A Home-Grown Church on McCann Road
Fellowship Bible Church sits on a wooded stretch of McCann Road on the south side of Longview, Texas. Pulling into the campus, drivers pass the Adult Education Center before reaching the Worship Center, with the TreeHouse - the children's and youth building - tucked between them. Worship services are held at 10:30 am on Sunday mornings, with Sunday classes for every age running beforehand at 9 am. The dress is casual, the coffee is hot, and greeters are posted at the doors ready to say hello.
The church began in 1981 as a small home group following a ministry model that sought to be biblically sound while culturally relevant. The 4600 McCann Road property was purchased in 1993, and the Adult Education Center, the TreeHouse for Kids and Youth, and the Worship Center were added to the campus over the following years. The current lead pastor, Alex Alexander, joined the church in August 2023. The church's mission is summed up in three short phrases: Worship God, Share Jesus Christ, Build Believers.
Sundays at FBC
Sunday is the rhythm of the week at Fellowship Bible Church. From the moment guests arrive, greeters help them find their way around. The 9 am hour is devoted to Adult Classes, Kids' Classes for ages 2 through 6th grade, and Youth Classes, all running in their own corners of the campus. The Adult Classes meet in the Adult Education Center and are designed to equip believers to grow in the knowledge of Christ and the Christ-like life; they are also a starting point for connecting with the rest of the body.
The 10:30 am Worship Service fills the Worship Center. Music at FBC draws from familiar hymns, contemporary songs, and the occasional bluegrass number, all used to honor the Lord. Teaching is grounded in Scripture and applied with a love for the listener. First-Sunday worship services include the observance of communion. The service runs until about 11:45 am.
Children are well cared for during the worship hour. Parents check in their children at the TreeHouse Lobby. Preschool classes (ages 2 through Kindergarten) meet in the TreeHouse Kids' Place, while 1st through 5th graders gather together for Kids' Church with Bible teaching, worship, prayer, and time with friends. The nursery, located in the Worship Center, is staffed by background-checked and screened caregivers and parent volunteers for babies six weeks old through two-year-olds during the service.
For guests who are newer to the church, Starting Point is the front door. Starting Point gathers on the second Sunday of each month from 9 to 10 am in the Adult Education Center. Over coffee, kolaches, and donuts, newcomers hear who FBC is, what they believe, what they do, and how to take their next steps. Child care is provided through the Kids' Ministry classes.
The TreeHouse and Kids' Ministry
The TreeHouse is the building dedicated to children and youth on the McCann Road campus. It is divided into the Kids' Place on one side and the LOFT on the other. Kids' Ministry Director Garion Powell leads a team of background-checked staff and volunteer teachers who walk alongside families from the nursery through fifth grade.
At 9 am on Sundays, Kids' Classes are organized by grade level: 1st through 3rd grade and 4th through 5th grade. These classes follow the seasonal rhythm of the Adult Classes, with defined start and end points and a break between series. During the 10:30 am worship service, 1st through 5th graders gather for Kids' Church, and preschool classes for ages 2 through Kindergarten meet at the same time on the TreeHouse side.
The AWANA Bible Club meets on Sunday evenings during the school year from 5:00 to 6:45 pm in the Adult Education Center Gym. AWANA, a global children's discipleship program, is organized into four clubs at FBC: Puggles for 2-year-olds, Cubbies for 3- and 4-year-olds, Sparks for K5 through 2nd grade, and Truth & Training (T&T) for 3rd through 6th grade. Commander Kim Frederick oversees the program and welcomes new volunteers. AWANA Grand Prix, a pinewood-derby style car race, and a Grand Prix Workshop are part of the yearly rhythm.
Vacation Bible School takes over the Adult Education Gym for one week each summer, with half-day programming for kids who have completed Kindergarten through 5th grade.
REFUGE Youth Ministry
Junior High and Senior High students meet under the name REFUGE. The youth ministry is led by Pastor of Student Ministries & Local Missions Toby Palmer, with Student Ministries Coordinator Amy Woodson. REFUGE runs on a threefold model of discipleship built around a passionate heart, an informed mind, and an active body.
The Passionate Heart is the Wednesday night gathering from 6:30 to 8:30 pm in the LOFT, where students sing, talk about what it means to follow Jesus, and learn how to build friendships that last. The Informed Mind is the Sunday morning Life Group from 9:00 to 10:15 am in the LOFT, where students study the Bible together and learn to read it well. The Active Body is the small-group ministry on Wednesdays, where students are pushed out into gospel relationships that go beyond the church walls.
REFUGE runs on three simple rules: Be Honest, Be Gracious, Be Present. Throughout the year, the youth calendar adds seasonal events - Water Night, Work & Pizza Night, Back to School Bash, Spooky Night, Thanksgiving Hangout, Christmas Party, and a Wacky Prom New Year's Party - to keep the Wednesday rhythm lively.
