We are a Christ centered church that preaches the Gospel and teaches the Bible. We are currently an elder-led congregation. We are associated with the Independent Fundamental Churches of America, now known as IFCA International. For more information on this organization, click here.
The following is a brief summary of our beliefs. For more detailed information, please see our current Constitution and Bylaws which are linked here.
The Bible is the unerring word of God, provided in various ways to individuals and later collected into this “Book” that forms how we live. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally inspired Word of God. Therefore, it is the final authority for faith and life. It is also a lifelong journey to read and understand all that the Bible contains. The goal is that each of us would think biblically about everything that we face, every hour of every day. Scripture is our ultimate authority.
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin humans inherited a sinful nature. This meant we became alienated from God.
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.
In Genesis Chapter 2, we see that God created woman (Eve) from a rib from man (Adam) and declares that she would be united together and be “one flesh” The unique makeup of the two individual sexes were formed to complement each other, being spiritually equal before God but having distinct and separate roles, thus creating what is the most important union in humanity – the family. Marriage is the commitment between one man, one woman and God.
Christian Fellowship Church, was founded by Paul Zimmerman in 1948. What started as a Bible Study/fellowship at Grandview Elementary School, which is now the Grandview Community Center, became the church you now see today. Paul Zimmerman was also the founder of Cedine (a combination of ‘cedar’ and ‘pine’) Ministries, a Bible camp also located in Rhea County, on Watts Bar Lake and an association between the two entities existed until the passing of Dwight (Paul’s son) Zimmerman in 2026.
In 2003, the original church was replaced by the building that you see today, the big blue roof at the top of Grandview mountain.
At this time, Christian Fellowship Church does not have a Lead Pastor and is being led by a board of Elders. Weekly preaching is generally provided by one of the Elders, or a guest Pastor. A search is ongoing for a Lead Pastor.
We are currently an Elder-led congregation. Our elders consist of the following men:
Phillip Zimmerman
Alfred Gilliam
Rick Zollinhofer
c