Church History
In God’s Time…A brief history of Shandon Baptist Church.
The beginning of Shandon Baptist Church traces back to the 1906 South Carolina Baptist Convention. It was there that the Shandon neighborhood was targeted for the establishment of a Baptist Church. In 1907, Carlisle Courtenay was ordained to be the first pastor of Shandon Baptist Church at Columbia’s First Baptist Church.
On October 13,1907, a group of 22 people met in the old Shandon School, which served as the meeting place for Shandon’s first two years. Rev. Courtenay resigned in 1910 to pursue missionary activities in Columbia. Three men then served from three to six years as pastor at Shandon: A.J. Foster, J.K. Goode and R.E. Hardaway.
F. Clyde Helms was called from the Beaufort Baptist Church in December, 1924. For the next 32 years, he served as pastor. Great growth in membership and facilities occurred during his tenure. This included two education buildings and the Sanctuary that still stands at 818 Woodrow St.
Dr. Enoch C. Brown pastor of First Baptist Church, McAlester, Oklahoma, was called to become pastor in December,1956. He served for 21 years. Dr. Brown was a fine preacher, pastor and administrator. His wisdom in policy and financial matters proved to be a great blessing to the church. The church also built a a gymnasium and activities building in 1974.
Dr. Jo
hn Richard “Dick” Lincoln, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Lilburn, Georgia, was called to become pastor of Shandon just prior to his 31st birthday. Early in his ministry, he defined his goals for Shandon to be: A REACHING Church; A PRAYING Church; A GIVING Church; and A GROWING Church. All of these characteristics will be found in Shandon today. There's Tuesday Night Outreach that involves between 150-200 members visiting each week, a 24-hour prayer ministry involving hundreds of members, and stewardship emphasis that has increased the church budget from $380,000 in 1978 to just over $5 million in 2001.
Growth in every area has been phenomenal: in November, 1979, a second morning worship service was added; by 1988 the church was in three Sunday Schools and three worship services. In 1995, Shandon relocated to it’s current building at 5250 Forest Dr.; In 1999, a new education building was added and a third service, a Contemporary worship service began. The church facilities are alive every day and night. Projects too numerous to list here –in missions, social activities, Bible study, witnessing training, recreation, etc.- are in progress every day of the week.
The history of Shandon Baptist Church has been bright, fruitful and exciting. The future is even brighter and more challenging for Spirit-ledpeople who want to win great victories for Christ in Columbia and around the world!
