Ed Young (Fellowship Church)
Edwin Barry "Ed" Young, known professionally as Ed Young, Jr., is the founding and senior pastor of Fellowship Church.
Early life
Born in Canton, North Carolina, Young is the oldest son of Homer Edwin Young, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church Houston in Houston, Texas. He attended and played basketball at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, where he received a basketball scholarship. After his sophomore year, he transferred to Houston Baptist University where he received his bachelor's degree followed by a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.Early Ministry Work
After his studies, he returned to Houston, Texas to work at Second Baptist Church Houston as an associate pastor.Fellowship Church
In February 1989, Young began Fellowship Church out of a rented office complex before moving to an arts center. In 1996, Fellowship Church moved into Irving's MacArthur High School to accommodate five weekend services and a weekly attendance of 5,000. Fellowship Church opened its first permanent facility on a 141-acre property in Grapevine, Texas in 1998.In 2003, Fellowship Church opened its first two satellite locations in Plano and Fort Worth, TX. A third satellite campus launched two years later in Dallas, TX. Between the four locations, weekly attendance was over 20,000. In May 2006, Fellowship Church opened a satellite campus in South Miami, FL; North Port Florida in 2017. In August 2018, Journey Church in Norman, OK became Fellowship Church Norman. The Plano, South Miami, North Port, and Norman locations were later sold to other groups.
In 2008, Fellowship Church hosted its first summer camp and retreat center in Hawkins, TX at Allaso Ranch.