More than 500 people turned out for a 50th birthday party Saturday — the birthday of the Fairfield Church of Christ.

Parishioners recent and longstanding, from as near as Fairfield and as far as Missouri, came together at the Receptions Banquet Center Saturday night to commemorate the founding of the church, which began on Feb. 3, 1963.

Visitors received replicas of the church’s very first service, located at the George Washington Jr. High School, near the intersection of Pleasant Avenue and Symmes Road. It began with a congregation of some 30 members and today has more than 500 said Dorothy Schreiber, one of the founding members, who was at the celebration Saturday.

“The connections that we’re making with people are all in service to loving others. I really love the church,” she said.

Fairfield Church of Christ began with the help of the North 7th Street Church of Christ in Hamilton and the Christian Evangelizing Fellowship of Cincinnati, according to the church’s website. They went on to build their own church in 1966 along Symmes Road. Today the church is located at 745 Symmes Road.

“I was 8 years old when the church started so I have kid memories,” said Carol Falk, one of the organizers of the banquet, who was surprised at how much the celebration grew.

“Even maybe a month ago, we were thinking we have to have 275 (people). Let’s just hope we get the minimum. Then it went to 300, then to 350, and 400, and at last count, we were at 508,” she said.

The church draws a number of regional parishioners, such as Mark Sparks of Colerain Twp. in Hamilton County.

“We were looking for a new church about five years ago … we happened to visit on the 45th anniversary of the church, so we’ve been here exactly five years,” he said.

Harry Hetrick, Jr. a founding member, said at one point he drifted from God, and “I don’t know why but He saw fit to let me come through.” After receiving support from the church when his wife died, he thought, “I’ve got to back to what I know, and that’s what I’ve tried to do is return home.”