GREEN: Six years ago, the Rev. Harry Knotts and his followers were sitting on picnic tables and fighting bees during Sunday services.Now they worship in a 12,000-square-foot building — Grace Chapel — that sits 700 feet off East Turkeyfoot Lake Road on 10 acres.“This is definitely a step up. We know this happened because of God’s grace,” said Knotts, a resident of Green. “To go from a pavilion on a golf course to a church with property is a divine blessing, and Sunday after Sunday, we give him the glory and the honor.”Knotts, a golfer of nearly 50 years, began leading chapel services in 2005 for golfers at Mayfair Country Club. The 30-minute services were an outreach ministry of Calvary Chapel in Massillon.The nondenominational ministry was based on Wally Armstrong’s In His Grip series. It focused on themes outlined in the self-improvement book In His Grip: Foundations for Life & Golf, co-authored by Armstrong, a retired professional golfer.Using golf analogies, Knotts taught spiritual truths from the Bible. After a while, the golfers, who had started bringing their wives and children to the services, asked Knotts to teach themes strictly from the Bible. They also requested that the services continue beyond golf season.To accommodate the fewer than a dozen men in the group, the ministry moved to the clubhouse at Prestwick Country Club, then to the banquet room at Seifert’s Flower Mill in Jackson Township and then to Canterbury Chapel in North Canton.Knotts began looking for another location after he was informed by the owner that Canterbury Chapel would be sold. Meanwhile, Knotts had been conducting retreats for pastors at the Village Chapel.In February 2009, he received a call from the owner of the Village Chapel, Linda (Beltz) Coufal, who told him that she wanted him to move his ministry to Village Chapel, which had been built by her late husband, the Rev. Larry O. Beltz.The church sits on a former 40-acre cornfield that the couple had transformed for ministry use. It includes the chapel, a log home, tailored flower beds, a pristine lake (Lake Faith), manicured lawns and Victory Acres, where miniature donkeys are raised.“The spirit of the Lord confirmed for me that this was supposed to happen,” Coufal said. “Harry’s vision is the same as my late husband’s. He has a vision for ministry, a real heart for people and a commitment to preserving the property for ministry.”Grace Chapel has called the building at 1060 E. Turkeyfoot Lake Road home since June 2009. The small church, which averages about 35 people at its 10 a.m. Sunday service, has put about $24,000 into building improvements, including a new roof, paint, flooring and commercial cleaning. The grounds where the 120-seat sanctuary is located includes a ball field and playground.The portion of the property Grace owns is called the Liberty Village Ministries side (named for the former village, East Liberty, where it is located). The remaining property, still owned by Coufal, is called Victory Acres, which includes a ministry for incarcerated youth, called True North.Grace Chapel also is involved with the True North ministry and allows a Christian girls softball league to use its ball field. In addition, the church provides a meal program for the needy and sponsors missionaries.“We call ourselves the small church with a big heart. We’re a good alternative for people looking for a small, welcoming congregation,” Knotts said. “We are a conservative Bible church.“We do not adapt the word of God to the culture. We sing and pray, but we spend about 40 minutes of our hourlong service expounding the word of God.”It was the Bible teaching that drew Heather Adams to the church four years ago. She also liked the small size.“I like being able to know everyone and the welcoming atmosphere,” Adams said. “I also enjoy how the sermons come straight from the Bible. I have learned so much about God’s word since being at Grace Chapel.”The church sums up its beliefs in four statements: The Lord Jesus Christ is the only head of the church; the holy Scriptures are the only rule of faith; salvation is a gift of God, only by grace through faith; and fellowship is in the gospel of God, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25).Grace Chapel is nondenominational and governed by leadership elected by the congregation. The congregation is in fellowship with the Ohio Conservative Congregational Christian Churches and Grace International Fellowship and Testimony.In addition to the Sunday service, the church offers a Bible study at 7 p.m. Tuesdays. Knotts also leads a 30-minute service for golfers at 7:30 a.m. in a meeting room of the clubhouse at Congress Lake Country Club in near Hartville.An open house is scheduled at Grace Chapel from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 12. For information, visit www.gracechapelchurch.net.“There are two things we don’t do at Grace. We don’t ‘out-dress’ each other and we don’t pass a collection basket. You come as you are, and if you want to give, the basket is sitting on a table at the back of the church,” Knotts said. “And we don’t pray to get big. We pray for God to send the people to Grace Chapel that he wants to hear the word of God.” Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.