Advent Lutheran Church sits on Edison Street NW in Uniontown, a community in Stark County's Lake Township, and lives by a simple motto: "Bringing Christ to Others Through Love and Service." A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America within the Northeastern Ohio Synod, Advent was born from the merger of two older Lutheran parishes, runs its own preschool outreach called Adventure Place, and stays active in Lake Township through Sunday worship, formation programs for every age, and steady community service.
From Two Churches, One Congregation
Advent was formed in 1984, when Grace Lutheran Church of Hartville and St John Lutheran Church of Uniontown voted to merge into a single new congregation. Both predecessor churches had long histories of ministry in their communities, with roots stretching back to the early 1800s, but members felt the Holy Spirit was leading them toward something new. Several names were considered; "Advent" was chosen because it captured the spirit of expectation in the new family of believers, who pledged to witness for Christ in the expanded community.
In 2015, Advent launched a "Growing our Faith" building expansion that added restrooms, more Sunday school classrooms, and dedicated infant and toddler rooms connected to Adventure Place Preschool, reflecting the same openness that had guided the original merger.
Sunday Worship
Two in-person services are held each Sunday. At 8:45 am the congregation gathers for a traditional liturgy, and at 10:15 am a contemporary service follows. A virtual service is livestreamed at 10:00 am on the church's YouTube channel. Sunday School meets alongside worship: high school students gather at 9:30 am, and preschoolers through 6th grade meet at 10:15 am for Bible stories, games, and crafts tied to the lesson. After both in-person services, a fellowship hour offers coffee and snacks in the gathering space, and anyone interested in helping can contact Becky Popio or Kay Albright about providing a dish.
Children, Confirmation, and High School Youth
Becky Popio coordinates children's ministry, leading the preschool through 6th grade Sunday school at 10:15 am. Seventh and eighth graders attend Confirmation classes on Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 10:15, working through the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion, with planned service and fellowship opportunities woven into the year.
Advent's high school youth ministry is led by Director Brooke Santabene, who has served since March 2024. Teen Connect meets every other Sunday at 9:30 am in the high school room, with grades 9 through 12 discussing topics that range from the Bible to the creation of time, evolution versus creationism, and world religions. Service is woven into the program: in their first year, the teens volunteered twice at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank and helped sort more than 50,000 pounds of food. Monthly events have included back-to-school bonfires, mini golf, and a private movie screening.
Adventure Place Preschool
Adventure Place is an outreach ministry of Advent that has served Uniontown families since 1987. Originally called "Latch Key," it began with before- and after-school care for twelve children, supported by a paid staff of two and two volunteers. The program has since been recognized across the community and now cares for an average of 75 children year-round, Monday through Friday from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. Director Sara Kantorik and Assistant Director Jess May lead the staff, and the 2015 building expansion added the infant and toddler classrooms that anchor the program today.
Adult Learning and Fellowship
On Sunday mornings at 10:00 am, adults gather in the church library for a lectionary study that runs from September through May. A women's Bible study meets Monday mornings at 10:30 am in the same room. Beyond the classroom, several small groups and fellowship circles meet on a regular rhythm. The Martha Circle gathers on the first Monday of each month at 1:00 pm for devotions, fellowship, and a guest speaker. Quilters meet weekly on Thursdays to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief. The Drama Team prepares skits for use during worship, and the Card Ministry meets on the second Wednesday of each month for food, fun, fellowship, and greeting card making. A men's breakfast meets monthly at Hartville Kitchen around a buffet and conversation.
Serving Lake Township and Beyond
Service is central to life at Advent. The congregation partners with the Lake Township FISH food pantry and supports a Book Bag Program with Lake Local Schools, in which backpacks filled with food are sent home with students identified by school counselors as needing meals over weekends and long holiday breaks. An ongoing list of needed items - macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, granola bars, juice boxes, peanut butter crackers, microwave popcorn, oatmeal, and individual servings of fruit and applesauce, among others - is collected in the coatroom year-round.
Members also serve through a dedicated Habitat for Humanity team, support Lutheran World Relief by assembling Personal Care Kits and quilts, and join the regional In-Gathering each year to ship quilts and kits to those in need overseas.
What Advent Believes
Advent confesses faith in the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and names Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Word of God incarnate. The congregation receives the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God, the authoritative source and norm of faith and life, and affirms the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of that faith.
In line with the Lutheran tradition, Advent teaches that people are justified by grace through faith for Christ's sake and not by their own merit, and that God instituted the ministry of Word and Sacrament to deliver this grace. The church is understood as the assembly of believers among whom the Gospel is purely preached and the sacraments rightly administered. Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are celebrated as means of grace through which Christ comes to us and claims us as his own. The congregation accepts the whole Book of Concord as a faithful witness to the Gospel, and commits itself to welcoming all people as beloved children of God and to working for dignity, justice, and equity.
Pastors and Staff
Advent is served by Pastor Robert Cheyney Jr. and Pastor Mark Molter. Becky Popio is the Children's Ministry Coordinator, and Audrey Helper serves as administrative assistant. Adventure Place is led by Director Sara Kantorik and Assistant Director Jess May, with Brooke Santabene as Youth Ministry Director.