Who are we?  What are the essentials that direct our philosophy of ministry? What do we value as a local body of believers? 

Core values

Worship -Worship is to be the believer’s response to who God is and what he has done. Worship of Almighty God is to be the believer’s greatest priority now and forever.

God’s Word – God’s Word is the final authority and central to all we do. Through the knowledge of God, as revealed to us in his Word, we find all things that pertain to life and godliness. We believe expository preaching/teaching is the best means to accurately communicate God’s truth in its context.

Prayer – Prayer is the primary means through which God’s work on earth is accomplished. It provides the supernatural empowerment for the believer to live a righteous life and to serve God in a worthy manner.

Evangelism – Every believer is to sacrificially love and have compassion on the lost wherever they may be in the world. It is the responsibility and privilege of every believer to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost.

Training – It is the responsibility of the leadership of the local church to be equipping all believers for the work of the ministry through the corporate preaching and teaching of God’s Word. In addition, faithful men are to be discipling other faithful men and older women are to be training younger women in a more personal and individualized way. The training of children rests primarily with the parents, but it is the privilege of the local church to assist the parents in the training and nurturing of their children in the Lord.

Service – Each believer is gifted by the Holy Spirit for service in the body of Christ, through the local church. Each believer is to be using these gifts to actively serve in obedience and for fulfillment as a child of God.

Unity – The local church is to love and care for its own. We are all members of one another and are to be continually seeking ways to serve each other in the spirit of love and humility for the benefit of the whole body.

OUr history

On July 31, 1909, a group of 34 people of like faith met and formed the Olney Christian Church. 

On August 13, 1911,a new church building was dedicated on West Main Street. The reported cost of the building was $15,000. In 1935 the church voted to join the merger with the Congregational Church and the name of the church was changed to the Congregational Christian Church. The first 25 years of the church were a struggle for survival at times, according to meeting notes, but the church always managed to keep going. It was noted that the church, at times, did not even have the funds to pay the pastor. Early church documents indicate that a variety of means were used to raise funds to pay for the church and other expenses including meals served to the Farm Bureau, ice cream socials, a food stand at the fair, pie suppers, per capita tax of members (1916), and on June 10, 1933, a dollar day was held for the purpose of repairing the roof.

In 1963, the church ended its affiliation with the Congregational Church, although the name of the church remained the same. In 1968 the church was introduced to the IFCA, an association of independent churches, pastors, Christian workers, and laymen committed to biblical ministry. In 1985 the church’s name was officially changed to Bible Fellowship Church and today we continue our affiliation with IFCA.

In 1987 the old church building on Main Street was sold to Prairie Farms. A three-acre site for the new church was purchased at 1318 East Hall Street. Construction on the new church began in November 1987 and the first service in the new facility was held on April 6, 1988. Incorporated into the new church building were seven stained glass windows from the Main Street building, including a large window depicting the different soils from the “Parable of the Sower.” As the years passed, new ministries were started at the church including an active missions program, a bus ministry, a children’s ministry, a Christian school (1989 – 1997) , and an AWANA program (2007) for ages 3 – 8th grade.

In 2006 we started a website: www.biblefellowshipolney.org. Our current pastor, Mark Martin, came to us in 2015 from Evansville, Indiana. Throughout the years Bible Fellowship Church has been and continues to be committed to biblical ministry through accurately proclaiming God’s Word, exemplifying Christ’s character, and declaring God’s holiness.

On September 20th, 2009 Bible Fellowship celebrated its 100th anniversary.