On a stretch of Diley Road in Pickerington, Ohio, Peace United Methodist Church has become a steady presence for families across Fairfield County, known as much for the wheelchairs and walkers leaving its Helping Hands warehouse as for its Sunday morning worship. The congregation's motto - "Connecting people with Jesus and others" - shows up in almost everything it does, from a pair of Sunday services that meet very different tastes in worship to a yearly Trash 2 Treasure sale that fills the entire building and an outdoor tent with furniture, books, and household goods to fund its outreach.
Peace sits at 235 Diley Road and reaches into the surrounding neighborhoods through programs that touch almost every age and stage. A preschool has operated on the campus for more than twenty years. A Parents Day Out program runs on Fridays. Children from birth through fourth grade have their own space during adult worship. Students in fifth through twelfth grade meet on Sunday afternoons at The Vine Studio. Adults gather in Life Groups and Classes. Behind all of it is a staff and a Leadership Board that take the practical work of running a large ministry campus seriously.
Two Services, One Sunday Morning
Peace runs two Sunday services that share the same sermons and curriculum but aim at very different worship tastes. The Traditional Service begins at 9:00 AM and leans on classic hymns accompanied by piano, holding a more traditional order of worship while still offering a practical, Bible-centered message. Holy Communion is served on the first Sunday of each month.
At 10:45 AM, the Modern Service takes over with a full band leading upbeat, contemporary praise music. The energy is louder, the songs newer, but the structure is familiar enough that someone stepping in for the first time can still follow along. Communion is offered on the first Sunday of the month in this service as well. Both services run about sixty minutes, include a few songs together, and feature a message intended to be applicable to everyday life the following week.
Worship is also livestreamed, so anyone unable to attend in person can join through the church's online presence or catch recent sermons on YouTube. Recent teaching series include "Chasing Meaning," "Dangerous Prayers," "Happy at Peace," and seasonal series built around the church calendar.
Helping Hands and Trash 2 Treasure
Two signature efforts have put Peace on the map in the wider Pickerington community. The first is Helping Hands Medical Equipment Ministry, a partnership that provides wheelchairs, walkers, shower chairs, hospital beds, and similar items - free of charge - to individuals who need them. Peace is proud to help support this work, and in 2025 alone Helping Hands provided medical equipment to more than 5,000 people.
The second is the Trash 2 Treasure Sale, an annual tradition that began in 1996. On the first Friday and Saturday of August, the entire church and a large outdoor tent fill up with donated furniture, collectibles, books, crafts, décor, kitchen and household items, toys, tools, children's clothing, and more. Volunteers staff the event and shoppers come from across the region. In 2025 the sale raised over $40,000, supporting not only Peace ministries like Helping Hands but also partners from the Pickerington Food Pantry to Lydia's Mission in Africa. Every donated item, every volunteer hour, and every purchase helps fund outreach near and far.
Local and Global Mission Partnerships
Trash 2 Treasure and Helping Hands are the largest of a much wider network of partnerships Peace maintains. The church organizes its mission work around both local and global efforts.
Locally, Peace collects non-perishable food and hygiene items for a Blessing Box located in the south parking lot of the church - anyone can leave what they can and take what they need. Other local efforts include:
- Bed Brigade - building and delivering beds for those who need them.
- Open Shelter - an advocacy and day services shelter for homeless and marginally-housed people in Central Ohio.
- Youth with a Mission (YWAM) - developing students' relationship with God and helping them find their purpose.
- Christ's Cocoons - providing sleeping bags and personal care items to the homeless.
- Ridgeview Jr. High Care Closet - collecting gently used clothing and personal care items for a local junior high.
- Pickerington Food Pantry - emergency food assistance for income- and residence-eligible clients.
- God's Hygiene Help Centers - providing hygiene products, feminine hygiene products, school supplies, and winter accessories.
Globally, Peace partners with Lifeline Christian Mission, joining meal-packing events, supporting global mission trips, and assembling hygiene and school supply bags for ministries based in Arizona, Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Panama, Uganda, and the United States. Other global efforts are Lydia's Mission, empowering women and children in Africa through faith, education, and sustainable development, and Faithful Footsteps, a nonprofit that supports Tijuana Christian Mission, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, through child sponsorships, mission trips, and internships.
