About us
A Loving, Inspiring & Hospitable Church in Akron
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Loving, Inspiring and Hospitable
The House of the Lord is a Jesus-centered church family in Akron, Ohio. Our heart is to glorify God through the Holy Spirit by winning the lost, welcoming people into our church family, making disciples of Jesus, and equipping believers to serve in Akron, Northeast Ohio, and around the world.
Our Purpose
THOTL, where: “We love you where you are and walk with you as you become who God wants you be”
- “We” – a collective body of believers who are all called to work publicly and /or privately to achieve the intentions that God has for this local community
- “We love” – because God is love and as His church, we must love to be an accurate reflection of Him and His love for the entire world (1 John 4:7-11, John 13:35, Matt 22:37-40, John 3:16).
- "We love people where they are” – Location: We go out into the world to find people to love just as Jesus did when He came out into this world and found us (Luke 14:23, John 6:44, John 12:32). Condition: We love people just as they are without judgment and full of grace in recognition that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23, Matt 25:35-40)
- “and walk with you” – by entering and remaining in relationships with them even when we’re hurt and disappointed because 1) we believe each person is worth it and 2) because God didn’t walk away from us, despite the mistakes we’ve made, so we’re committed to not walk away from others (Gen 2:18, 1 John 4:7-11, John 13:35).
- “as you become who God wants them to be” – we believe that we can only reach our full potential by being in Christ and becoming more like Him. Therefore, we commit to preaching the gospel to see souls saved and commit to providing discipleship mechanisms to allow each person to grow into the person God wants them to be. (Luke 4:18-19, Matt 28:18-20, 2 Tim 3:16,)
Our Motto
Loving, Inspiring & Hospitable
What do we mean when we say Loving, Inspiring and Hospitable? This is how we are called to live out the reality that relationships are everything. Relationships are everything is the foundation we are building upon by being a church that is loving, inspiring and hospitable.
- Loving: Love is the quality and main characteristic that defines our relationships with each other. Love also motivates us to minister to the needs of each other.
- Inspiring: This defines our relationship with God, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We want our relationship with God to be so genuine and authentic that it inspires us to serve and walk with people who desire the same relationship with God, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Hospitable: This is about making room for strangers. There is a place at The House of the Lord for you because we will make room for you.
OUR VISION
The vision of The House of the Lord is to glorify God by providing saving and restorative healing and support for those in Northeastern Ohio who are consciously hurting, through the Good News of Jesus Christ, offered in a relational environment, so that these people may develop significant relationships with God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and other believers.
We strive to do this primarily through services that are celebrations of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which are built around the Spirit-filled preaching of the Word of God and a sense of the presence of God.
This is experienced in two predominant impressions:
God’s transcendent greatness
Experienced as a sense of awe or excitement when we sense He is present.
God’s immanent closeness
experienced as a sense of God’s love often manifests itself in a corporate worship experience with sensations of community and love from other people in the community.
This sense of the presence of God would be accompanied by a freedom to express mature emotions, which would result in the conviction of sinners who are present and Christians who are built up, committed to Christ and His church, challenged to grow towards His vision for them, and demonstrating all of this in evangelism.
We also strive to realize our vision through Christian Education and discipleship. This entails maturing people in the image of Christ through Sunday School, educational events, and one another’s ministry of believers.
These believers exercise their spiritual gifts, through the power of the Holy Spirit, one-on-one and in small groups. Through these acts, the local body of Christ may build itself up in love.
We continue to pray that God would open doors for our continued expansion as we seek to minister to the Akron Community, Northeast Ohio, and the world.
Meet Our Pastors
Bishop F. Josephus “Joey” Johnson II
Founder & Preaching Pastor
Bishop Joey Johnson has pastored The House of the Lord from its establishment over 50 years ago. He has had several seasons of leadership, but in this current season, he has moved from being a hero of organizations to a host of conversations.
This has led Bishop Joey to a growing list of community conversations, initiatives, and endeavors for the purpose of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves and facilitating justice for those who are being crushed.
Pastor Daren Brake
Lead Pastor
Daren Brake is the Lead Pastor at The House of the Lord in Akron, Ohio, under the leadership of Founder and Preaching Pastor Bishop Joey Johnson. He is the pastor of Local Missions, Christian Education, Comfort Care, Prison/Reentry, and the Minister and Deacons ministries. As Lead Pastor, Daren is also responsible for preaching and teaching God’s word when needed. He also serves on the board of various local organizations, is Vice President of the Beth-El Fellowship of Visionary Churches, is a board member for CORE, and is a board member for Love Akron.
Daren graduated from Malone University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Management. He is an avid reader, consuming around 20 books annually on Biblical Theology, Biblical Studies, and related topics. Daren loves God’s people and God’s word, and loves to preach that word. Daren’s wife of 13 years, Alaina, is also actively involved at The House of the Lord, and he has three sons, Donovan, Brayden, and Brandon.
