Forty Years Under One Senior Pastor
Pastoral stability is one of the defining marks of Fairfax Church. Rod Stafford has served as Senior Pastor since 1986, a span of forty years by the church's own count in 2026. He and his wife Donna have walked the congregation through multiple transitions and seasons of growth, raised two children, and welcomed seven grandchildren along the way. Stafford holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Anderson University and Anderson University School of Theology and has spent more than twenty years serving on local, state, national, and international boards. He serves as president of the Advisory Council in an ex officio role since the council's inception in 2010.
The Advisory Council is a working group of lay leaders drawn from across the professions: a real estate investment executive who has served since 2010; the founder of a publicly traded healthcare technology company; an IBM Distinguished Engineer who runs IBM's global government cloud strategy; the Lead Pastor of a sister church in Arizona who has served on the council since 2011; and the Lead Pastor of a multi-site church in Kansas City. Together they steward the long-term direction of the church alongside Stafford, and several of them also serve in volunteer roles within Fairfax itself.
Three Sunday Gatherings, One Building, Online Too
The church's primary rhythm is three Sunday morning services, at 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, and 12:00 PM, in the main sanctuary at 11451 Braddock Road in Fairfax, Virginia. Each gathering runs about an hour and follows the same shape: a brief time of announcements and prayer, a worship set led by the church's worship team, a sermon from one of the teaching pastors, and a closing song. Doors to the main sanctuary open ten minutes before each service, and seating is first-come, first-served.
For visitors who arrive when the sanctuary is full, overflow seating is available in the Great Room and in the Hangar auditorium just off the family lobby, both of which carry the service on screens. A free shuttle runs between Trinity Christian School, less than a mile away, and the church before, during, and after each Sunday service, taking less than five minutes from car to door.
All three services are livestreamed online, with archived sermons posted to the church's YouTube channel. Online guests can also join a community through the church's online hub, and a weekly email collects upcoming events, sermon series, and sign-up links.
Live Spanish at 10:30 and a Spanish-Language Community
Fairfax en Español is the Spanish-language ministry of Fairfax Church. The 10:30 AM service offers live Spanish interpretation in the room, and translated sermons are also posted online for the Latino community in and around Northern Virginia. The Spanish-language ministry runs its own adult small groups, around twelve people each, meeting on Wednesday and Friday afternoons in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Childcare is not provided in these groups.
Spanish-speaking volunteers serve as live translators during services and as hosts on the ministry's Facebook page. Small group leaders are trained through the ministry, and the church invites anyone interested in leading a group to apply.
The Hangar: A Student Ministry of Its Own
Middle and high school students at Fairfax have a ministry all their own called The Hangar, housed in the Hangar auditorium off the family lobby. The middle school service meets Sundays from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM with small groups, and the high school service meets from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, also with small groups. Each gathering includes live worship, a teaching from the Pastors to Students, and breakout time in gender- and age-specific small groups.
Kyle Cooper has been on staff as Pastor to Students since 1997, having attended the church since 1992. Jess Uitvlugt joined the staff in 2008, oversees the Fairfax Fellows internship program, and serves on the national Youth Ministry Team for Church of God Ministries. Chris Kim leads student worship, with David Green serving as Worship Leader. The student ministry also runs a "Lead Students" program that places older students in ministry roles alongside staff.
The Hangar's small group values are stated plainly: love is what you do and how you live, not just a feeling; every week students dive into the Bible and apply it to their lives; and getting students to invest in one another is the hinge on which life change happens. During the summer the schedule shifts to combined middle and high school services plus a roster of lighter events such as Bible studies, milkshake Fridays, movie nights, snow-cone meet-and-greets for rising seventh graders, and a Washington Nationals baseball outing.
Fairfax Kids, With Room for Everyone
Fairfax Kids serves children from six weeks old through sixth grade, with programming during all three Sunday services. Children begin in age-appropriate classrooms: nursery for babies and walkers, preschool rooms for ages three through pre-K, and elementary classrooms for school-age kids. Each classroom combines large group worship and small group activities, and small group life begins at age three, when leaders walk children through what Scripture says and how to pray.
Each week, every child and parent receives matching identification tags with a unique family code. If a teacher needs to reach a parent during the service, the family code appears on screens in the Main Auditorium, Great Room, and Hangar, and the parent returns to the check-in area to be reconnected. Parents can check children in online before they arrive.
A sensory room equipped with adjustable furniture, lighting, and toys is staffed during all services for children who need a quieter environment. One-on-one buddies can be arranged for any child who would benefit from a dedicated helper, and the full Fairfax Kids volunteer team is screened with interviews and background checks. The ministry maintains a clear sick-child policy, a process for sharing custody and medical concerns, and a structured plan for moving children from one age group to the next as the school year turns over.
Parents of newborns through age three can walk a three-week Child Dedication class that pairs them with other young families and culminates in a public dedication during a Sunday service. Older children who have made a personal decision to follow Jesus can attend a Kids Baptism Workshop to prepare for believer's baptism by immersion.