Peace Kids: Birth Through Fourth Grade
During both Sunday services, Peace Kids welcomes children from nursery through fourth grade in a secure, well-staffed area of the building. The children's ministry is built on five values: Relationships, Health + Safety, Friendliness, Family, and Spiritual Growth.
The kids ministry team uses a secure check-in system through the church's records. All volunteers work alongside another adult, every volunteer is background checked, and a volunteer security team is present at in-person services. The facility is kept clean, and allergies and special needs are recorded at check-in. A volunteer medical team member is on hand in case of emergency.
Children are grouped by age - Nursery (birth to age 3), 4-year-olds through Kindergarten, 1st-2nd grade, and 3rd-4th grade - and taught age-appropriate Bible lessons through hands-on learning: games, crafts, music, and storytelling. The curriculum is designed so families can discuss the same lesson together at home each week. First-time guests are welcomed and given a walk-through of the children's area.
Peace Preschool and Parents Day Out
Two weekday programs extend the church's reach into the wider Pickerington community.
Peace Preschool has served Pickerington families for more than twenty years, providing a nurturing, faith-based environment for children ages 3 to 5. Morning and afternoon part-time sessions run from September through May. As a ministry of Peace UMC, the preschool is fully licensed and regulated by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Stacey Vansant serves as the Preschool Director.
Parents Day Out is a mission of Peace Church that takes place on Fridays from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM. It offers a low teacher-to-student ratio in a fun, Christian learning environment. Spaces are limited; interested families can contact Parents Day Out Director Courtney Loyd through the church office.
The Vine Studio: Students in Fifth Through Twelfth Grade
The Vine Studio is Peace's youth ministry - a space designed for older students to connect with God, with each other, and with mentors. "Just like branches draw strength from the vine, we find our purpose, creativity, and community when we stay rooted in Him," the ministry describes itself.
The Vine Studio meets Sundays from 4:00 to 6:00 PM on the church campus and is open to students in 5th through 12th grade. Snacks and drinks are always provided. The typical evening includes worship, a Bible study and small group time, a guided self-devotion time with Scripture and prayer, and games or hands-on creative activities. Special events include lock-ins, parties, and game nights, plus local service projects and mission trips through the year. The youth ministry is led by Youth Director Alex Toth.
Life Groups and Classes
Beyond Sunday morning, the bulk of adult discipleship at Peace happens in smaller circles. Life Groups are small gatherings where people build meaningful community, grow in faith, and study Scripture together. Groups are organized by life season, and many meet in homes during the week. Signing up is straightforward - visitors choose a group that fits their current season, click the OPEN button for that group, and the leader follows up with the details of the first meeting. Stewardship Coordinator Larry Armentrout is the main contact for those with questions about joining a group.
Classes at Peace round out the adult discipleship picture, offering engaging studies, thoughtful discussion, and practical learning for every stage of life.
Serving Teams
Peace runs four primary serving teams where newcomers can plug in:
- Guest Experience - greeting, hospitality, coffee, and donuts for those arriving on campus.
- Kids + Youth - working directly with children or behind the scenes to support ministry moments for kids and students.
- Music + Production - singing in the choir, joining the worship band, serving communion, or working behind the scenes with sound and lights. No prior experience is required.
- Office - assisting staff with projects, administrative tasks, and preparation for upcoming worship experiences during the week.
Missions also have many volunteer needs, from helping sort Helping Hands equipment to assisting with Trash 2 Treasure.
Care, Prayer, and Counseling
The Care ministry at Peace centers on four expressions of pastoral and practical care. Visitors to the Care page can submit a prayer request, join the church's e-prayer list, ask to speak to a pastor for guidance, prayer, or simply a conversation, or request help connecting with trusted, professional Christian counselors. The church's medical equipment ministry, accessible through Care, serves thousands of people every year. The Blessing Box in the south parking lot offers non-perishable food for anyone in need at any time. Licensed Independent Social Worker Laura Coholich is part of the staff team supporting care and counseling connections.
What Peace Believes
Peace describes itself as a United Methodist church that supports the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. Its statement of belief covers the major Christian doctrines and the Methodist distinctives.
