In early 1984, God stirred the heart of our first Pastor Marlin Skifstad, to found a church in the suburbs of Akron. He desired to pastor a church whose heart was for the unsaved, whose focus was balanced biblical teaching, and who believed God could change their community.  

The original church consisted of 90 people who scrimped, saved and sweated to acquire the land and build a church at 3833 Hudson Drive. This initial work and faithfulness has paid dividends down through the years. God has blessed VLC with 3 generations of faithful volunteers to do the work of the ministry.

Our current lead pastor, Pastor Matt, has grown along with the church. His father founded VLC the year Matt was born. Thirty plus years after our founding, the names of the pastors and many of the volunteers have changed. Yet, our desires haven’t shifted all that much from our founders. We want lost people to find Jesus. We believe that a balanced church (not given to extremes) based on the Bible is a strong church. We are trusting God to change the community around us for the better and use us to do it!