OUR STORY
The Beginning…
The church begins with a group of saints gathering in homes for prayer meetings. After some time they contract the Christian Apostolic Church in Newark, Ohio for assistance. Pastor James Frush takes the request to his ministers, J.C. Cole and youth minister, Guy Smith. Rev. Guy Smith agrees to come to Zansville and holds a two-week revival. At the end of the meetings, the group asks him to become their pastor.
1942-1951
Pastor Guy Smith and his family become Pastor. The church is named “The Jesus Only Church” and they purchase and move into their first church building. This building is an empty fire station located at 747 Monroe Street.
1951-1987
Soon, the congregation outgrows the Monroe Street building and purchases the site of the old Steeler School and 1018 Marietta Street. The school building is demolished, and the people have to carry out the rubble by hand before they can build. In 1952, the completion of the basement is final and the congregation officially moves to having services on Marietta Street. In 1953, the group changes the name of the church to “The Apostolic Gospel Church”. In 1955, the upstairs Sanctuary is completed and dedication services are held to mark the occasion. Over the next few decades the confirmation continues to hold many revivals, participates in community events and sees steady growth.
1987-2006
In 1987, Larry and Sharon Farris become the new pastor of The Apostolic Gospel Church. Under this new leadership, improvements and renovations on the building continue for the growing congregation. In 1999, the Marietta Street location is at capacity and the congregation purchase a warehouse on Chamberlin Street. This will soon become the new home of The Apostolic Gospel Church as they hold their first service at the new location in December.
2007-Present
In 2007, our current pastor, Pastor Aaron and Cynthia Bounds became Pastor. In 2009, the name of the church was changed to “The Anchor Church.” In this same year, we planted our first daughter-work in Crooksville and our first full time Missionary to Peten, Guatemala. More than 500 people in the Zanesville area receive the Holy Ghost. In 2017, renovations on our current building were completed, this includes the addition of a steeple and a portico. In 2020 Anchor Christian Academy is launched. By 2022, seven regional daughter-work locations had been added as well as seventeen international locations in Guatemala and Vietnam. In 2024, Little Arrows Learning Center was launched. In January of 2025, our vision campaign, “Destined” launched with a goal to build a new building on 2 Beaumont Street began.
