just as telling as what happens on Sunday mornings. Each Wednesday, 70 to 100 mothers bring their young children to Heartland’s Mommy and Me program. Many of the moms and their families who start attending Mommy and Me eventually begin worshiping with the church, accepting Jesus as their Savior, and getting baptized! The new facility will also house Heartland Commons, a leadership and event center open to the broader business community for co-working, events, and receptions, serving as an intentional on-ramp to introduce people to the campus before they encounter Sunday worship.
God has shown his faithfulness in all seasons of Heartland’s story. The COVID pandemic cut attendance nearly in half. But the church held on, and what followed was a season of growth and spiritual renewal — particularly among students and children. “We are so grateful that God knows exactly what we need and when we need it,” Ambrose says simply.
Heartland also participates in building the kingdom elsewhere in their city. In 2019, Heartland sent Pastor Drew Steinhart and Phil LaHue out with a few hundred people from their congregation to start Disciples Church on the other side of Medina. Despite COVID creating difficulties only 6 months into the plant, with the Lord’s help, they overcame and today are reaching people on the other side of Medina in ways that Heartland would never be able to. And Heartland’s impact goes beyond the church walls as they partner with several local ministries, providing financial and volunteer support for Habitat for Humanity, Hope Recovery Community, Cups Collective, Next Step-Up Homeless Shelter, and Friends for Foster Families.
CIF has been blessed to be able to partner with Heartland Community Church as they continue to do the good work that the Lord has entrusted them with. We look forward to seeing the completed project when we visit for the next NAB Triennial!
