OUR HISTORY

IT WAS DURING THE SUMMER OF 1989. That’s when the idea started to take root, as a few families gathered in a living room to discuss the possibility of planting a new church in western Fairfax County.

We wanted our faith to make a difference. We wanted to do more than talk about Christianity – we wanted to live it. We never wanted to be a spectator church. We also prayed that human traditions would never become as important as biblical absolutes. We had seen too much “playing church,” and we wanted to try a different approach. So we were determined to never stop asking the question, “Why are we doing what we are doing?”

God has placed a passion in our hearts to help people connect with God. Furthermore, it is our passion to see people experience life change through Jesus Christ. If we are not growing in Christ, being transformed into His likeness, then we are wasting our time.

So on August 3, 1989, six families said “yes,” and Community Bible Church was born with only a pastor on staff. We held our first worship service on September 17th in the AFCEA office building in Fairfax, with about 20 people attending.

The book of Acts was our first study, because we wanted to pattern CBC as closely as possible around the Early Church. We only could afford to rent the AFCEA auditorium and one large room in the beginning, so each Sunday morning we subdivided the room into four areas for the children, and after church we packed everything into several ©Rubbermaid containers that were stored in a closet during the week. Eventually we gained permanent office space and Sunday School rooms in the building.

Since then, CBC has grown and added a worship leader, children’s ministry director, and administrative staff. We’ve weathered the challenges of selecting a new pastor after our founding pastor moved out of state, finding a new home for our church when the AFCEA building was sold to developers, and most recently, including an online streaming platform for our worship service to tide us over until COVID restrictions are lifted. Through it all, the Lord has been faithful to provide abundantly for all of our needs.

This brief history is not intended to praise the past – far from it. It is included to point us to the future. Our prayer, if you decide to join our church, is that you would come alongside us, embrace the vision, and commit to connecting for life change through Jesus Christ.