Steve Lee, pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Camden, has been named the 2013 Small Church Pastor of the Year by the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

He was presented the award Nov. 12 at the SCBC annual meeting.

Lee grew up and answered the call to ministry while at Mt. Olivet, then was called as pastor in 1992. Since then, he has prayed that God would use him to “call up pastors, teachers, missionaries and servants for the Lord.”

Mt. Olivet is a rural church that averages 80 people in worship each Sunday. Under Lee’s leadership, the missions-minded church has engaged in local and international missions and has baptized 40 people in the last seven years. According to Lee, “the call of God in the life of all believers is a call to missions.”

Mt. Olivet Church members are active in the community through migrant ministry and through Kershaw Association’s “Sacks of Love” weekend backpack ministry. Lee leads community churches of different ethnicities to join together for worship each quarter and hold community Easter and Thanksgiving services. Mt. Olivet’s members have ministered in 25 countries.

In addition to preaching, Lee uses his musical talents in the church praise band. He has mentored four men and one woman from his church in their journeys in the ministry.