In 1967, Wilma and Thurston Carter began to experience the Holy Spirit in their lives. Soon, they began to desire to find other people in Abilene who also wanted to learn more about the Holy Spirit. By the end of the year, a small group had formed. They met each Thursday evening at the Carters' house to pray, worship, study the Bible, and discuss what God had been doing in their lives. The following year the group began to meet on Sunday mornings as well--but never with the idea that a church would emerge. Those who met there simply believed that if they followed God and truly sought to learn more about Him, that other people who desired the same things would join them. From 1970 to 1973, people continued to join the gathering, and eventually they began to see themselves as a church. They continued in this manner--meeting on Thursdays and Sundays in the Carter home--until 1979.

In 1979 the group started Word of Emmanuel Church in a building on N. 12 street. It had about 50 members and was pastored by Wilma Carter. The church emphasized prayer, praise and worship, strong teaching of the Bible, and an understanding of the Holy Spirit. WOE continued to grow and, in 1981, Steve Mansfield was brought on staff as an Associate Pastor. In 1987, Steve took over as the Senior Pastor (a title he held until October of 1991) and the church continued to grow steadily.

Scott Beard became the Senior Pastor to nearly 100 people in mid-February of 1992. Under his leadership, Word of Emmanuel's continued growth soon demanded that a new location be found. An old grocery story on the corner of N. 3rd and Mockingbird provided exactly the space and multi-purpose possibilities they were looking for and so, after some renovations, the church had a new home. After the move, WOE continued to grow in size (in both members and staff) and in vision. It was during Scott's early years at WOE that the decision was made to begin cell groups (now called "Life Groups"), and to make them an important part of the makeup of the church.

Eventually, WOE found itself looking to take on new roles in the city in 1999. With the role changes came a new name--Emmanuel Fellowship Church. After that time, EFC continued to thrive. The church was beginning to make an impact in the city of Abilene, as well as in the world. Soon, missions (both local and foreign) became an important part of who EFC considered itself to be. The changes that this caused in the church's outlook brought a need for vision and mission statement refinements. Pastor Scott and the Elders began to listen carefully to see what purpose God had for Emmanuel Fellowship. It soon became clear that EFC was to become an "apostolic fountainhead". This quickly began to redefine who EFC saw itself to be, and in 2003 the congregation further identified with what God had spoken by changing its name to FountainGate Fellowship. That same year, Pastor Scott and the Elders of the church felt that there was no longer enough space to continue growing and fulfilling its purpose in the building at 3001 N. 3rd. Thus, that building was sold and a new building was purchased at the corner of N. 9th and Willis St.

Today, the number of people who consider FGF as their church has grown to around 600, with as many as 350-400 of those showing up on any given Sunday. As a result of this growth, FountainGate Fellowship is continuing to have an impact upon the city of Abilene, Texas and upon the nations.