Pastors should see themselves as “lead missionaries” within their churches, and churches must be more diligent in one-on-one relationships toward a goal of making disciples.

That was the spirit of a panel discussion, featuring five South Carolina Baptist pastors, as the program for a Tuesday evening meal during the annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention at First Baptist Church, Spartanburg. The meal was provided without charge and prepared by South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief feeding units from the Upstate.

The panel discussion featured former pastor Tony Beam, serving as North Greenville University’s vice president of student services and director of the school’s Christian Worldview Center; Alex Sands, pastor of Kingdom Life Church in Mauldin; Tim McKnight, assistant professor of Christian Studies at Anderson University; Bill Curtis, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Darlington; and Will Browning, pastor of The Journey Church in Summerville. The moderator was Jon Davis, pastor of Summit Church and campus pastor at Charleston Southern University.

Asked to evaluate the spiritual health of the “South Carolina church,” responding panel members gave a general midline score of 4-5 on a scale of 10, but also said there are churches that would be considered a 10.

North Greenville’s Beam said, “Many churches are struggling with a break from the past, and conflicts that are causing the church to stand still. The past must inform us, but we must be willing to open up to the present and the future. How do we take a timeless message to people who are willing to hear it?”

Summerville’s Browning said, “There are definitely a lot of 10s out there, and we know there are many that are struggling. Without our denomination, we have a lot of people, leaders, and members who know a lot but don’t always act on what they know. We know how to be effective, but when moving to action, that’s where we struggle.”

Darlington’s Curtis, who lives on a farm, compared church growth to the growth of farm crops. “If something isn’t growing, there’s always a reason. If we are not experiencing growth in our churches, there is a natural impediment because the seed we are using is perfect. What is standing in the way of spiritual growth within our churches?”

Sands, from Simpsonville, responded to a question regarding research showing that 10 percent of today’s churches will be closed over the next 10 years. If true, in South Carolina Baptist life, that would equate to 20 churches in 10 years. “I don’t think we are serious about the geography where we are planted as churches.”

Tim McKnight said, “That may be a low estimate, honestly. I have been around Europe and have seen the mega-church cathedrals of long ago, and today they are concert halls or museums. Churches have  lost their vision over the Great Commission.  When is the last time you heard a pastor preach against the sin of [disobeying] the Great Commission? Honestly, we live in the third most unchurched country in the world. We need to build relationships with people who don’t know Jesus. We need to be around lost people.

Browning said, “If the statistics are correct, some within this room tonight will experience a church closing. We must take action, or a bank or realtor will own the church property.” He proposed a partnership between declining churches with assets and wisdom and church plants that have great vision and energized young people.

Sands said, “We have a lot of programs, but is God in all of that? Are we praying? Sometimes we slip into the celebrations of a praise band, exciting pastor, or great youth ministry without asking if God is in it.”

Regarding specific challenges in South Carolina, North Greenville’s Beam said young people today are skeptical about culture and interested only in authenticity. “This is the generation of spin, and they can spot tension in the church immediately.”

Anderson’s McKnight said, “We have to be intentional in our relationships. We need revival in our churches, and that starts (and has always started) with young people — college students. There is a yearning among young people for revival, and we won’t see an awakening in this country until revival occurs within local churches.”

Curtis said it all points back to discipleship and said Cornerstone is going through a discipleship education process to see every person in the church discipled and then discipling another person. “I have made the mistake, personally, of trying to get people to do something they have never been taught to do. And that’s my fault as the pastor.”

Browning said, “What if I focused, as a pastor, on being the lead missionary of my church? Let’s lead our churches to think like missionary churches in foreign lands. If we did that, we would see multiplication and sacrifice for the kingdom. I think it will require older men coming to younger men and passing the baton of leadership and vision within local churches.”

— Scott Vaughan is interim director of communications for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.