On a stretch of Creighton Road in Mechanicsville, Virginia, Fairmount Christian Church has gathered for 123 years as a congregation devoted to following Jesus. The church's purpose is summed up in three short lines: Love God, Love People, Make Disciples. Everything from the three Sunday morning services to the smallest Wednesday Bible study grows out of that calling, and the result is a body that takes both worship and study seriously, with room for the very young, the longtime believer and the first-time visitor sitting in the pew for the first time.
Three Sunday Services, Three Musical Moods
Fairmount meets three times each Sunday, and the only real difference between them is the music. The 8:30 service takes place in the Sanctuary; the 9:30 and 11:00 services meet in the Worship Center. All three last about an hour, all include a sermon from one of the ministers, and all give the congregation a chance each week to respond through communion, prayer, giving and worship. People attending the 8:30 service park in the front lot; those coming at 9:30 or 11:00 are directed to the back lot, where greeters and ushers hand out individual communion cups and help with seating.
Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, so anyone who is traveling, sick or simply away from Mechanicsville can still join in.
What to Expect on a First Visit
Dress is casual. The welcome is unhurried. Children arriving for the 9:30 and 11:00 hours can be checked in at the Children's Check-In desk inside the Worship Center entrance; a volunteer walks each family to the right classroom. Ushers and greeters are stationed at every entrance, and the church keeps a simple list of what to bring for the littlest ones: a diaper bag for the nursery, a change of clothes for preschoolers, and a Bible for elementary-age children (one will be provided if needed).
GROW. KNOW. SHOW. GO.
Fairmount's children's ministry partners with parents around a four-part rhythm: GROW, KNOW, SHOW, GO. On Sunday mornings at 9:30, preschoolers and fourth through sixth graders attend Bible School classes while children in kindergarten through third grade take part in Children's Worship. At 11:00, the pattern flips: K-3 Bible School, Preschool Worship, and Children's Worship for grades 4-6. Sunday evenings add Bridge 4.5.6 discipleship groups, Children's Choirs and Impact Kids. Doors open fifteen minutes before each service, and children staying for more than one hour are walked to their next classroom without a parent pickup in between.
Ashley Sears serves as Family Ministries Director, with Lauren Haake as Associate Children's Ministry Director.
Fairmount Youth: Ignite in the Morning, Alive at Night
Middle and high school students have a Sunday built around them. At 9:30 a.m., Ignite gathers in the gym for an hour of Bible study, beginning with breakfast in the teen lounge and games, then a short large-group devotion before breaking into age-specific small groups for deeper conversation. At 11:00, students worship alongside their families in the main service, with 6th graders also invited to 456 Worship in Room 150. Sunday evenings bring Alive, a gathering that rotates between service projects in the community, high-energy events and a weekly gospel message. Davis Ellenberger leads the youth ministry.
An Adult Ministry That Meets All Week Long
The Adult Ministry offers a dozen Sunday morning Bible school classes meeting at 9:30 and 11:00, including long-running groups such as the U&I Class, Bill Farmer Class, Christian Homemakers, Friends in Christ, Salt & Light, ALIVE, Fearless, Couple's Corner, The Walk, Real Life Connections and Reflections of Him.
Sunday afternoons and evenings add still more: a women's Bible study on 1, 2 and 3 John, the Greene Bible Study, the Will Bible Study on Zoom, a young adults meal and a message on the first and third Sundays, and the Vertical Marriage class. The week that follows is just as full. Tuesday brings Christ in Culture with Felix Cross on the third Tuesday of each month. Wednesdays include a 10:00 a.m. mid-week adult Bible study, the Harmony at Hanover group, The Gathering women's study online, and a study of Elijah. Thursdays start early with a 6:00 a.m. men's study in Room 132, then add The Thread women's study online, Pointman for men in the Music Suite, and a young women's study of James. Friday mornings at 6:00 a.m., another men's group meets at the Cold Harbor Restaurant.
What Fairmount Believes
Fairmount Christian Church holds to a straightforward historic Christian faith. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the final authority in matters of faith and practice. God the Father created all things, sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die and rise again, and pours out the Holy Spirit to dwell in every Christian. Salvation is a free gift received by grace through faith, repentance, confession that Jesus is Lord, and baptism by immersion. The Lord's Supper is observed on the first day of the week by repentant believers in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. The church also teaches that Christ will return to gather His Church and judge the world, and that marriage is a relationship designed by God to exist between one man and one woman.
Those beliefs shape the church's four commitments: worship that draws people deeper, education that sends the church outward, service that expresses love in practical ways, and fellowship that helps the body grow closer to one another and to God.
A New Chapter on Creighton Road
After 123 years, the congregation is preparing for a change. Rick Raines, who has been on staff for nearly thirty years and has served as Lead Minister for twenty of them, is stepping out of that role to pursue new ministry opportunities. Rick and his wife Betsy plan to remain members of the church they have served. The Elders have launched a national succession process, the first outside search for a Lead Minister in four decades, and Chris Santasiere, the Executive Minister, is guiding the effort. A selected candidate will preach, meet with staff and Elders, and overlap with Rick for several months before the handoff takes place. The congregation is asked to pray for the search and to gather on the first Monday of each month for focused prayer and fasting.
Around Rick, the rest of the ministry team continues to serve: Chris Santasiere as Executive Minister, Seth Wortman as Associate Minister, Bill Nicol as Worship Minister, Davis Ellenberger as Youth Minister, Ashley Sears as Family Ministries Director, and Lauren Haake as Associate Children's Ministry Director.
Ways to Connect, Give and Follow Along
Sermons, sermon outlines and weekly study sheets are available online, and the full video archive lives on Fairmount's YouTube channel. Giving is accepted online, by mail to PO Box 788, Mechanicsville VA 23111, or by texting Give to 866-371-1069. The church calendar is posted on Church Center, and visitors can reach the office at 804-559-8070 or info@fairmountcc.org, where a staff member or Elder is glad to meet one-on-one.
Whether someone arrives for the early Sanctuary hour, drops children off for Bible School, or sits in on a weekday study, the door at 6502 Creighton Road has been opening for more than a century, and the next chapter is just beginning.