History

Brief History of Faith Christian Fellowship

1980 — FCF was established as a mission church in Baltimore City. Approximately 10 people made up the original congregation with Craig Garriott as the organizing pastor.

1981 — In the spring, Craig and his wife, Maria, moved into an apartment house in the 3500 block of Greenmount Avenue and began holding worship services in their living room. Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) sponsored an Urban Summer Project with FCF with the leadership of IVCF Staff Director Stan Long. Some key leaders remained to assist in the development of the church. 

1983 — FCF began worshipping in the former Boundary United Methodist Church at 505 East 42nd Street in January and soon afterward purchased the facility. FCF claimed Pen Lucy as our target community for Christian community development. In the spring FCF, became a particular church with its own leadership and supporting congregation of 48 members, including 25 children. Craig Garriott was ordained and called to become the pastor. Bill Bolling and Bob Jenkins were ordained as ruling elders. 

1986 — FCF supported five members, including organizing pastor, Mark Gornick, and deacon Kelly Simpkins, to establish a work in West Baltimore that became New Song Community Church and Urban Ministries.

1993 — FCF began Baltimore Christian School (BCS) to address the educational crisis and needs of the community and surrounding area under the leadership. The school began with five children in kindergarten.

1998 — Pen Lucy Youth Partnership (PLYP) began under the direction of Kevin Good, to serve the children and families in Pen Lucy and the surrounding communities through educational tutoring, sports leagues, and mentoring.

1999 — The Pen Lucy Action Network (PLAN) was formed and incorporated as a nonprofit community development organization to complement the existing church ministries of Pen Lucy by assisting residents in correcting injustices for the glory of God. 

2000 — The Reconciliation Task Force of FCF completed its Unity Declaration, a creed declaring holistic biblical unity in the Body of Christ as we seek to celebrate and apply the reconciling work of Christ across various racial, social and economic divides. ----The Rev. Stan Long joined the pastoral staff at FCF as co-pastor.

2003 — Vision of Faith building campaign was launched to enlarge our ministry capacity of educational and recreational justice with supportive worship space. ---- Mr. Eli Foster became minister of youth.

2006 — FCF Celebrated 25 years of God’s faithfulness through a Faith Re-United weekend and  confirmed God’s call to work to expand the vision and ministry of Faith through a Multi Site church movement. “A Thousand Resurrections: An Urban Spiritual Journey” by Maria Garriott was published.  Following two years of prayerful study and research, FCF came to the conviction that God was leading us to become a multi-site church movement while remaining one church meeting in different locations in order to strategically expand God’s Kingdom. 

2007 — The internal Vision of Faith building campaign was completed with the church body contributing approximately one million dollars towards the approximate five million dollar capital expansion. We look to God to raise up the additional donor partners, both external and internal to complete the VOF campaign. 
 — After extensive re-evaluation of our Christian community development (CCD) value and in response to the Pen Lucy Action Network board’s request, FCF received PLAN to become the CCD ministry of FCF along with Baltimore Christian School.      
— Faith Urban Works was established as the umbrella entity of FCF that unites BCS and PLAN as a consolidated enterprise for CCD in Pen Lucy and Baltimore.