In last month’s article, I mentioned that we will have panel discussions during the Tuesday morning and afternoon sessions of the upcoming annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention that will focus on the subject of “Why We Worship and Do Ministry As We Do.” Let me introduce to you who will be a part of these discussions.
In the morning session that will begin at 9:45 a.m., the participants will be Hampton Drum, pastor of Langston Baptist Church in Conway; Marshall Blalock, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charleston; Will Browning, pastor of Summit Church in Summerville; and Randy Harling, pastor of First Baptist Church, Simpsonville. They will address the question of “Why We Choose to Worship As We Do.”
At 2:36 p.m., a second session will be held that will tackle the question of “Why We Choose to Do Ministry As We Do.” The leaders for that session will be Dick Lincoln, pastor of Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia; Josh Bradley, pastor of the Element Church in Woodruff; Jeff Lethco, pastor of North Side Baptist Church in Greenwood; and Greg Ramsey, pastor of Freedom Biker Church of Greenville, which meets in Pickens.
The guys I’ve asked to lead us are as different in many respects as daylight and darkness. In many ways, however, I think you’ll find them to be strikingly similar. All of them are articulate, bright and unusually focused. They have taken their churches where they are by design and not by happenstance.
Will and Josh have only been full-time pastors a little over three years. Both have enjoyed incredible success, however, in building their churches. The others, for the most part, are seasoned veterans. At least two have relocated their congregations. One is a relative newcomer to South Carolina; several have spent the vast majority of their ministries at the same church.
Greg Ramsey was very much your conventional pastor until three years ago, when he left a rural church in Salem to plant a church among those who were a part of the biking community. He is one of the coolest guys you will ever meet. His church is comprised of about 150 people, almost all of whom Greg has personally led to faith in Christ. Like the apostle Paul, he is bivocational — he drives an asphalt/gravel truck in order to support his family.
I hope you will make plans now on being present in Columbia at Shandon Baptist Church on Nov. 12 and 13. We’re going to have a great time!
— Ralph Carter is pastor of Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Taylors and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.