Small Groups Organized by Life Stage
Small groups are the heart of community at Fairfax. Groups of eight to twelve people meet in homes across Northern Virginia, at the church, and online, typically once a week during the fall and spring semesters. Each gathering balances relational connection, Scripture study, and prayer, and many groups work through the current sermon series or a Bible book together. The fall semester runs from late September through early December, and the spring semester from late January through early May. During the summer the church staff hosts larger summer groups at the building so that members can sample different group types and expand their community.
Groups are organized to fit a particular season of life. Fairfax College serves single young adults ages 18 to 22, with free rides from George Mason University offered on Sundays and mission trips built into the calendar. Single Young Professionals groups serve adults 22 to 29, with most groups co-ed and a few gender-specific. Young Couples groups are built for married, engaged, or seriously dating couples without children in their twenties and thirties. Parents' groups run for parents of pre-elementary, elementary, and teen children, as well as empty nesters, with meetings on weekday evenings and Sunday afternoons and childcare that varies by group. Men's and women's groups gather on a range of days. Third Third groups serve adults 55 and older.
A separate community called Friends for Life gathers adults 22 and older with disabilities, meeting every other Thursday evening during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Julianna Monacci directs Friends for Life, which combines Bible study, fellowship, and service projects in a setting designed to be known, loved, and challenged.
Care for Every Chapter
The Care team at Fairfax is built around the conviction that no one walks through hard seasons alone. Kathleen Otchy has served as Pastor of Care for twenty years and oversees a network of lay counseling, ongoing support groups, and seasonal workshops.
Lay counseling is offered for individual adults, for those grieving the loss of a loved one, and for those seeking budget and financial guidance. Counselors are trained volunteers, not licensed therapists, who meet bi-weekly with a professional psychologist for supervision. When a situation calls for a licensed professional, the team helps connect people to trusted Christian counseling practices in the area, including Finding Solutions Counseling Centers in Fairfax and Synergy Counseling in Fairfax.
Three ongoing care groups meet year-round. The Cancer Support Group gathers people in treatment, in remission, and their loved ones for encouragement, prayer, and a curriculum that mixes practical coping with biblical reflection. James Club blends 12-step recovery with the spiritual wisdom of the book of James, creating a hybrid in-person and online space for men seeking sexual sobriety. Selah Women's Care Group, named for the Hebrew word of pause, is a safe place for women healing from betrayal and broken trust, a setting where they are met with understanding rather than judgment.
Seasonal workshops address single topics as they arise: aging and end-of-life preparation, supporting a loved one with depression or anxiety, navigating strained relationships with parents, surviving the holidays, and creating spaces where people belong. The church also publishes a library of free downloadable PDF resources on topics like addictions, grief, mental wellness, loneliness, divorce, domestic abuse, and adultery.
Accessibility Built In
Fairfax describes accessibility as part of the fabric of the church, not an add-on. Eight designated accessible parking spaces sit close to the entrances, with curb cuts at multiple points and no stairs at any main door. The worship area and lobby are on one level, and elevators serve other floors. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are available in every bathroom.
Inside the building, a sensory room for children is staffed at every service, one-on-one buddies can be paired with kids or adults who would benefit from extra support, and seating is also available in Fairfax Coffee and in the Hangar auditorium for those who prefer a lower-sensory environment. For students ages 14 to 22 with disabilities, the church hosts Young Life Capernaum on Wednesday evenings, a separate, locally led ministry that integrates teens with disabilities into a typical youth group experience. The Friends for Life community continues that welcome for adults 22 and older.
Local Outreach: Immigrant Connection and the Resource Center
Local outreach is rooted in two long-running programs housed on the church campus. Immigrant Connection is a church-based legal clinic accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice that offers low-cost representation on family-based petitions, naturalization, adjustment of status, consular processing, lawful permanent resident and employment authorization renewals, U.S. citizenship, DACA, TPS, non-immigrant visas, and religious worker visas. The clinic operates Tuesday through Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays from 11 AM to 3 PM, with one-hour consultations scheduled at $60. It is part of Immigrant Connection's National Legal Network, a coalition of 34 or more church-based clinics across the country. Valerie Nolan serves as Site Director; Gabriela Nuncio is the DOJ-accredited Legal Representative.
The Resource Center, also led by Nolan, exists to help vulnerable families in the area find short-term relief from economic, food, and legal insecurity. It connects neighbors to the Fairfax County Human Services Resource Guide, covering food, housing, financial assistance, energy assistance, and domestic violence prevention services, as well as to Inova's Partnership for Healthier Communities for the uninsured. Manal Kachouh manages the Resource Center, and Hollis Phillips coordinates community outreach. The work is guided by four values drawn from Scripture: compassion, dignity, humility, and mercy.
Global Outreach: From Budapest to Lusaka
Fairfax's global strategy is to resource and encourage partners already on the ground rather than start new projects from scratch. Six long-running partnerships anchor the work. Capstone Ministries in Kisumu, Kenya, has reconciled more than 400 street children with their families since 2005. Children of Promise is a sponsorship network supporting 4,500 children in more than 30 countries. Heart 4 Lebanon serves families after the 2006 conflict. Pink Door is a long-term recovery program for women transitioning out of prostitution and exploitation in Berlin. TeacHaiti focuses on education in Haiti, where the literacy rate hovers around 53%. Village of Hope is a community for Zambian orphans in the Chibomba District north of Lusaka, where 1.6 million children are orphaned; 230 acres were purchased in 2006 to begin the village.
