Friday, August 8, 2025

Did you know CedarCreek didn’t begin in any of the buildings we now call home? Long before we had campuses and permanent spaces, we were a church on wheels. Literally!

In the early days, “church” meant showing up before sunrise, hauling trailers, setting up sound systems, setting up chairs, and transforming schools and hotels into spaces for worship.

It was gritty, joyful, and full of faith. And it all started with a few people willing to do whatever it took to help others meet Jesus.

Before the grand opening on October 8, 1995, CedarCreek held its first internal pre-launch services in July 1995 at the Holiday Inn French Quarter. That fall, the church officially launched at Commodore Elementary School in Perrysburg, marking the beginning of a powerful movement.

Read on to hear from Lauri White. Lauri has been on mission with CedarCreek since the founding pastors began asking couples, individuals, and family groups if they would pray about joining them on a new adventure.

Portable Church:

On Sunday mornings, people would arrive at Bill and Robin Tyson's home around 6 am to haul the trailers to wherever they were being set up: First, it was the Holiday Inn, and then the Perrysburg Jr. High. Bill owned his own business and had a kind of pole barn on his property where we could store things.

We'd arrive at the school around 6:45 and start bringing in all the equipment. It was mainly marked in totes, so we knew where most of it was supposed to go. We had upgraded the sound system in the auditorium, so our sound board in the balcony was left there during the week. By 7:15 am or so, we hoped to be ready for a run-through, where we went through the service programming from start to finish to make sure all systems were ready.

Some people prayed through the auditorium during this time, praying for the people that God would bring, and that message slides would be done before the service started (JK – sort of!)

Someone contacted Panera, where staff donated their leftover bagels and pastries to us, and we set up coffee and pastries outside the auditorium for attendees as they arrived. We attempted to open the doors by 8:30 am, but we mainly began promptly at 10 am. I think we also had an 11 am service, and many guys would head to the gym to shoot hoops between services.

After church, we took everything down and put it back in the totes, into the trailers, and took it back to Tyson's pole barn.

How Long Did This Last?

CedarCreek was a portable church for 6 years. For 4 years, service was held at the Perrysburg Jr. High's old building, and 2 years later, we relocated to the new Jr. High.

It was a lot of work, but again, God provided all that we needed, and not a moment before! The volunteers were incredible, and Lee's leadership and his example were key as he did what God asked of him. 

P.S. Stay tuned to Flashback Friday articles to hear more from Lauri about her time as both as a founding attendee and as part of the CedarCreek staff!