Agape House of Worship (AHOW) is a growing, dynamic, contemporary, non-denomination church attracting people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. The church was birthed following a calling and a burden placed by God on the lead pastor, Jide Lawore to plant a church in the Linden/Roselle area. After server months of meeting, prayer and careful planning in his house the church with about ten of his friends, the church was officially inaugurated on February 12, 2006.

From inception, the vision has been to raise a church where people will be enlightened, encouraged, and empowered to be all that God has destined them to be. And to be a community-focused church conceived as a place of comfort and a solution center for the hurting world in the community and beyond.

The first Sunday Service was held at Nuno’s Pavilion, 300 Roselle St, Linden, on February 19, 2006, with about 20 adult members. AHOW continued to meet at Nuno’s Pavilion until May 2007 when it moved to a hall at the Polish Legion of American Veterans (PLAV), at 2526 Grier Avenue, also in Linden. At PLAV, the Lord continued to bless the church as more and more people were added.

About the same time of the move to PLAV, the Lord led AHOW’s leadership to start a building fundraising campaign tagged “Arise and Build.” The campaign led into the purchase and reconstruction, into a beautiful house of worship, of an abandoned building that used to be a bar. And in September 2009, AHOW moved into this building at 302 E. 9th Avenue, Roselle. God’s blessing was much more evident in the project because all these happened during a great global economic recession.

By the grace of God, the church continued to grow so much that by June 2012 AHOW had outgrown the capacity of the new building, and a decision was made to start two Sunday services. By March 2013, AHOW launched another building campaign tagged “Possessing the Land (PTL) Campaign” which resulted in the acquisition, in January 2015, of a 37,000 square feet former industrial building at 239 E. 1st Avenue, Roselle. After 10 intense months of remodeling, AHOW moved into this completely remodeled building complex on October 25, 2015. The complex consists of a modern auditorium, ample space for children’s ministry, a youth chapel, a secondary (prayer) chapel, a banquet hall, and an office complex.

However, we are excited to let you know that the best of AHOW is yet to come. There is a greater future for us as a church and we look forward to you becoming part of such a great future. AHOW has never been about building a physical structure but about building a people for a habitation of God where God’s power is meeting every spiritual and physical need, and where everyone is inspired to be and to do their best for God to be glorified.

• We value Excellence because it honors God and inspires people. Our God is a God of excellence as it reflects in His works and creation. Therefore, everyone in Agape House strives to do what they do no matter how small with a touch of excellence. Psalms 19:3
• We value Creativity – which is having the ability or power to create. We believe human beings are creative beings because we are created in the image of the creative God. This is especially true for born again believers. Creativity brings out the best in us.
• We value Teamwork because we believe two are better that one and church ministry can only be done effectively and efficiently as a team. In a team everyone’s contribution in important. Eccl. 4:9, Mat. 18:19
• We value Individual Dignity because we believe everyone is important, every member matters, every opinion counts. We value respect for individuals, regardless of their age or background. Every member of Agape is valuable and deserves to be honored and respected. I Peter 2:7
• We value Relevance because that is the only way to meet people’s need. The gospel is still relevant today and therefore our presentation of it should be meaningful and practical (though not necessarily acceptable) to our society. We want people to obtain on Sundays what they can use on Mondays. I Cor.9:19-22
• We value Diversity because heaven is diverse. We want to see our church develop where people, regardless of their background will worship, grow, serve, and reach out as a community of faith. Gal.3:28, Col.3:11
• We value Hospitality –which is cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests or strangers. We believe being sensitive to the need our guests makes it easier for us to present the gospel to them. Heb.13:2
• We value Loving Relationships – because it creates an atmosphere where people can truly care for each other in practical ways. We believe when people feel loved life’s pressures and challenges become easier for them to bear. I John 3:18
• We value Prayer because Prayer makes the power of God available in everything we do. We believe many other things can be done after prayer but nothing should be done without prayer. James 5:16
• We value Fun because a fun-filled environment makes the most difficult task easy. We believe A God thing should be a fun thing. We can love God, serve people and have fun doing it. Psalm 16:11