Encore: Senior Adults Around the Table
Encore is the senior adult ministry of FBC, designed to provide fellowship, instruction, encouragement, and service opportunities for older adults. The ministry hosts quarterly potluck lunches, fellowship nights, monthly ladies' lunch groups, biweekly Bible studies, hymn sings, dine-outs, day trips, and Lunch and Learn gatherings.
The Encore Senior Adult Bible Study meets every other Wednesday at 12:30 pm at the home of Barb and Del Foote on Cherrywood Circle. A Women's Bible Study taught by Valerie Wilson meets on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesdays at 10:15 am in Room 112 of the Adult Education Center and is open to Encore participants. Quarterly Senior Adults Fall Picnics, a Patriotic Picnic in early summer, a Christmas Dinner in December, and movie matinees round out the calendar.
The Encore Fall Retreat is a one-day event held in the fall at Lakeview Baptist Academy in Lone Star. The day's theme in recent years has been drawn from a verse about grateful hearts, and the day includes Bible teaching, music, lunch, laughter, and a chance to ride the FBC mini-bus together to the lake.
Men's, Women's, and Family Ministries
The Men's Ministry gathers in several settings. A weekly evening Men's Group meets on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm in the Worship Center Welcome Room (rotating occasionally into the Prayer Room for the Table Talk subgroup). A fall Men's Bible Study meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 am in the Church Office Building Room 201, walking through a book of the Bible such as 1 John. A Men's Fellowship Breakfast takes place in the Adult Education Gym on Saturdays. Annual highlights include the Men's Campout and the Men's Ministry Cardboard Boat Float at Andy Riley's Lakehouse, where families build boats and compete for trophies.
The Women's Ministry exists to support the larger mission of the church. A Morning Ladies' Bible Study meets the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesdays of the month at 10:15 am in Room 112 of the Adult Education Center, with seasonal studies such as Acts Part 3. An Evening Women's Fall Bible Study, led by Ginny DeBoer, brings women together for a shared meal followed by prayer and study at Barb Foote's home. Fall Ladies' Brunch and Spring ladies' events supplement the calendar.
Projects With a Purpose, a women's craft ministry, meets every second Monday afternoon from 1:30 to 3:00 pm and every fourth Monday evening from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in Room 201 of the Church Office Building. Women of all ages craft items that go to local and global missions.
Small Groups and DNA Groups
Small Groups (called Gospel Communities) are the backbone of discipleship at FBC. Groups meet in homes across the area during the week and provide Accountability, Belonging, and Care. The Small Group Connect Class is the gateway: a four-week class designed to launch new groups and teach the basics of gospel-centered group life. The Connect Class begins each season in Room 116 or CO201 of the Adult Education Center.
Inside the small group context, DNA Groups (Discover, Nurture, Act) bring three same-gender believers together for a weekly rhythm of Scripture discussion, confession, repentance, and prayer for non-believing friends. The format is simple: Discover asks what God taught through the week's Scripture reading; Nurture calls for confession and the speaking of the gospel into one another's lives; Act asks how to respond in obedience and how conversations are going with non-believers. Director of Groups and Classes CJ White oversees both the Small Group and DNA Group ministries.
The Formation Pathway
FBC describes its approach to discipleship through a five-step Formation Pathway. The first step is Solitude with God - regular time in Scripture, prayer, and meditation. The second is the Sunday Gathering, where believers worship, sing, hear the Word preached, and engage with one another before and after the service. The third is Small Groups, the Gospel Communities described above. The fourth is Serving God & Others, where every believer discovers and uses their gifts in the church and the community. The fifth is Supplemental Activities - Bible studies, classes, mission trips, retreats, and events that deepen faith and strengthen community.
Several Sunday morning classes support the pathway at 9 am. Current offerings include How to Study Your Bible in Room 115 and Spiritual Disciplines in Room 117 of the Adult Education Center, with women's and relational groups meeting in Rooms 112 and 120.
Local and Global Missions
Local Missions at FBC is overseen by Local Missions Coordinator Kim Auran and Pastor of Student Ministries & Local Missions Toby Palmer. The church partners with twelve community ministries across the East Texas region: Beds of Hope, Legacy Closet, Buckner, Longview Community Ministries, Hannah House (a faith-based maternity home), Young Life, Young Lives (a Young Life ministry for teen parents), Heartisans (a job and life-skills program for women), Fresh Start (mobile showers, meals, and basic necessities), Mercy Manor, Christian Men and Women's Job Corps, and Christmas for the Least of These. Each third Saturday of the month, a team from FBC serves at Fresh Start by manning the showers and serving meals. Each fourth Sunday, the church collects shelf-stable pantry items and hygiene products for Longview Community Ministries; donation bins are available year-round in the Worship Center Foyer and the Church Office Building.
FBC Serves Longview is a weekday serving initiative when the church gathers in the Loft and disperses to projects around the area. Come to the Table, a structured Wednesday evening Faith & Culture Discussion Group, meets in the Senior High Room of the LOFT.