The church also walks alongside eight "global city" church plants. Budakalasz Evangelical Fellowship in Budapest is led by Peti Kiss. A Latino church network in Buenos Aires is directed by Daniel Escobar, Fairfax's Director of Latin America. HamburgProjekt in Hamburg was planted by Daniel Bartz in 2008. There is an unnamed church plant in Istanbul, a sister work in the Near East among Muslim communities, and the Leipzig Project launched in 2018 by André and Larissa Meyer. Watoto Church in Kampala, Uganda, was planted by Gary Skinner and his wife Marilyn during the civil war in 1988. A Church of God church-planting network in Madrid is led by the Three Worlds team.
Four missionary families serve from the church: Jason and Abby T, regional coordinators for Latin America based in San José, Costa Rica; John and Gwen J, regional coordinators for Africa since January 2020; Nate and Stacy T, regional coordinators for Europe and the Middle East, based in Madrid; and Stephen F, who grew up at Fairfax and serves with a church plant in Tokyo.
Global Impact Teams travel each year to serve specific needs: trauma care and special education training at Village of Hope in Zambia, child sponsorship interviews with Children of Promise in Ecuador, and sports and humanitarian outreach with GoGlobal Ministries in Havana. Fairfax practices a discipline it calls "tithing through giving"; 10% of every dollar donated to the church is redirected to local and global partnerships.
What Fairfax Believes
The church's beliefs are stated in plain language across thirteen topics. God is one in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, fully revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born to the virgin Mary, and lived as both fully human and fully divine. All sixty-six books of the Bible are considered Holy Scripture, the inspired and authoritative Word for the Christian life.
Humanity is fallen and in need of a Savior. Salvation is by grace, received by faith, when a person responds to the Holy Spirit by repenting of sin and believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The church teaches that faith in Christ is an ongoing reality rather than a momentary event. The church teaches that every local congregation is a visible expression of the one body of Christ, and that it is God's will for each believer to be a committed member of a local congregation.
Marriage is described as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman, designed to reflect the relationship Christ has with His Church. Baptism is by immersion for believers who have professed faith; the Lord's Supper is open to any follower of Jesus; and foot washing is practiced as a reminder of servant leadership.
The church places no restrictions on women in ministry, teaching that spiritual gifting, not gender, determines placement. Tithing, giving the first 10% of one's income, is taught as the biblical baseline, with offerings above and beyond it encouraged as "growing in the grace of giving." Five core values shape daily life: Pray (total dependence on God), Give (grace-motivated generosity), Invite (bringing others into the community), Mentor (passing faith to the next generation), and Serve (strategic use of gifts for the mission).
Fairfax Creative: Music, Production, and Communications
Worship at Fairfax is led by a team of musicians, vocalists, and production volunteers under the direction of Kayla Garcia Neal, Pastor of Creative Arts. Three lanes make up the ministry. Music leads live worship through singing and playing instruments. Production operates cameras, runs lights, and controls slides for both in-person and online services. Communications captures the life of the church through photo, video, and design. The Fairfax Worship Choir is the most accessible way in: no prior choir or worship team experience is required, and the team trains and equips anyone who wants to serve.
Classes and One-Day Workshops
Beyond ongoing groups, the church runs topic-focused classes and short workshops that change with the seasons. Recurring examples include Emotionally Healthy Relationships, an eight-week discipleship course; FreedUp, a biblically based financial stewardship class; The Sabbath Practice, a class on rest and worship; a weekly Bible Class on the Gospel of John held in a hybrid format in the Hub and online; and Marriage Preparation for engaged and seriously dating couples. Seasonal one-night workshops address single topics as they arise, including aging and legacy planning, supporting a loved one with depression or anxiety, surviving the holidays, and creating spaces where people belong. A prayer room opens periodically for extended times of communal prayer and adoration, with the Open Prayer Room regularly scheduled on Saturdays.
Visiting Fairfax for the First Time
Anyone new is invited to fill out a connection card online or stop by the Fairfax Connect area outside the lobby doors on a Sunday morning. Periodically the church hosts a Welcome Party after services, a casual time to meet staff, hear the church's story, and learn about next steps. There is no required dress code. The building is wheelchair accessible, with eight accessible parking spaces and elevator access to every floor. Children can be checked in online before arrival; families whose children would benefit from a buddy or a sensory room visit are encouraged to contact the Fairfax Kids team ahead of time. Free shuttles run between Trinity Christian School and the church on Sundays. Live Spanish interpretation is offered at the 10:30 AM service, and online guests can attend any service via the church's livestream.
Fairfax's mission is plain and singular: to love neighbors and see them raised to life in Christ. The three Sunday services, the Hangar, the Immigrant Connection clinic, the Resource Center, the global partnerships, the care groups, the sensory room, and the small groups all flow from that single sentence.