Last October, First Baptist Church, Simpsonville’s West Campus, which met on the Brashier Campus of Greenville Tech, was facing a growing problem: With an average of 120 in attendance, the congregation was in dire need of space.
“The room we were meeting in was full; the other children’s space was full as well,” reported Rick Julian, pastor of the West Campus. “We had four home groups meeting for Sunday school; two met in homes, one in a restaurant, and one at a downtown location on Wednesdays.”
That’s when the two-year-old congregation decided to approach another Baptist church a few miles away, which was without a pastor and had plateaued in attendance – about the possibility of a merger.
“We met with the personnel committee of Trinity Baptist Church and just said, ‘What if -,'” recalled Julian. Follow-up meetings were held to answer questions of what the merger might look like, he explained.
After an overwhelming vote by Trinity’s membership, more than 450 persons attended the first Sunday, packing both the 9 a.m. contemporary service and the 11 a.m. traditional service.
Most Sundays, the new West Campus location now sees 300 to 350 in attendance, and Wednesday evening activities were recently launched.
“Everything seems to be going great,” remarked former Trinity member Pat Barker. “We’re very satisfied with the merger, and we’re starting more programs.”
“It’s going terrific,” agreed Tracy Adrian, who attended on the former Brashier campus. “We don’t have to set up or tear down for services, and we’re really enjoying meeting new people from the community.”