Our Story
The story of Fellowship Raleigh is just a small local expression of the story of God bringing men, women, and all of His creation back to a right relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ and through His Church. The dream of Fellowship Raleigh was born in our hearts (The Schoolfields) the summer of 2005 while we took a class on church planting at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. From the beginning, the vision has been to plant a dynamic local church which A) proclaims and demonstrates the love of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and B) combines the energy and on-the-go activism of college students with the resources and maturity of established families. The city of Raleigh is a perfect location for this vision.
Before coming to Raleigh our vision and strategy were refined and affirmed in Little Rock, Arkansas at Fellowship Bible Church as we participated in the 10-month Church Planting Leadership Residency Program. A few families and individuals relocated to Raleigh, along with us, in the summer of 2007 to begin church planting. For about a year we were in the gathering phase of planting the church, working towards a healthy Sunday morning launch in 2008. Fellowship Raleigh launched Sunday morning worship services at Broughton High School in September 2008. Since then, we have moved to our new location at 1105 Capital Blvd.
Right now we are growing Sundays in quality and quantity, we are proclaiming and demonstrating the Gospel in downtown Raleigh, and we are forming Fellowship Groups (small groups) where Biblical discipleship, strong loving relationships, and authentic spiritual growth can happen.
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You might wonder what Fellowship Raleigh has been doing since arriving in Raleigh.
Below are a few of our bigger past events:
"Shoe Sunday" and Picnic - April 18, 2010
We partnered with Share Our Shoes (S.O.S.) and hosted a "Shoe Donation Sunday" and collected over one hundred pairs of gently worn shoes to needy families at home and abroad. After service, we had a neighborhood picnic right down the street at Roanoke Park for lunch, games, and a great game of kickball.
"Give a Kid a Chance" Backpack Outreach - August 22, 2009
From 12:00-3:00 Fellowship Raleigh had the privelage to distribute almost 400 backpacks full of school supplies to Ligon Middle School students and their families. Drinks and a snack were also provided. We had a great turnout and can't wait to do this again in the future!
Sundays at Our New Location - August 16, 2009
During August of 2009, we moved to our current location at 1105 Capital Blvd. (the intersection of Wade Avenue and Capital Blvd). This is right down the street from Broughton High School, where we were meeting for Sunday morning services before. This is one of the many ways that God has provided for us.
Launch - September 7, 2008
On this day we officially began our weekly public worship service at the Broughton High School cafeteria. Great excitement, momentum, and a good turn out made this was a milestone day for us as a church plant. We also began our verse-by-verse study of the book of Philippians- An Undefeated Joy.
Summer Monthly Worship Services - 4/27, 5/25, 6/29, 7/27, 8/31
During the summer months of 2008 we had a Sunday morning worship service at Broughton High School once per month. This was great preparation for our launch at Broughton on September 7th. We also saw our church plant grow during this time. In between these monthly Sunday services our Fellowship Raleigh family gathered regularly for prayer and fellowship times, and a weekly picnic dinner at Fletcher Park.
Spring 2008 Retreat - May 10-11 2008
We recently traveled to The Vineyard Camp & Conference Center in Westfield, NC. Through a high ropes course, prayer, worship in song, various teachings from God’s Word and a full day spent in the Great Outdoors, we were refreshed and encouraged in our time together.
The First One - March 23, 2008
Our first Sunday morning ever and our first Easter together was spent at Comedy Worx on Peace Street. We unpacked a biblical passage that describes Jesus as the ‘first born over all creation’ and the ‘first born from among the dead.’ Through solid teaching, we learned what the meaning is behind these words. Afterward, we invited all of our guests to join us for a delicious lunch and took the opportunity to share with them our church plant’s unique vision to make an impact in Raleigh.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade Easter Service Promo - March 15, 2008
We knew that downtown Raleigh's big St. Patrick’s Day parade was the weekend before Easter, so we used this as a platform. Wearing our blue and green T-Shirts advertising "Come spend Easter with My Peeps," we descended upon the parade crowd. Our strategy was to use our cameras and photography talent to be an unexpected blessing to parade goers in Jesus' name. Many people go to parades with family and friends and forget their camera, so we set out to take absolutely free pictures of parade goers. We allowed them to visit our website, which was printed on the Easter invite we gave them, for a free copy of the picture. We had countless conversations, prayed for people, took over 100 pictures and passed out over 1,000 Easter invites. Also, knowing we would encounter the poor while downtown, we were ready with Chick-Fil-A gift cards. We had only 20 gift cards and were able to give them all out. The rain held off and this amazingly fun day served to pump up our team for our first Easter Sunday service.
Explore Seminar - Monday evenings, January 21– March 3, 2008
During each week of this seven-week class hosted by Fellowship Raleigh, we taught for an hour on the basics of the Christian faith at the Helios Annex on Boylan Avenue. Following that hour, questions were answered regarding our study and any others about the Bible and the Christian life. We answered questions like, ‘Can I believe the Bible? What is the difference between religion and a personal relationship with God? How is Christianity different from other religions and worldviews? What is the church and do we really need organized religion?’
Free Newspaper, Coffee, & Prayer - Saturday, January 2008
Desiring to bless people throughout many neighborhoods inside the beltline, we set out with newspapers and coffee in hand. In teams, we went door to door and offered our free gift, prayer for those we met and an invitation to our Explore seminar. We were encouraged by many of the conversations that we were able to have with people and by the opportunity to pray for the many needs of those living within the city of Raleigh.
The Quest for Authentic Manhood - Wednesday mornings, September 26, 2007 - March 19, 2008
In our quest to discover what it means to be an authentic man, we studied such topics as ‘uncovering a man’s wounds,’ ‘biblically defining manhood,’ ‘deepening the marriage relationship’ and ‘creating a manhood plan.’ We had breakfast together, watched a video related to the weeks’ topic, discussed our lives and encouraged one another on our individual quests. The guys met at High Park Bar & Grill on Whitaker Mill Rd.
Black Friday Doughnut Handout & Toy Drive - November 2007
On Black Friday, starting at 5 am, we handed out 1,000 Krispy Kreme donuts to the cold, hungry and line-waiting shoppers at Crabtree Valley Mall and Triangle Town Center. We also included an invitation to our toy drive & vision night at the Raleigh City Museum. Building Together Ministries hosts this toy drive annually and we worked hand in hand with them to bless children throughout the city of Raleigh with Christmas presents.
Sunday Night Bible Study - Sunday evenings, September – December 2007
We couldn’t think of a better place to start telling our Fellowship Raleigh story than at the museum solely dedicated to telling the story of the city of Raleigh. Behind a life-sized statue of Sir Walter and surrounded by artifacts from Raleigh’s history, we spent six weeks studying our six Biblical and enduring pillars. After the six weeks we celebrated the Lord's Supper (Communion) for the first time as a church.