HISTORY

Thank you for visiting the website of Word Fellowship.

Word Fellowship is a community of believers who love Jesus and each other; and seek to grow in our relationship with our Savior. We have a Baptist heritage and have existed as a congregation for over 150 years. We are a community of Bible-believing Christians who seek sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

We invite you to learn more about us, and to come and worship with us.

The purpose of Word Fellowship throughout its history has been to give a faithful witness of its faith in Jesus Christ throughout the Fox Cities, and to serve Christ through its ministries.

As we have done in the past, our vision for the future is to continue to make a difference in the lives of people, and in our community, as we grow in our faith as followers of Jesus Christ. Word Fellowship traces its roots back to 1851, when a small group of people in Neenah began meeting in the homes of interested families for prayer and worship.

At about the same time, Baptists in Menasha were meeting for prayer and worship as well. Around 1860, these two groups of Baptists joined together with a spirit of unity, called a pastor, and rented a hall on Main street for Sunday services. In the years that followed, the congregation moved to several different locations in Neenah and Menasha and had several different names. 

In 1898 we affiliated with the denomination now known as the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. A new church building, on the corner of High and Commercial streets in Neenah became the home of the Union Baptist Church in 1917, and shortly thereafter changed its name to Memorial Baptist Church.

The church became known as Whiting Memorial Baptist Church in 1925. 

In 1969, the congregation built a new building on Tullar Road in Neenah, and changed its name to Whiting Community Baptist Church. Finally, the church became known as Word Fellowship in 2022 to emphasize its focus on family fellowship and the importance of the biblical teaching of God's Word.