A Country Church on South 600 West
Fellowship Baptist Church sits along South 600 West just south of Trafalgar, Indiana, a small Johnson County community south of Indianapolis. The rural setting matches the congregation's character - rooted, family-oriented, and eager to welcome neighbors who drive in from surrounding communities. Pastor Jeff Hopson and the people of Fellowship Baptist describe their ministry with three phrases that hang on every page of their church life: Loving God. Growing Together. Impacting Our World.
Loving God, Growing Together, Impacting Our World
Those three phrases are not a slogan but a mission. The church teaches that everything from the music on Sunday morning to the prayer meeting on Wednesday night flows from leading people to love God, growing together as believers, and equipping Christians to impact their world. Fellowship Baptist is identified as a Baptist church, and its members describe themselves as a family committed to the Bible, centered on Jesus Christ, and devoted to helping people from every background discover the joy of knowing and serving Him.
The congregation lives out that mission through intergenerational ministry. Children fill the nursery, teens gather in their own classes, women host painting nights, men meet for breakfast and prayer, and the whole church gathers around the Word of God. "When you come, you can participate or just sit back and observe," the church writes. "You'll discover a warm atmosphere, practical teaching from God's Word and lots of friendly people pursuing God together."
What a First Visit Looks Like
The pastoral team goes out of its way to prepare first-time guests. Greeters stand at the doors ready to direct a newcomer or walk an unfamiliar family straight to the right classroom. Visitors can park in designated spots near the front door; the rest of the lot is open to everyone. Once inside, warm fellowship and a relaxed atmosphere are the order of the day.
The church has no formal dress code. Ministry leaders and many long-time members wear business-formal or business-casual Sunday clothing, but the staff writes, "Our main goal is that you would feel welcome and comfortable on your visit here at Fellowship Baptist." Guests are not asked to put anything in the offering plate - the offering is a free-will act of worship, not an expectation. The morning service runs a little over one hour, and Pastor Hopson closes each gathering with a clear, Bible-saturated message anchored in a single text.
Sundays at Fellowship Baptist
The Sunday rhythm follows a familiar Baptist shape. The first hour is set aside for Bible study in smaller, age-based classes, and the second hour is set aside for the gathered congregation to worship through gospel singing, congregational song, prayer, and expository preaching.
- 9:30 a.m. - Sunday School for every age, from nursery through adult electives. Classes meet in a smaller-group setting designed for in-depth Bible learning, prayer, and the kind of conversation that helps newcomers get to know the people around them.
- 10:30 a.m. - Morning Worship Service. Gospel singing, congregational song, soloists, and a Bible message from Pastor Hopson. Most adults attend this gathering; it runs a little over one hour.
- 5:00 p.m. - Evening Service. A second opportunity to worship, sing, and sit under preaching, set apart for those who want another hour around the Word.
Children follow their own track through the morning. Greeters and ushers are stationed in the lobby of the main worship center and around the campus, ready to escort families to the right room.
Wednesday Nights in the Word
Midweek belongs to prayer and Bible study. From 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. the church meets for Wednesdays in the Word - a phrase the church uses for a study of the book of Psalms, a time to share prayer requests, and a chance to give praise for answers to prayer that have come during the week. Adults and students gather for the same hour of study, returning to the campus after the school and workday have ended.
A Place for Every Age
Children and teens are not an afterthought at Fellowship Baptist. Every Sunday provides a children's ministry running alongside the adult services, with age-appropriate rooms, trained teachers, and a clean, well-staffed nursery.
- Nursery. Available during every service for infants and toddlers through age three. The rooms are described as safe, clean, and highly staffed.
- Children's classes. For children ages four through sixth grade, classes are fun, friendly, and Bible-centered. Each room is led by trained, well-qualified teachers and helpers.
- Junior High, High School, and College & Career. Student ministries are split into three divisions. Most teens attend a Sunday School class for one hour and a worship service the following hour with their parents.
The goal of the children's and youth ministries is not merely to fill an hour but to introduce young people to Christ in a setting their parents can trust. "Your children will receive real spiritual training from a group of caring leaders during this time," the church explains.
The Men's Prayer Breakfast
Once a month the men of the church gather around a table instead of a pulpit. On the first Saturday of every month at 7:30 a.m., men of every age - from teens to grandfathers - meet at the church for a meal, a Bible lesson, and an open time of prayer. The breakfast runs until 9:30 a.m. and is open to any man who wants to dig deeper into the Scriptures and build the kind of friendships that hold steady in times of upheaval. Between monthly breakfasts the men's ministry continues through the regular ministries of the church.
