Wanting to reach our peers with the Good News, the Upper Room Fellowship was started by a handful of teenagers in 1971 in a small room above a veterinarian’s office here in Columbiana Ohio. So many found new life in Jesus we began meeting regularly on Mondays to meet and seek God. Such was the hunger, a Wednesday evening worship and prayer meeting was soon added.

In 1974, the Upper Room Ministry was incorporated as a non-profit organization. Due to growth, the URF moved in 1977 to the former VFW hall on North Main Street in Columbiana, known as the Kreidler Building (currently occupied by Generations Dance Studio). It was not until 1978 that the church held its first Sunday morning service and the first pastor was ordained.

In 1979 the governmental structure changed to having more than one lead pastor. This plurality of leadership remains today. We moved to the Joshua Dixson School in 1981 and built our 1st home in its current location in 1988. Our current Fellowship Hall was the sanctuary at that time. In 2008 we moved into our present sanctuary with additional classrooms.

While a passion to transform lives was what triggered the beginning of the URF, God quickly brought other elements to the surface. From the very beginning, worship played a major part in our lives and in our gatherings. We developed worship teams—before such things existed. Beyond that, there was a strong emphasis on knowing God, walking with Him, and heeding His voice. Other elements that were a part of our nature was sharing life, encouraging one another, and serving others in and beyond the Upper Room Fellowship.