the Fellowshipchurch.com story continues...

FC Today FC offers a wide range of activities and ministries for all stages of life. FC's "Home Team" ministry, modeled after the popular cell group system, allows newcomers to meet individuals with similar interests and geographic locations, which would not be otherwise possible due to its size. FC operates a bookstore and coffee bar (The Source), which features mainly FC-logo merchandise and Ed Young's sermons and books. One of the unique features of FC's facility is its outdoor baptistry. (FC does not have an indoor baptistry, a common feature in church architecture among churches which practice baptism by immersion; whenever FC does perform a baptism indoors it uses portable jacuzzis on either side of the stage.) Built like an amphitheater, it is located within a lake on the Grapevine campus (the lake serves as a flood control pond for the property). However, it is physically separated from the lake (to keep whatever may be swimming in the lake out), and is heated similar to a jacuzzi. Notwithstanding that Texas weather is notoriously fickle and at times violent, only on a handful of rare instances have scheduled baptisms been cancelled due to inclement weather. Another fountain on the campus (closer to the building) was the initial outdoor baptistry, and is used most often during winter months to allow individuals to more quickly enter the building after being baptized. FC meets four times each weekend at the Grapevine campus: at 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM on Saturday evenings and at 9:30 AM and 11:15 AM on Sunday mornings. The three satellite campuses meet on Sundays only, at 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM at the Plano and Uptown campuses and at 9:30 AM and 11:15 AM at the Alliance Campus. In addition, FC Grapevine hosts a monthly mid-week service, Emergent Service, which meets on the first Wednesday of each month (the satellite locations do not have mid-week services). Special "age appropriate" services are held for preschoolers and children through 5th grade. FC's Christmas and Easter services are among the area's most popular, and in order to accommodate the large crowds nearly a dozen different services are held over a 3-4 day period. In 2004, FC was able to rent the American Airlines Center for its Christmas services due to the NHL lockout which made the facility available; however, for 2005 it reverted to having multiple services at its campuses (11 at the Grapevine campus, five at Plano, three at Alliance, and two at Uptown). In December 2005, Associated Press reported that Fellowship was one of several American megachurches that would not be holding services on Christmas Day, which in 2005 falls on a Sunday. At least one D/FW area talk show host (Mike Gallagher on KRLD) criticized Fellowship's decision not to hold services that day.