El Bethel’s modern campus on Jones Ave. in Greer will be the site of for a centennial celebration in September.On consecutive Sundays in September, El Bethel Church, Greer, will celebrate 100 years of ministry.
The church’s centennial celebration services will be held Sept. 18 and 25 and will feature guest speakers, a gospel concert, a “tailgating” fellowship meal and a block party for children.
On Sept. 18, Cleatus Blackmon, director of missions for Greer Association, will speak during the 10:30 a.m. service. Jim Austin, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, will speak during the morning service on Sept. 25.
The first Sunday school meetings for El Bethel Church’s 12 charter members were held nearly 100 years ago in a vacant house on Haynes St. in Greer.The church was organized in the fall of 1911 with 12 members, and Sunday school was held in a vacant house. The church was officially named El Bethel in 1915.
After a period of sharing a community worship building with the Methodist congregation, the El Bethel congregation bought the Methodists’ share in the building and added Sunday school rooms and continued using it until 1951, when a new sanctuary was built.
By 1960, membership had grown to 341. In 1972, the church added a three-story educational building. In 1984 and 1985 the church participated in evangelism campaigns to Ecuador, and in 1993 the church’s first group of mission volunteers took a trip to Indiana.
By 1999, membership surpassed the 700 mark. In 2001, the church relocated to its present campus on Jones Avenue. The church has remained active in missions, sending members to Trinidad, Guyana, Nicaragua, Kenya and Greece.
Joe Seay, who has served as pastor of El Bethel since 2003, is the church’s 17th pastor. Eighteen men have been called to the ministry while members of the church.
For more information: 864-877-4021 or www.ElBethelBaptistChurch.org.