A Pentecostal Church at the Corner of North Galloway
Fellowship Church Assembly of God sits along North Galloway Road in the north Lakeland neighborhood, a part of Polk County where residential streets meet the agricultural edges of central Florida. Pastor Applewhite began preaching, teaching, and ministering in this community in September of 1975, and the congregation now gathers under the name Fellowship Church Assembly of God, a name chosen to express its twin calling: "fellowship with Christ" and "fellowship with community."
The lead pastor, Danny Applewhite, is a "people's pastor" deeply involved in Lakeland. He and his wife, Carol, have been married for fifty-three years and have raised three children, with twelve grandchildren between them. Two of their sons, Jason and David, now serve on staff, and a granddaughter, Kamrynn, leads the children's ministry. After half a century of ministry in the same community, the family ties between the Applewhites and the church are hard to separate from the church's identity.
Sunday Morning at 10:00 AM
Sunday morning worship gathers at 10:00 AM in the main sanctuary. The service is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube for those who cannot attend in person, and giving is available online through an EasyTithe link. A nursery is offered for children three years old and younger during the service, and older children step out to their own Kids Room for age-appropriate Bible lessons.
The Kids ministry, led by Kamrynn Applewhite ("Miss Kam"), combines high-energy praise and worship with lesson-driven games and activities. Parents are welcome to keep younger ones with them in the sanctuary if they prefer, but the children's wing is set up to be a safe, nurturing, and fun environment designed to introduce kids to Jesus in language they understand.
Midweek Connect on Wednesdays
Wednesday night is the church's other weekly gathering point. Doors open at 6:00 PM with a free meal for families, and at 7:00 PM the teaching hour begins. The program is called Midweek Connect, and its theme is "Developing a Deeper Intimacy with Jesus." Mike Hay leads the adult discipleship class in the main sanctuary; Pastor Jason and Erin Applewhite lead a young-adult Bible study for ages 18 to 29 in the fellowship hall; Pastor Jamie leads Misfits Youth in the Youth House; and the kids and nursery classes continue on their own schedule. The format is focused teaching, genuine fellowship, and intentional instruction.
Five times a year, the fifth Wednesday lands on a special service night. Senior adults are treated to an evening of food and old hymns; youth and young adults move into the main sanctuary for a combined service; and the kids and nursery continue as usual. Those dates fall in January, April, July, September, and December.
Misfits Youth: A Place for Middle and High School Students
Middle school and high school students meet at the Youth House on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM. The name Misfits comes from the conviction that "not of this world" is an identity, not an insult. The vision is to help students find purpose in Christ and build a relationship with Him through discipleship, outreach, community, and empowerment, and to learn to live like Christ in everyday life.
Beyond the weekly meeting, Misfits offers a full calendar: District Fine Arts in April and May, summer camp in June and July, National Fine Arts in August, Youth Conference in November, semi-annual lock-ins, and monthly Q&A nights where students can ask anything about the Bible, life, or even dinosaurs. Students who advance from district competition have the chance to compete at the national level.
The student ministry is led by Pastor Jamie and Anais Breden. Jamie grew up as an Assemblies of God preacher's kid and is a graduate of Southeastern University with a degree in Church Ministries.
MenFC: Men Following Christ
The men's ministry at Fellowship Church is called MenFC, anchored by 1 Corinthians 16:13-14: "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. All that you do must be done in love." David Applewhite directs the ministry, with a calling to connect men with the transformative power of Jesus Christ, to support young men walking toward adulthood, strengthen husbands, nurture fathers, and inspire grandfathers to keep passing down wisdom and values.
MenFC meets twice a month in formats designed to fortify a man's spiritual journey. On the first Saturday of each month at 8:00 AM the men gather for a hot breakfast, fellowship, and an uplifting message. On the third Saturday at 6:00 PM they host a free cookout at the barn on the church property, an evening when the church invites men to bring their sons and a friend.
What Fellowship Church Believes
The statement of beliefs at the heart of Fellowship Church is structured around two ideas. The first is fellowship with Christ, made real through worship and discipleship. The second is fellowship with community, made real through relationships and outreach.
The church believes in one God who eternally exists in three co-equal and co-eternal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the Trinity. They teach that people were created in God's image to have fellowship with Him, that sin broke that fellowship, and that a person cannot restore it through their own efforts. They hold to the gospel: that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, crucified for sins and raised on the third day. They believe salvation is by grace through the Holy Spirit, a gift received by faith and not earned by effort.
The church regards the Old and New Testaments as the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God, the final authority for how followers of Jesus should live. They describe the Christian life as an ongoing process of spiritual growth through the Holy Spirit and Scripture, in which every believer uses their spiritual gifts to build up the church. Two ordinances mark the life of the church: water baptism, which the church calls the initial evidence of joining the Body of Christ, and the Lord's Supper (communion), the continual evidence of unity, observed with bread and grape juice in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice.
The statement of beliefs also includes a definition of biblical marriage as a covenant uniting one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union for life, instituted by God and entered into publicly before Him. The church teaches that Jesus Christ will return physically to earth to set up His Kingdom at a time known only to the Father, that believers will dwell with Him forever, and that those who do not receive Christ will perish in the lake of fire.
Get Involved at Fellowship Church
The church office phone is (863) 858-4471, the email is info@FellowshipChurchAG.com, and the address is 4405 N Galloway Road in Lakeland. The church gives online through EasyTithe.