Fellowship Bible Church: Springdale congregation celebrates 50 years of fellowship and Bible

"Our name says it all: Fellowship Bible Church," said the Rev. Brad Arnold, pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Springdale. "We're big on fellowship, and we're big on the Bible."

Fellowship Bible Church celebrates its 50th anniversary Sunday with a celebration dinner at noon, followed by a short program including videos, testimonies and "praising God for his faithfulness over the last 50 years," wrote member Beverly Carter in an email.

The church began its worship and study on Dec. 31, 1964, when 19 people met at the old Salem Lutheran Church on Thompson Street in Springdale. A few months later, the charter membership numbered 23 adults, who immediately organized a building committee. Bethany Bible Church (as it was called then) dedicated its building (still standing with a few additions) on May 18, 1969, according to a 1969 article in The Springdale News provided by church member Gaye Wheat. Wheat's husband, the late Dr. Ed Wheat, served as one of the first elders of the church, and she still attends today.

"That first meeting can be attributed to the desire of a small group for greater fellowship and deeper knowledge of God's word and to see others come to know Jesus as the Savior," the article quoted Mrs. J.M. Hutchinson.

The Rev. Carl Chewning, a graduate of Bob Jones University and the Dallas Theological Seminary, served as the first pastor. "(He) led the group in its quest for further spiritual understanding," the article continues with information from Hutchinson. "He helped the group establish a Bible-teaching church with emphasis on in-depth Bible study."

The name change of the church came in 1981 under the leadership of the Rev. Lowery Foster of the Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland, Ore. "The church took the new name, 'Fellowship Bible Church,'" reads a 1987 church history written by the late Richie Wadsworth. " 'Fellowship' indicated emphasis on forming close relationships. 'Bible' addresses the affirmation to the truth of Scriptures, as inspired by inerrant word of God, as the only standard of authority. 'Church' defines that group of people committed to these concepts."

Today, Arnold continues that tradition with "systematic, expository Bible preaching and teaching."

He explained that each Sunday, he teaches through the books of the Bible, one paragraph at a time. "It might be two or three verses or one chapter each Sunday, no matter how long it takes," he said. For example, he recently finished teaching the Gospel of Luke, and it took him and the congregation 2 1/2 years to finish the study.

Today's 180-plus members of church truly are a family, Arnold continued. "We get together and eat dinner every Sunday night (and every fourth Sunday after worship). So Sunday can be essentially an all-day family gathering. We sit down across the table from one another, and anything we need to discuss, we discuss."

Johnny Stamps of Springdale joined the church shortly after it was formed. "I had two young children, and we had moved to Springdale," she related. "I needed a church, and this one was just five blocks from where I lived. So we just went there, and I've enjoyed my time there."

She said Fellowship Bible has good fellowship and straight teaching, and she agrees with the local church doctrine that Jesus came for a purpose and that purpose was to die for mankind's sins.

Wheat noted that her husband and she wanted a church "teaching word for word from the Scriptures," she said. "I believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God."

Wheat feels she gets a good study of scripture and how it can be applied to practical daily living. "And we would edify people, build them up to present the gospel to people not saved," she added, noting the church members, from time to time, would take that message to the surrounding neighbors, with a door-to-door evangelical campaigns.

The women both recalled Sunday school and Bible school and clubs such as the Pioneer Girls for children. The work continues today with these activities as well as independent Bible clubs and summer Bible camps at area schools. "It's a way to stay connected to the kids," Arnold said.

Claire Peckham Jentsch is the granddaughter of longtime pastor the Rev. John Glasser and attended Fellowship Bible from a young age. "My earliest memories are of crawling from the back of the sanctuary to the front under the pews while my mom was practicing with the choir," Jentsch said. "I also took flute lessons there, sang in the youth choir and helped teach Sunday school kids how to sing hymns. So music plays in my head when I think of Fellowship Bible Church. It's usually 'Be Thou My Vision' -- my favorite hymn -- or 'It Is Well with My Soul' -- my grandmother's favorite. She passed away in my junior year of high school, so it's bittersweet to think about it, especially since hymns had too many verses for me to fully appreciate them when I was younger.

"I think Fellowship Bible Church influences more deeply now than it did when I was a kid," Jentsch continued. "Because the church was a second home to me growing up, I didn't think much about the music or the biblical teaching or the potlucks every fourth Sunday. That was all commonplace then, but since I've moved to Austin, Texas, graduated college, gotten married and become a member of another fantastic church, I realize how much Fellowship Bible taught me about what a strong church community looks like. It's not flashy -- for most of my life there was only one piano, one organ and people's voices for music -- but people visit and stay because the church regulars are so welcoming and so ready to make and keep friends. I never feel like I've left for long when I visit because everyone greets me with so much love and so much genuine interest in my life. The joy of community is what Fellowship Bible Church taught me, and I hope to help create the same kind of communities anywhere I go in my life."

"This is genuinely a loving church," Arnold said. "We are a family. We love each other and newcomers."

"They're welcome to come and hear some good preaching and enjoy some good fellowship," Stamps said.

Longtime members reflect on the growth of their church and building. After the old Salem Lutheran Church building (on Thompson Street) was sold, the congregation met in the basement of the old library building, Dr. Wheat's office building and then rented the Sisco Funeral Home.

They can identify the original part of the building on the corner of Emma Avenue and Campbell Drive and what was added later. Many remember when the nursery used to be where the front door is today.

Stamps remembered the nursery was located at the back of the sanctuary, with a big, plate-glass window, from where the mothers could watch the sermon. She also recalled the mud surrounding the building when it was first built -- without sidewalks. "Finally, somebody put down some wooden pallets to make a sidewalk into the building. We all parked in the street, and it was a long walk from the street. Those were some muddy pallets."

"That history is really important to the church community," Arnold said. "We need to know it's not all about us. There were people who came before us, and people who will come after us.

"And we're thankful that the Lord allowed us to hire a third full-time pastor last year to work with our students," he continued.

Wadsworth wrote in her history that "the ultimate purpose (of the church) was to 'praise all of his glory.'" (Ephesians 1:14).

Arnold continues to preach "the gospel that Jesus is Lord," he said. "(Jesus) came to die and save us from sin. We reconciled through him, and we will make disciples for him."

Again, making his words relevant to the Christian community today, the church practices football each week, Arnold said: "The blocking, the tackling and the handing off are such important fundamentals, but they're still just the basics. We want to be good at the basics."

NAN Religion on 06/27/2015