In the 1700's Pietist preachers came to America announcing the possibility of heartfelt conversion. Some of the persons who listened, and experienced this conversion, were Anabaptists (re-baptised as adults) descended from those who previously had fled from Germany for religious freedom. These newly-converted Anabaptists already believed in commitment to Christ and earnest Christian living in company with God's people. Now they also were convinced of the need for heartfelt conversion and wanted a personal Christian experience. Within another hundred years their descendants were fired by the Wesleyan renewal with a concern for purity of life through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The resulting church, ultimately called the Brethren in Christ combined the convictions of the Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan renewals.

The Amherst Community Brethren in Christ Church traces its local origin to a gathering of Christians in the inner city of Massillon, Ohio under the leadership of Rev. Ell Hostetler in the mid- 1940's . Organized originally as "Massillon Brethren in Christ Church" the congregation functioned as a 'mission' church during the 1950's and moved to its present location, 8650 Beatty St. NW, in 1960.

For the past 40 years the church has proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ and has sought to introduce people to the Savior and to provide a "family fellowship" where these individuals could find spiritual nurture, acceptance, and affirmation in their walk with Christ. Over the years many, young and old alike, have found new life in Christ and have been encouraged to discover and develop their gifts in ministry to others.