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Our History and Name

In the summer of 1981, a small group of Christians gathered to search the scriptures and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. They met at the home of Dr. & Mrs. Raymond Saxe and various locations around Ann Arbor. They elected to call themselves Fellowship Bible Church. 'Fellowship' comes from the Greek word which means communion, sharing, and partnership.

With the cooperation of the Ann Arbor School Board, the assembly began holding regular Sunday and Wednesday services at the Forsythe Intermediate School in Ann Arbor. The pulpit was filled by Rev. Emmett Pope (Pastor Emeritus, Mayfair Bible Church in Flint), and Rev. Merritt Johnson (pastor and former WEF Ministries missionary in Germany). Soon, Dr. Saxe agreed to shepherd the new flock. Accordingly, Fellowship Bible Church incorporated with the state of Michigan as a non-profit, ecclesiastical body. In 1984, a constitution, by-laws, and doctrinal statement were approved.

In 1987, Fellowship Bible purchased the former Edith Bader elementary school from the Ann Arbor School District. The building was dedicated in conjunction with the April 1987 Missionary conference. Rev. Paul A. Tidball, Superintendent of Cleveland Hebrew Mission, and the New Tribes Bible Institute Choir of Jackson participated in the dedication service. The building provides a very suitable auditorium, rooms for Sunday school classes and quiet prayer, and a location close to the university campuses in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

In April 2006, Pastor Saxe told the congregation at age 83 and after 25 years at FBC and over 43 years of service to the Lord in Ann Arbor, plus many years in other churches and on the mission field in South Africa, it was time to retire the pulpit and leadership of Fellowship Bible. The church subsequently called Dr. Matthew Postiff in May 2006 to be their pastor. He had his first serious Bible training from Pastor Saxe, had gone to seminary, and had been ordained by FBC. It has been an encouragement to see the words of 2 Timothy 2:2 fulfilled in our very own assembly!

Since its inception, FBC has hosted many Bible conferences and missionary conferences. These activities, along with personal outreach, regular Bible teaching, God-honoring worship, and prayer help us to keep our focus on being a faithful witness for the Lord until His imminent return. May He get the glory.

In July 2011, Fellowship Bible celebrated 30 years of God's faithfulness in protecting and providing for His work among us. Pastor Merritt Johnson was able to return and encourage us by his preaching. Join us in thanking God, for though we are not fully what we ought to be, we are thankful that God has used us as a gospel light. We hope to continue doing so until Christ's return for us.

In 2012, FBC began a new work to plant a daughter church in the nearby community of Howell, Michigan. Howell is the county seat for Livingston County, a fast-growing area north of Ann Arbor along I-96 between Brighton and Lansing. Mid 2014 saw the church purchase a building for this outreach ministry as we continue to focus our effort on reaching people who need the Lord west and north of Howell. The new church became independent in January 2017 and continues to minister for the Lord. Please pray for its growth!

The church has also been blessed with a parsonage for its senior pastor (January 2007) and a second parsonage for additional staff (April 2023).

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