Posts by Category: News

Step outside Andrews Chapel United Methodist Church, Pinewood, and all you’ll see for miles is fields. “It really is in the middle of nowhere,” says Andrews Chapel’s pastor, the Rev. Mary Everhart. Yet it is there that Everhart says the Holy Spirit is breathing a fresh wind of new life. The 150-year-old church had been in a decline over the years, but now the church has gone from four to seven people to 30 or 40 most Sundays. By Jessica Brodie.

When Herb Thompson heard God call him to “feed My sheep,” he thought the Lord meant spiritually. It turns out God was calling him, with the help of two Timmonsville United Methodist churches, to start a new food ministry for people in need. By Jessica Brodie.

Five decades after the assassination of one of the civil rights movement’s greatest heroes and servant-leaders, South Carolina United Methodists are honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a weekend dedicated to service. On the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, Jan. 18-20, the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church is hosting a Disaster Recovery Day of Service where volunteers will have the opportunity to work on homes impacted by Hurricane Florence. By Jessica Brodie.

Just a few weeks remain until the 2019 books close, and conference financial leaders are hopeful. As of Dec. 16, the conference had collected 76.95 percent of its apportionments, compared to 77 percent this time last year, said Beth Westbury, conference treasurer. That translates to $13.7 million collected so far of the budgeted $17.8 million for 2019. By Jessica Brodie.

They started out simply as “fellow church members” at St. John’s United Methodist Church, Anderson—a quick wave or a nod in the pew, knowing each other by sight but no deeper. Now, thanks to the fellowship fostered in a witty email chain and hard work doing side-by-side hands-on mission work, they’ve become a family. By Jessica Brodie.

A group of social justice advocates are doing what they can to help the world—and Washington—have a heart for people in poverty. This month, South Carolina United Methodists will take part in Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, organizing a neighborhood voting drive, hearing testimonies and hosting a rally and march, all in the hopes of opening people’s minds about the plight of the poor. The canvassing and voting registration activities will be Saturday, Jan. 11, and the march and rally will be Monday, Jan. 13, culminating at Cherokee Place UMC, North Charleston. By Jessica Brodie.

What do classic cars and men in South Carolina have in common? The ability to be restored to full, functional and optimally working “machines,” able to do all that their creator intends and more. But while cars can only be restored to a certain point, men have the advantage. For in Christ, men can become entirely new creations, not only restored but renewed, refreshed and revitalized, all for the glory of God. That is the message of a conference-wide United Methodist Men’s spiritual weekend, set for Feb. 28-29 at Mount Horeb United Methodist Church. By Jessica Brodie.

Two small churches join forces for big mission project.

By Jessica Brodie. What do South Carolina United Methodists want to know about General Conference, and how can the South Carolina delegation help? That’s the purpose of four 2020 General Conference Delegation Listening Sessions, being scheduled for January and February in districts across the state.

By Jessica Brodie. Using their building to host mission teams was not part of Aldersgate UMC, Charleston’s, ministry plan. But God had other ideas. It all started a few years ago when the South Carolina Conference of the UMC needed a place for a disaster recovery volunteer to stay while he coordinated construction efforts in the area. Aldersgate UMC had the empty space, said pastor the Rev. Erik Grayson, so they offered it on a short-term basis. It was just supposed to be temporary. Now, the church has decided to fully embrace this new plan God has for them, launching what they have called Holy City Mission.

By Jessica Brodie. Year-end apportionment giving is looking good for The United Methodist Church in South Carolina. As of Nov. 15, the apportionment collection percentage is running close to 2018 with 69.7 percent collected this year compared to 70.4 percent this time last year. That translates to $12.4 million collected so far of the budgeted $17.8 million for 2019.

By Jessica Brodie. Eighteen months ago, many thought Bramlett UMC, Gray Court, was like an hourglass quickly running out of sand. Once thriving and filled with large farming families who lived nearby, the small rural church in the Upstate had dwindled to 20 people on Sunday mornings. But now the church has more than 100 active members—including a children’s and youth group. “It went from a flatline on the operating table to being a church that’ll survive,” said the Rev. John Fahrney, Bramlett’s pastor. “A lot of country churches are dying, but this one is growing.”

By Jessica Brodie. It took building new walls for one church—Shiloh UMC, Gilbert—to realize tearing down walls is really what God’s church is all about.

A group of United Methodist runners in the Upstate laced up recently to raise funds for two local charities. The team, comprising people from Mount Zion United Methodist Church, Central, plus a few others outside the church, participated in the Spinx Run Fest in Greenville Saturday, Oct. 26.

On Friday, Nov. 15, volunteers gathered from across the state to build a special love project in the form of a wheelchair ramp for Trinity United Methodist Church in the Orangeburg District. This was no ordinary project. It was inspired by Robert Jackson of Trinity UMC, who has been remodeling much of the interior at Trinity from major termite and water damage for more than one and a half years, doing the work basically by himself with some help from a Baptist pastor. By Billy Robinson.

This year, St. Paul United Methodist Church, Greenville, gave its former fall festival a makeover, transforming it into a Fall Block Party designed to serve as an outreach to families all over the community. The festival had been designed primarily for families and kids inside of the church, but the block party is designed for families outside of the church.

By the Rev. Clyde Scott BLYTHEWOOD—Two years ago, Janet Clark came to me and discussed the possibility of establishing a quilt ministry at Trinity United Methodist Church. She explained how…