Global Missions supports more than sixty missionaries and ministries in nearly twenty countries, chaired by Elder Dave Ramaly. Rather than publish missionary profiles online, FBC introduces supported missionaries through occasional presentations during Sunday morning services.
What FBC Believes
Fellowship Bible Church holds to a Statement of Doctrine that guides the theological qualifications of elders, deacons, staff, ministry leaders, teachers, missionaries, and ordination candidates. The statement affirms that the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God and without error in the original manuscripts, that the Bible is to be interpreted in a normal and literal way, and that the believer is guided by the Holy Spirit in understanding it.
FBC believes in one God eternally existing in three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father providentially and sovereignly reigns over His creation. The Son became flesh in Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, who died for the sins of humanity as a substitutionary sacrifice, was buried, rose bodily, and ascended to Heaven where He serves as high priest and advocate. The Holy Spirit is a person possessing all the distinctively divine attributes, who convicts, regenerates, seals, sets apart, and empowers believers.
The church teaches that humanity was created in God's image; that Adam and Eve's sin brought spiritual and physical death and affects every person; and that all people will be resurrected - believers to eternal life and judgment according to their faithfulness, unbelievers to condemnation and eternal suffering apart from God. Salvation is by grace through repentance and personal faith in Jesus Christ, and God elects, justifies, regenerates, sanctifies, and will ultimately glorify every believer. FBC practices believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, and observes communion on the first Sunday of each month.
The church teaches the eternal security of the believer, the continuation of sin in this life, and the call to grow in Christlikeness by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word, prayer, fellowship, and obedience. Christ is the head of the church and all who trust in Him are members of His body. The local church is shepherded by a plurality of elders assisted by deacons, selected according to New Testament standards.
Leadership
Lead Pastor Alex Alexander has served FBC since August 2023. Clay Smith serves as Associate Pastor. Toby Palmer is the Pastor of Student Ministries & Local Missions. CJ White is Director of Groups and Classes. Kristin Dalton serves as Worship Leader and Communications Director. Garion Powell leads Kids' Ministry. Amy Woodson is Student Ministries Coordinator. Kim Auran coordinates Local Missions. Mark Woodson is Facilities Director. Kathy Silvertooth is Ministry Coordinator. Sherry Tipton is Office Administrator, with Katie DeBoer serving as Administration Assistant. Angela Nix and Jean Ames are Nursery Coordinators. Cheryl Fortier serves as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Coordinator.
The Elder board is chaired by Jeff Treanor, with Chris Dalton serving as Vice Chairman and Dirk Coleman as Secretary. Additional elders are Dave Ramaly, Don Westbrook, and Dave DeBoer. Deacons include Jonathan Newman (Chairman), Jarred Lowman (Vice Chairman), Marshall Sherman (Treasurer), Ian Addison (Secretary), Caleb Ashburn, Bryan Morgan, Kurt Bannert, Jeff Decker, Sean Fortier, Ed Rothfus, Ricky Ledbetter, Rusty Lowman, and Kent Morrill.
The McCann Road Campus
The campus at 4600 McCann Road is anchored by the Worship Center, which houses the auditorium, the Welcome Room, and the Prayer Room, along with the nursery. The TreeHouse, the children's and youth building, includes the Kids' Place on one side and the LOFT on the other. The Adult Education Center hosts adult classes, the AWANA program, the Encore gathering space, and the gym. The Church Office Building includes staff offices, Room 201 (a multi-purpose room used by Projects With a Purpose and other ministries), and the CO conference room.
The church offices are open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Donations can be given online, in person during the Sunday offertory or through giving boxes in the lobby, or by mail to the P.O. Box. The FBC App, available through Pushpay, gives access to recent messages, secure giving, and event updates. Services are livestreamed on YouTube, and previous sermons are organized into series on YouTube and on the church's Spotify podcast.
Worship and Music
FBC describes its worship as encompassing all kinds of music. From familiar hymns to contemporary worship songs and the occasional bluegrass arrangement, music is offered to the Lord as an act of worship. The Worship Team rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm in the Worship Center Auditorium. Sermon series from recent years include Hebrews: Jesus is Greater, First Fruits, Summer Playlist, The Greatest Gift, The Book of Acts: To the Ends of the Earth, Nehemiah: Rise Up and Build, Ruth: A Story of Redemption, The Power of Prayer, Philippians: Joy in Troubled Times, and The Church, Culture, and Politics - reflecting a steady diet of book-by-book and topical preaching.
A Church on Mission Together
From its origins in 1981 as a small home group to its present-day campus on McCann Road, Fellowship Bible Church has kept its gospel focus steady while adapting its ministry methods. The five-step Formation Pathway, the strong Sunday-morning teaching schedule, the deep investment in Small Groups and DNA Groups, the breadth of ministries from AWANA to Encore, and the deep network of local mission partners all flow out of a single mission: to worship God, share Jesus Christ, and build believers in everyday life and in the biblical community the church shares together.