Fairfax Circle Baptist Church

1. How old is Fairfax Circle Baptist Church?

Our church was started in 1967 by a small group of Christian friends. The first services were held in homes of group members. By August of 1967 the church had grown to the point that meeting in homes was no longer an option and it began meeting at Layton Hall Elementary School.

In 1969 the church purchased the property where the current building is located. The “yellow house” was used at the time for office and meeting space. Since then the “yellow house” has been used for many functions and is now used primarily by local twelve step groups. In 1973 the church purchased the west end property where our current Youth Center is housed. And in 1981 the church began making plans to build a third building phase. The building was competed in 1984 and now houses our offices, KidZone and “Blue Room.”


2. What other groups is your church affiliated with?

Fairfax Circle Baptist Church is completely autonomous from any group, organization, or denomination. As a church, we create our own form of governance, select our own pastoral leadership and own our properties.

However, some of our work requires us to cooperate with other churches and denominational organizations. We are currently affiliated with:

• The NorthStar Church Network:
A network of 180 congregations representing a wide diversity of ethnic, language and cultural groups.

• The Virginia Baptist Convention:
1,420 churches that fellowship together with the goal of evangelizing our state

• The Southern Baptist Convention:
42,000 churches that cooperate together in a world-wide effort of missions

• Purpose Driven Ministries:
A global ministry of Saddleback Church whose aim is to help local congregations around the world reach and maintain a healthy balance between the five biblical purposes- worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and missions -- expressed in the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).


3. What are your views on baptism?

We practice what is referred to as believer’s baptism. By this we mean that only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior are eligible for baptism. Our form of baptism is baptism by immersion.

Children, youth and adults can all participate in this wonderful symbol of Christian faith. Believers who have been baptized by immersion in other church groups will find their baptisms honored.

While we understand and respect traditions within the Christian Church that practice infant baptism, at Fairfax Circle Baptist Church we do not baptize infants. However, we do believe it is important to provide an opportunity for Christian parents to publicly dedicate themselves and their children to the Lord. Therefore, we frequently have children dedications during our worship services for that purpose.


4. What are your views on women serving in the church?

We believe that the role of anyone in the church is based on their calling from God. We use the term SHAPE to talk about one’s spiritual gifts, heart (passions), abilities, personality, and experiences. We believe that everyone should serve based on how God has shaped them to serve.

As a result, Fairfax Circle Baptist Church places no restrictions on the service of women in the church; leadership, teaching, or preaching.

We currently have women serving as Pastors, lay-leaders, teachers, on leadership teams and advisory councils, and in other key areas of ministry.


5. How does a person become a member of Fairfax Circle Baptist Church?

Membership involves three steps:

1. Commit to Jesus Christ and be baptized. This involves recognizing your need for Christ in your life, asking God to forgive your sinful way of living and inviting Jesus to be in charge of your life. You may be able to do this alone, but many people have found that the assistance of a mature Christian is helpful at this time.

2. Attend CLASS 101. CLASS 101 is taught periodically throughout the year. It’s a three hour seminar type class. It is a basic introduction to Fairfax Circle Baptist Church.

3. Sign a membership commitment. In CLASS 101 we discuss what a commitment to membership means and make commitment cards available. If you have attended CLASS 101 but did not fill out a membership commitment, you can contact our church office at 703-573-7372 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to request a card.


6. Does Fairfax Circle Baptist Church support, or ask your members to support any particular political party or to take a stance on certain political issues?

Fairfax Circle Baptist Church is a diverse congregation. We find our unity in our essential beliefs, our mission and in our core values. Therefore we do not engage in supporting any particular political party and allow members personal liberty in political issues.