Beliefs

At Frazer, we join with millions Christians who have traditionally affirmed the Apostle’s Creed as a summary of the key points we believe are true, as explained in the Bible and passed on through the Church around the world and across the centuries. Here it is:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of the Father Almighty.
from thence he shall come again to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

History

Small beginnings

Frazer Church began in 1889 when a local preacher organized a Sunday School in a storeroom on Holt Street in Montgomery. In 1892 a minister was assigned to the group and the church was organized as part of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Historic move

In the 1960s, Frazer had about 500 members. The construction of Interstates 85 and 65 caused many of the members to move to other parts of town. Some denominational consultants studied the problem and basically suggested the church disband.

After more discussion, the pastor, Rev. Noah Lisenby, is reported to have leaped out of his chair, looked at the people present, and said, "You may know statistics and demographics, but you don't know the heart of the people of Frazer, and you don't understand God's purpose for these people!"

Eventually, five acres of property in East Montgomery were offered to the church. At the time it was simply an open cotton field well outside the city limits with few houses around, but members stayed faithful to the church and began to invite others to join them. As the city grew out toward the East, the church grew as well.

The growth

Over the next 30 years, Frazer became one of the fastest-growing Methodist congregations in America. In 1990, it had the largest worship attendance and the largest Sunday School attendance of any Methodist congregation in North America.

To reach even more people, Frazer began to offer multiple Sunday morning worship services and Sunday School hours in 1978. In 1992, Frazer invested in a state-of-the-art television ministry and studio to take the message of Christ to the greater Montgomery community, state, nation, and even the world.

On Easter Sunday 2000, Frazer began offering Contemporary as well as Traditional Worship services. In 2003, an additional service, totally in Spanish, was begun and a full-time Hispanic minister was hired. A Chinese language congregation was launched at Frazer that now meets in another location. Today, the Contemporary Worship service is translated into Korean and American Sign Language.

In 2016, Frazer planted a site in the Pike Road community which was launched as Century Church in 2017. We have financially supported the construction of churches and schools in Haiti, Malawi, Kenya, and elsewhere, and we hope to continue to be used by God to plant new churches in our region or around the world.

The pandemic of 2020-2021 brought new challenges to every church. Through its media ministries, Frazer was well-positioned to continue to reach out and connect with people during the height of lockdown. As the world has gradually returned to in-person worship, Frazer has once again seen renewed growth as people have been reminded of our deep need to connect with God and with one another.

The future

Frazer enjoys a rich heritage, but we believe our greatest days are yet to come. Not because we are such great people, but because we think God is at work in the world and wants to do great things through us. A glimpse of where we are headed:

Welcoming All People: Frazer is one of the most diverse churches in our area, and we believe God desires for us to become even more diverse as we reach new people with the love of Christ from every part of our community and beyond.

Biblical Foundations: Frazer remains committed to the anchor of truth found in the Bible amidst the shifting seas of our confused culture, but all too often our society has become biblically illiterate. We are developing new ways for people to engage with the Bible so that everyone can encounter the life-transforming power of God's Word for themselves.

Family Focus: we see families under stress all around us, but we believe there is hope in Christ. In addition to our excellent Children's Ministry and Student Ministry, Frazer is developing a coordinated family ministry strategy to strengthen marriages, equip parents, heal broken families, and care for orphans and foster children.

Neighborhood Impact: we will continue our heritage of serving the community through more focused partnerships to meet the needs of our neighbors with lasting solutions. Our Transformation Montgomery project has opened the door to providing tutoring and after-school programs in Chisholm Elementary and launched a new preschool program in 2017.

Holistic Ministry: we believe that Jesus brings healing and deliverance to the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Frazer has a long history of sports and activities ministries designed to bring health to the body, including a full-service gymnasium with a broad variety of sports programs. In 2022, we took our commitment to mental health to a new level, launching our first Faith Meets Mental Health summit to bring together the community and overcome the stigma that too often surrounds the mental health conversation. In the future, we desire to be at the fore-front of addressing the mental health crisis in our community.

Our Connection

In 2022, the Frazer Family discerned God's call to affiliate with the Free Methodist Church, a historic branch of the Wesleyan/Methodist/Holiness Movement in America dating back to the 1860s. Free Methodists gained their name in part due to their stance against slavery (freedom for all people), their commitment to ministry with the poor (free access to the church), and their belief in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit (free worship). From small beginnings in upstate New York, the FMC now includes over a million people in nations around the world. Today, the values of the Free Methodist Church are encapsulated in the "Free Methodist Way." Learn more by visiting www.fmcusa.org.