A Team Serving the People of God
Pastors, deacons, staff, and volunteers work together to serve our church family and city. From worship and teaching to administration, care, and creative arts, every role matters.
Bishop Joey Johnson
Founder and Preaching Pastor
Pastor Cathy Johnson
WWTIC Director
Pastor Herman Matherson Jr., M.A.
Chief Operating Officer
Pastor Pat Butler
Executive Assistant to Bishop Johnson
Pastor Linda Isaiah
Funeral Ministry
Pastor Daren Brake
Lead Pastor
Mindy Brown
Graphic Design & Website
Minister Pat Reese
Secretary/Receptionist
Brother Alan Pickett
Maintenance & Audio/Video
Deacon Lynda Parker
Finance Administrator and Administrative Manager
Dara Winchell, CPA, MBA
Controller
Pastor Angela Gibbons
Pastor of Worship, Celebration Arts & Audio Visual
Our Distinctives
There are many churches in any town, city, county, state, or region of the United States of America.
Although the diversity of churches can be confusing, especially when they fight against one another, we believe that God has allowed such diversity in churches⎯because there is such a diversity of people.
Since churches are made up of people, they are − in a sense – like people, i.e. each church has its own personality and identity. To get along with people, you have to learn their idiosyncrasies, personality quirks, and distinctions.
The same is true of churches. Particular distinctions make each church different from every other church.
In order to minister and serve the Lord effectively, you must be united with a local church. That is the New Testament pattern.
To work effectively in a local church, i.e. a local manifestation of the body of Jesus Christ, it is important that you understand the distinctions of the local church where God has placed you.
It is with this understanding and motive that we set forth the distinction of The House of the Lord.
The House of the Lord is a church working to be a:
Evangelistic Church
We are intentionally committed to preaching, teaching, and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ inside and outside of the walls of the church so that souls can be saved. (Luke 4:22, Matt 28:18-20).
Bible-Believing Church
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. Because God loves us He has communicated to us in human words that are adequate for salvation, to reveal to us who God is, and to allow us to have an intimate relationship with Him (2 Timothy 3:16).
Bible-Teaching Church
We don’t just believe in the Bible, but we are committed to teaching the principles found in the Bible and not being driven to teach a watered-down version of the Gospel to simply teach what the culture wants to hear.
We teach the entire counsel of the life-changing Word of God and encourage each member to practice these principles for transformation to occur in their lives (2 Timothy 3:16, Matt 28:18-20, Gal 2:20).
Relationship-Centered Church
God is a relationship unto Himself (i.e. The Triunity of God). Therefore, we believe that relationships are central to God’s church.
We intentionally strive to foster a sense of fellowship, communion, and intimacy within our church where each person feels welcomed, connected and cared for regardless of issues from their past or present struggles they may be dealing with.
(Gen 1:26, John 1:1, Gen 2:18, Gal 2:20, 1 John 4:16, Matt 22:37-40, 2 Cor 1:1, Mark 10:41-45).
Loving Church
We believe that God is love. And since God is love, we believe that we should be a loving church that appropriately images the love of Christ to a dying world, and within our local assembly.
We strive to Love Out Loud! (John 3:16, John 13:35, 1 John 4:7-8, Matt 22:37-40, Matt 6:21).
Generous Church
Generosity is one of the most supreme external characteristics of God. Therefore, we seek to be a generous church. Among many things, we should be generous with love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. We also believe we should be generous with our giving.
Generous giving is a principle found throughout the New Testament which is consistent and flows out of the Old Testament.
The New Testament church is instructed to give proportionately to how we have been prospered by God (1 Cor 16:1-2); with a cheerful attitude and not under compulsion based on what each person purposes in his heart (2 Cor 9:7-8, 2 Cor 8:3-4); and in a faithful and systematic manner (1 Cor 16:1-2).
Faith-Operated Church
We have faith, not in the world or ourselves, but we have faith in God. This is not an American faith that is simply a blind belief in something that cannot be proven. We have biblical faith. We operate by faith, which requires knowledge, belief, and action.
So we don’t just believe and teach the Word of God – we commit to fully rely upon and have trust in God for the realization of what God intends to do at and through The House of the Lord.
Spirit-Empowered Church
Just as Israel, the First Testament covenant people of God, could never reach its divine destiny and calling through human might and intuition, we believe that The House of the Lord can never reach our divine destiny, live out these Distinctives, or attain our mission and vision as a church on our own.
We believe that this can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit who gives us future power for present use (i.e. the power of the kingdom of God in operation on earth right now) in order to advance the reign of God.
Therefore, we believe that “we need a good dose of the Holy Ghost.”
Because it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we will be an evangelistic, bible-believing, bible-teaching, relationship-centered, loving, generous, and faith-operated church powerful enough to transform our local community and the world (Zech 4:26, Acts 1:8, Acts 3:12).
The By-Laws at the House of the Lord is a summary for the membership providing information and guidance in doctrine and principles as together we serve the congregation of the House of the Lord.