Before we dive into what makes Fellowship unique, here's a quick glimpse of our journey:

Founded in 1987 under Doug Bannister's leadership, Fellowship began with a vision to move people beyond cultural religion into authentic relationship with Jesus. What started as a basement Bible study grew into a thriving community committed to gospel-centered teaching and spiritual formation.

Rick Dunn joined in 1997 and became Lead Pastor in 2002, guiding us through a season of deeper formation and community engagement. Over the years, we expanded our teaching team, planted churches throughout Knoxville, launched the Koinonia Network, and invested in raising up multi-generational leaders.

In 2024, RD McClenagan became our Lead Pastor after serving on our teaching and leadership teams since 2016. We're excited about this new chapter as we continue pursuing our calling together.

At Fellowship, we exist to glorify God by calling every person to follow Jesus and become more like Him in every area of their lives.

• We believe that God makes you new, and we're here to help you grow into the fullness of who God created you to be.
• We believe that God places you in a family of believers who will walk with you, encourage you, challenge you, and celebrate with you.
• And we believe that God invites you into His grand story of renewal—giving your life away for the sake of others, joining His mission to bring hope and healing to a broken world.

Jesus is the head of the church. Under His leadership, we're governed by a board of elders who provide spiritual oversight, care, and direction. Our Lead Pastor serves alongside these elders, and together they seek God's vision for our church family.

We're affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), which means we're connected to a larger family of churches that share our Statement of Faith.

Our position papers are a collection of documents that define specific precepts and principles of Christian community. Before committing to membership, we encourage you to view those on our website here.

Fellowship Church’s official Bylaws and its articles outline in detail our purpose, leadership structure, guidelines, and much more. Our Bylaws can be found here.

We're not just about information—we're about transformation. Spiritual formation is the process of becoming more like Jesus in every area of your life. We believe the local church should be a place where this deep work happens through teaching, community, worship, and practice.

At our core, we exist to make disciples. Not just church attenders, but fully devoted followers of Jesus who are being formed into His likeness and making disciples themselves.

Here's how to make it official:

• Complete Your Membership Application 
  This online form asks about your personal and spiritual background and gives you the chance to share your story of coming to faith in Jesus. You’ll also have the chance to watch a few of our pastors share about the various parts of Fellowship, read through our position papers, and write down any questions that come to mind to ask at your membership interview.
• Schedule Your Pastoral Interview 
  Once we receive your application, we'll set up a brief conversation for you with one of our pastors. This is a chance for us to get to know you, hear your story, answer any questions, and celebrate this step together. At the interview, a pastor can help answer questions about getting connected, serving, and what it means to be a member of Fellowship Church. (Note: If you're married, we prefer to interview couples together, but each person needs to complete their own application.)
• Welcome Home 
  After your interview, you'll officially become a member! We'll celebrate with you, introduce you to the church, and help you find your place in the mission.

We don't want you to rush through this. Take your time with the content on this page. Watch the videos. Read the position papers. Wrestle with the questions. Pray about it.

Why? Because we genuinely believe God has more for you, and we want you to step into membership with your eyes wide open, your heart fully engaged, and your commitment deeply rooted in God's call on your life. We can't wait to walk this journey with you.