Trigger warning: The alleged acts of child sex abuse described in this story are disturbing.

The worship services began in Kenneth Fairbanks’ living room, but the charismatic pastor had a vision for something grander — an international church that would share the word of God throughout the
world, train and ordain ministers, and promote development to help lift people in underprivileged villages out of poverty.

FaithWorks Ministries was an informal church designed to appeal to those who felt left out by conventional religion; it offered comfort and empowerment to worshipers looking for a new start.

As Fairbanks’ 2014 book, Life’s Perspectives: Wisdom for Everyday Living, put it, his teachings would allow “the average person to take control of their lives” by “purging old hurt, pains, and destructive thinking from the minds and hearts of those that would experience new freedom and a productive mindset.” The heart of the ministry was Kenneth Fairbanks himself. His author’s biography described him as “a great visionary” with “compassion for ministry and all people.”

The bio proclaimed, “One of his greatest assets is his ability to sense the heart and pulse of God. When he speaks, he does not speak as men speak, but listens intently to the spirit of God, and then shares God’s heart with his creation.”

And the Greensboro pastor made his mark as a leader of a congregation that grew to hundreds of members and moved into a conventional church building adjacent to Whitestone retirement community on Spring Garden Street. Fairbanks traveled several times to Nairobi, Kenya and raised money to help build a school for an orphanage there.

Back home in Greensboro, Fairbanks raised his pastoral profile beyond the church walls to play a prominent role as a community leader. In 2007 and 2008, Fairbanks and his wife, Shelia, served on the Guilford County Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee, a project funded by the US Justice Department and administered through a center at UNCG. Kenneth Fairbanks served on the Greensboro Violent Crimes Task Force, a police-community partnership in which repeat violent offenders are offered a choice between community support or aggressive prosecution. In 2015, FaithWorks Ministries teamed up with the Greensboro Police Department to collect supplies for children going back to school, culminating in a daylong event at the coliseum. Fairbanks also served on Chief Wayne Scott’s Faith Advisory Council.

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Kenneth Fairbanks