History of Fellowship Baptist Church
”and joy cometh in the morning” Psalm 30:5
The late Dr. Joseph A. Gilmore, Sr., Pastor of MT. Ephraim Baptist Church, gently encouraged and guided a small prayer band in their search for a spiritual leader and church home. Dr. Gilmore gave assurance that God needs only a few to do His work. The worshippers continued their quest, all on one accord and committed to the same purpose; to encourage Rev. Veazey to become pastor of the new church.
After repeated appeals, Dr. Veazey assented and became the Founding Pastor of the Fellowship Baptist Church. He said he wanted to establish a church in keeping with the teaching of the New Testament. Rev. Veazey said the name Fellowship was revealed to him and reflects the Baptist mission to create a fellowship of believers, wherein love is practiced in word and deed.
The spiritual journey of the Fellowship Baptist church, led by Reverend Dr. Carlton W. Veazey, Pastor-Founder, began August 19, 1994. The church was organized under the gracious patronage of the Dr. Walter E. Fauntroy, Pastor, New Bethel Baptist Church. Dr. Fauntroy and his parishioners opened their doors and helped the struggling church.
During the first year (1994-95), Fellowship Baptist Church became fully established, having met all church and corporate requirements. The D.C. Charter was issued September 7, 1994. Providentially, the Honorable H. R. Crawford offered the Pastor gratis accommodations at the Roosevelt for Seniors facility located on 16th Street, N.W. in the hope that a spiritual atmosphere and ministry would also be provided to the residents. The mission was very rewarding. A permanent church home now seemed obtainable.
The Fellowship Inaugural Service was held September 25, 1994, at the Roosevelt for Seniors facility. On November 6, 1994, the Pastor was installed by the Reverend Dr. William Gus Roman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After three years, The Roosevelt Mission was closed due to its scheduled renovation. We then moved to the Owl School, also located on 16th Street, N.W. From there, we had a brief tenure at the Howard University School of Divinity Chapel. After much prayer and searching, a church member, the late Sister Carlotta Parks, located the building that became our new home at our present location: 5606 Colorado Avenue, N.W. With great rejoicing, the dedication service was held on September 26, 1999.
Fellowship was further blessed when God sent Reverend Patricia Hailes Fears to serve as Assistant to Pastor Veazey. She ably provided support to our pastor, and both started and implemented church initiatives.
God’s goodness continued to prevail upon us. On September 17, 2011 Fellowship Baptist Church experienced a great spiritual journey on the occasion of its second church retreat, and the first to be led by Dr. Robert Cochran, Assistant Director of the D.C. Baptist Convention. The theme was Driven by Love; Guided by the Holy Spirit. The topics discussed were stewardship, evangelism and Christian Education. As an outgrowth of the retreat, Rev. Veazey appointed several new ministries: Christian Education and Evangelism and Outreach; and the Food Pantry Co-chaired by Trustee Arthuryne J. Taylor and Trustee Jerrel L. Catlett, with Sister Vicey Frazier serving as Coordinator.
Sunday, June 3, 2012 was another special day in the history of Fellowship. Our soloist and pianist, Minister Bonnie W. Burnett delivered her initial sermon. She blessed us with a stirring sermon with scripture taken from the book of Esther.
During July 2014, Pastor Veazey introduced the One Congregation, One Family Program to Fellowship as a major initiative. Underwritten by the District Government and established by Mayor Vincent Gray, One Congregation, One Family is a faith-based approach to ending homelessness and housing instability. It includes mentoring to promote life skills and offer the caring environment and encouragement necessary to foster personal and economic growth for families to move from homelessness to stable housing and improved quality of life. Sisters Cheryl Pitt, Sara Gibbs, Eleese Onami and Donna Nunn served as the church committee for the initiative.
Fellowship is blessed that God has brought it to another major milestone: Rev. Veazey’s and Fellowship’s 22nd Anniversary. When we think about the goodness of the Lord bringing us thus far, we shall forever give Him the Honor, the Glory and the Praise!
Fellowship Baptist Church was greatly blessed to have Rev. Dr. Veazey as our Pastor and founder. So it was with careful planning and prayer that Fellowship engaged in the search for a new Pastor once Rev. Dr. Veazey announced his retirement. After an exhaustive process, Rev. Patricia Fears was called as the second Pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church. She was installed December 11, 2016.