In January of 1980, four families began meeting together every day for six weeks to seek God’s guidance and direction in starting a new church in the Winchester area. Soon those four families became eight, and Fellowship Bible Church was born. FBC began meeting in a restaurant and soon moved to Apple Pie Ridge Elementary School. In 1984, FBC moved to our Middle Road location.
Fellowship Bible Church has experienced significant growth in recent years. In order to meet the challenge of growth, plans for ministry and facility expansion have been developed. Our ministry goals and strategies are helping us keep up with the spiritual needs of those who attend. And, as God enables, we want to see FBC continually grow into a church where disciples are developed and placed into service.
In November of 1991, we completed a second phase of a multi-phase master plan for our facilities. In May of 1995, a third phase was completed providing additional space to help us provide for the ever-growing needs of our children and youth ministries.
In 1997, we began to wrestle with the increasing need for space for ministry. At that time we had understood that water and sewer restraints would prevent us from any further facility growth on our current site. However, God had impressed upon our elders a need to press forward to complete a newer and more comprehensive master plan that would represent a full and complete stewardship of our current property and the maximum size congregation that could be supported.
For over two years we worked on developing a plan that reflected what we believed that God was directing us to build. We consulted several expert firms in the areas of church development and growth, stewardship, construction, and architecture. In October of 2000, we began another phase of construction that increased our facilities from almost 16,000 sq.ft. to over 70,000 sq.ft.
Our vision is that, if God continues to grow us as He has in the past, the final phases of expansion might include a 1500 seat sanctuary, and staff and facilities to support a congregation of over 5,000.
With ministry opportunities for all age groups, as well as involvement in many outreach ministries, God is using Fellowship Bible Church to impact the Winchester/Frederick County community and to touch many lives around the world.