Women's Ministry
The women of Fellowship Baptist gather around the kinds of settings that make friendships flourish - mother-daughter events, craft afternoons, and painting nights that have become a favorite. The gatherings are designed to help the women of the church grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and to think through practical applications to everyday life. Like every other ministry at the church, the women's ministry points back to regular Bible teaching and fellowship.
Youth Ministry
The teen ministry exists to help young people know Jesus Christ and find their ultimate joy and satisfaction in Him. That means Bible-saturated teaching on Sundays and a calendar of activities during the year that takes the youth of the church to youth rallies, conferences, and camps around the state. The aim is twofold: to deepen understanding of the greatness of God and to give encouragement in the pursuit of godliness.
Missions: Reaching the World for Christ
Fellowship Baptist describes itself as fully committed to seeing the Gospel spread throughout the world. The missions ministry supports missionaries financially and welcomes traveling missionaries into the church as guests - the oasis the church offers through what it calls a prophet chamber. Anyone who wants more information about the missionaries the church supports, or who is a missionary seeking prayer or practical support, is invited to get in touch through the church office.
What We Believe
Fellowship Baptist's Statement of Faith spells out what the church teaches and why. The core convictions are clearly Baptist, with several distinctives worth noting for newcomers.
The Bible. The church holds that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments were inspired by the Spirit of God and that the King James Bible is the inerrant, infallible, preserved Word of God for today. The Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
God. There is one God, Creator of all things, holy, sovereign, and eternal, existing in three equal Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ. The church confesses the absolute and essential deity of the Lord Jesus Christ - His eternal existence with the Father, His work in creation, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His substitutionary death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, and His personal return.
The Holy Spirit. The Spirit is fully divine and personal. He convicts of sin, regenerates, indwells, seals, sanctifies, illuminates, and comforts believers. He baptizes them into the body of Christ at conversion and sovereignly distributes spiritual gifts.
Mankind and Salvation. Adam was divinely created in the image of God, and all his descendants inherit a fallen, depraved nature. Salvation is by the sovereign grace of God alone, received through faith in the all-sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Ordinances. The church observes two ordinances - baptism by immersion as a personal identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, and the Lord's Table as a recurring reminder of His provision for salvation.
The Second Coming. Fellowship Baptist teaches the pre-millennial, pre-tribulation rapture of the church, with Christ returning to rapture the church before the tribulation and to return in glory with the saved after the tribulation.
Church Polity. The church is pastor-led and deacon-supported, with members active in the life and ministry of the body. New members are received by profession of faith and baptism, or by letter from another Baptist church.
The Pastor
Jeff Hopson has served as Senior Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church since the summer of 2004. Before moving to Trafalgar he served as an associate pastor at Landmark Baptist Church in Haines City, Florida, and he is a graduate of Landmark Baptist College with a degree in pastoral studies.
Pastor Hopson's strengths are described as strong preaching, leadership development, and counseling. He begins each day in Bible study, taking worship and preaching seriously, and he carries a clear burden for Johnson County and the surrounding towns - that they would come to know Jesus as their personal Savior. He and his wife, Tina, have been married for thirty-seven years. They have three children - Amber, Ashley, and AJ - and eight grandchildren: Andrew, Brody, Kolby, Wyatt, Elizabeth, Piper, Tucker, and Emma Jean.
The Truth About Eternity
Because the church takes seriously both the great command and the great commission, it has set aside a clear four-step walk through the basics of the gospel: recognize that sin separates you from God, see that religion and good works cannot bridge the gap, hear the good news that Jesus Christ paid for your sin on the cross, and place full trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and eternal life. Anyone who has just trusted Christ is invited to call the church office - the staff would love to give a Bible and follow-up materials.
Giving
Members and guests support the ministries of Fellowship Baptist in three ways. Offerings can be dropped in the plate during a service, given online, or mailed to the church office. Two special funds - Missions and Camp 52 - are noted; gifts to those funds are designated on the giving envelope or through a separate transaction.
A Family on South 600 West
On any given Sunday the parking lot at 4743 S 600 W fills with regulars and first-time guests, the Sunday School rooms resettle after a hymn, and the sanctuary gathers for an hour of gospel singing and expository preaching. Wednesday nights bring the same faces back for prayer and a slow walk through the Psalms. Saturdays, once a month, bring the men of the church around a breakfast table. Through every one of those gatherings runs the same conviction - that the Bible is true, that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that a small church in a small Indiana town has been given the same gospel that the apostles carried to the nations.