The church believes the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired word of God, written by ordinary people guided by the Holy Spirit, and serve as the primary authority for faith and practice. It believes in one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each fully God in essence, power, and character. God is described as love, offering perfect justice, mercy, and truth, neither male nor female but embodying both qualities without limit, and personally desiring a relationship with each person.
The Son, Jesus Christ, is fully human and fully divine, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, willingly suffered on the cross to provide salvation to humanity, was physically resurrected, and ascended to heaven. He will return to establish God's perfect peace and justice for all time.
The Holy Spirit is described as a coequal, coeternal member of the Trinity who draws people to the Son, enables faith, gives gifts for ministry, produces the fruit of the Spirit, unifies the church, and progressively transforms believers into the image of Christ.
The church itself is understood as the extension of Christ's life and ministry on earth, made up of all who are in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, called the Body and Bride of Christ and the Family and Building of God. Its mission is to make disciples who love God with their whole heart and love others as themselves.
Human beings are created in the image of God, with purpose, relationship, and holiness, but are also tainted by a willful disobedience called sin that separates them from God. The church believes in human equality and recognizes an incredible diversity that is a gift from the Creator. The Christian life is described as a journey toward perfection, lived out through total obedience to the Father in the lifestyle of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The church also supports the United Methodist Social Principles, a thoughtful effort to speak to contemporary human issues from a Biblical foundation.
Baptism at Peace
Baptism is a regular part of life at Peace. The church describes baptism as a ritual of water signifying entrance into the household of faith - a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing, representing new birth in Jesus and a mark of Christian discipleship. It is an outward and visible sign of inward spiritual grace through which the baptized become partakers of his righteousness and heirs of life eternal.
Peace practices three forms of baptism: sprinkling, pouring, and immersion, all in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptisms are scheduled for the third Sunday of every month at either worship service, with a baptismal class or counseling session held beforehand. The church recognizes baptisms from other traditions provided they were performed with water in the name of the Trinity. Infant baptism is welcomed, and the church also offers a prayer of dedication for families from traditions that practice believer's baptism only.
Leadership
The church is led by Senior Pastor Bill Lyle, whose family-of-faith welcome greets visitors. The staff team includes Scott Drummond (Director of Operations), Larry Armentrout (Stewardship Coordinator), Christina Albrecht (Director of Family & Community Engagement), Rhonda Erikson (Worship Director), Jess Benson (Office Administrator), Michelle McKinney (Accounts Payable), Courtney Loyd (Kids Ministry Coordinator), Stacey Vansant (Preschool Director), Laura Coholich (Licensed Independent Social Worker), Alexandra Frey (Parents Day Out Director), and Alex Toth (Youth Director).
A Leadership Board provides direction and accountability for the church, meeting on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM in Room 6/7. Board members include Theresa Erzuah-Cudjoe, Heather Downs, Beth Garner, Pastor Bill Lyle, Ellen Graber, Kate Gibbons, Mark Moeller, Pastor Scott Drummond, Jeffrey Ross, Larry Swanner, Jamey Keys, and Laurie Price.
Giving, Visiting, and Staying Connected
Peace offers several ways to give. Online giving and smart giving (by texting PUMC to 77977) are both available, and gifts can also be made in worship or mailed to the church. For gifts of stock, retirement fund distributions, in-kind donations, or legacy gifts to the Peace Endowment Fund, Stewardship Coordinator Larry Armentrout is the contact.
Visitors planning a first trip can fill out a "Let Us Know You're Coming" form online. The church promises a Welcome Center greeting inside the main door, a tour, help getting kids checked into Peace Kids, a hot cup of coffee, and answers to any questions. There are plenty of parking spaces all around the building. Services run about sixty minutes, include a few songs together, and feature a practical, Bible-centered message. The dress code, the church jokes, is "absolutely mandatory you wear clothes" - jeans, T-shirts, whatever feels comfortable. Everyone is welcome regardless of race, creed, gender, sexuality, background, religion, or lack of religion.
An email newsletter, a Church Center app, an online calendar, and active feeds on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube keep the wider congregation connected throughout the week.