A week-long series of events to commemorate the centennial of South Main Street Church in Greenwood included visits from the top executives of both the Southern Baptist Convention and the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
South Main Street Church, GreenwoodSouth Main Street Church, under the leadership of pastor Alan Quigley, celebrated 100 years of ministry and Christian gospel proclamation during the week of April 3-10.
The church was incorporated April 4, 1911, when 32 heads of families, representing 78 members of First Church, Greenwood, petitioned to start a new church on the city’s south side. South Main Street’s first building was dedicated June 30, 1912. The church now has more than 1,000 members and an average worship attendance of 550.
Quigley, who became the church’s pastor two years ago, said part of what drew him to the church was its “strong history” of missions.
“[The church] supports international, national and local missions,” Quigley told the Greenwood Index-Journal March 26. “Locally, this church was instrumental in the development of Greater Greenwood United Ministry. There’s also a desire here to get the gospel outside the walls of the church and into the community.”
A resolution adopted March 16 by the South Carolina General Assembly further attests to the church’s historic support of missions: “Since 1980, South Main Baptist has sent numerous groups of men under the auspices of the Foreign Mission Board to minister in such places as Grenada, Mexico City, Costa Rica, and Honduras, and other teams under the auspices of the Home Mission Board have served in New England and New Jersey.”
The resolution also expresses gratitude “for the century of ministry and leadership that the congregation of South Main Street Baptist Church has brought to the Greenwood community and for the faithful legacy of the members as ‘the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.’?”
The church’s centennial celebration featured messages by Frank Page, president of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention; Richard Harris, retired vice president of the North American Mission Board; Ryan Eklund, pastor emeritus of South Main Street Church; David Little, director of missions for Lakelands Association; and Jim Austin, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
The week-long celebration included special events each night, including musical concerts, a birthday party, and a presentation by leaders of Hingepoint, a church plant in Bakersfield, Calif., sponsored by South Main Street Church.
Speaking on the final night of the centennial celebration, Harris reminded the congregation of South Main Street Church that the secret of success “is to make sure your dreams outnumber your members.”
Andy Roberson, South Main Street’s minister of missions, summed up his thoughts at the conclusion of the centennial observance: “I think there is a sense of humble pride – look at what God has done,” he said. “And now we hold that in our hands with a greater sense of accountability.”
– With reporting by Shannon Jones.