Church History

On December 3, 1945, Fairmont Presbyterian Church was incorporated in what is now the City of Kettering, with 42 members. Rev. Roland “Rit” Anderson was the founding pastor, with Marguerite Bowden serving as organist. The young church first met in the dance hall at Dayton’s Community Golf Course, in members’ homes, and briefly in the Dorothy Lane Fire House and the Dorothy Lane School.

In January 1948, a new “basement” church was dedicated (directly under the current sanctuary). The cost of the was $95,000 (in 1948 dollars) and eight members took it upon themselves to sign the bank loan.

By 1951, Fairmont’s growing congregation needed more space. Fairmont members came together to plan a new sanctuary and to add a wing for Sunday School rooms, the library, and fellowship hall. In January 1952, the building’s cornerstone was laid, and in the following year, the new sanctuary was dedicated. By 1955, membership had grown to 1,300, and the congregation began an expansion of the education wing. By 1959, membership was over 1,800 and Fairmont had the largest Sunday School enrollment in Ohio. Membership peaked at 3,000 in 1973, as the suburbs south of Dayton continued to grow.

Fairmont’s current membership is a community of several hundred committed people, seeking to live transformed lives through the Holy Spirit. We look to the future with great faith!