As Samford students seek to find local churches in the Birmingham area, they often visit churches like the Church at Brook Hills, Church of the Highlands, Iron City Church, Redeemer Community Church, Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Mountain Brook Community Church and the like. These churches are known for their large college ministries and popularity among Samford students. Yet, one Samford student, Maddie Thompson found community at Christ Fellowship Church.
While just 3.8 miles away from Samford University, Christ Fellowship Church is relatively unknown among Samford students. Located on the corner of Greensprings Highway and Valley Avenue, Christ Fellowship seeks to serve the community in the Greensprings area of Homewood.
In 2012, a core group from the Church at Brook Hills were commissioned to plant a church in Homewood in an effort to reach the community around them. Bart Box, the Pastor for Biblical Training at the Church at Brook Hills, left to become the Senior Pastor at Christ Fellowship Church.
In a message to his church, Box said, “We need to be outgoing to those who won’t come to us, inviting them to church as we have opportunity.”
It was this mission that led Maddie Thompson to Christ Fellowship Church. “I had a small connection through a friend in Charlotte who has family friends involved [at Christ Fellowship], so it was on my radar to visit when first coming to Samford. I tried a few different churches the first semester like Brook Hills, Iron City, Redeemer, Mountain Brook Community and ultimately decided on CFC because it was clear that what they taught and did were solely rooted in scripture,” Thompson said.
For Samford students, one of the biggest challenges is getting connected to the church they attend. Many of the churches are large and have several different services. Christ Fellowship has intentionally designed a space where the church is exposed to one another in a single service.
“Since [Christ Fellowship] is a smaller congregation, they have made it a place where the members and families do life together. Growth groups are multigenerational including pastors, older adults, young adults, college students and kids,” Thompson said.
If you are interested in learning more about Christ Fellowship Church, you can visit their website at https://www.cfcbirmingham.org