The first Seventh Day Adventist Church was erected in Orangeburg in 1912 by Elder Daniel. A. Hammond at 255 Maxcy Street and was dedicated on June 16, 1912. Amanda Salley was the first baptized member of the original seven who included: Daniel A. Hammond, Elder and Sis. J. J. Reed, Rosa Edgerson, Bro. Cast and Carrie Haywood. The South Atlantic Conference of SDA nurtured the church, first as a mission of the Charleston district, then as part of the Columbia district. In 1940, major repairs were made to the church under the leadership of Elder J. J. Reed. In 1955 Pastor Phipps held a tent crusade on Campus Drive in Orangeburg at which some of the older members were baptized including Bro. Russell Fields, Georgia-Mae Briggman (now Fields), Sis. V. Moody, Minnie Gardner, V. Whally, the family of P. Green, B. & L. Caully, and J. & R. Fields Jr. Pastor Mouson also held a crusade which led to the baptism of Sis. Annie Franklin and other members of the Fields family.
By 1970, age and disrepair undermined the church structure, which was then sold to the City of Orangeburg. For four years, under the leadership of Pastors W. Taylor and N. Smith, the congregation searched for and selected new sites for the church on Russell Street and Myers Road, but city zoning laws prohibited construction. Meanwhile, they met in the homes of
various members that of Pastor Dr. Cedrick Tate, until they acquired a building at 1706 Rowesville Road. Dedicated members such as Bro. and Sis. Shuler contributed certificates of deposit, while others supported various fundraisers to purchases the church debt free. The name of the church was changed to Ebenezer SDA Church, and the building was dedicated in July
31, 1976 under the leadership of Pastor Matthew Green. The brethren worshipped at Ebenezer for approximately nine years with an ever-increasing membership due to evangelistic meetings. Pastor Melvin Warfield succeeded Pastor Green who was succeeded by Pastor Kenneth Moore in 1979. During Pastor Moore’s tenure, the South Atlantic Conference purchased a pecan grove located at Decatur St. and Old St. Matthews Road. The acquisition of this property was facilitated by W. H. Winborne. Pastor Moore’s tenure ended in April 1983 and was followed by that of Pastor Phillip Florence who served for two years. In September 1985, Pastor Marcellus P. Howard began his tenure and under his great leadership the new sanctuary which currently
houses the church was built on the undeveloped pecan grove lot on Decatur Street, paid for by the sacrificial giving of the saints. Many members including local elders Jasper Dawkins and Russell Fields assisted with the construction of the church, which was dedicated as the Pecan Grove SDA Church on March 28, 1987, with thanksgiving, praises and glory to our God.
Pecan Grove SDA Church launched active ministries and evangelism outreach to serve its members and the community. The Community Services Department of the church established an Agape Center in 1988 to serve the community with food and clothing. The church also established the Pecan Grove Junior Academy (grades K-8) on August 20, 1990. Tenisha
Felder and Michael Coaxum (a current local Elder) were the graduates at the first commencement held on May 18, 1991. The members also voted to start a new congregation in the Blackville-Denmark area, which led to the establishment of the Lighthouse SDA Mission, currently Lighthouse SDA Church. At the end of Pastor Marcellus Howard’s tenure in 1993, the church was led by Pastor Alex Todd until 1998. During Pastor Todd’s tenure, the Pecan Grove Loving Daycare and Child Development Center (now called Pecan Grove Child Development Center) was opened as a result of the hard work and dedicated leadership of members such as Sis. Esther Alleyne-
Thomas, and others. Under Pastor Todd’s leadership, the members made a sacrificial effort to liquidate the church’s mortgage, which was accomplished with God’s help in 1998, just after Pastor Todd was assigned to another district. Pastor Carl Nesmith became the new pastor. He served only briefly but was instrumental in restructuring the district which allowed the church to
be separated from the Columbia district and form the new district of Orangeburg-Denmark. Pastor Quincy Gardner served as the pastor of Pecan Grove SDA Church from 1998 to 1999. First Elder Melanchton L. Crosse led the congregation until 2000 when Pastor Alex Todd was reassigned to shepherd the Orangeburg-Denmark district churches. During his second tenure, the building that houses the school and daycare was built.
After Pastor Todd’s second tenure, the name of the church was changed in 2007 under the leadership of Interim Pastor Dr. R. C. Connor to Christ Is the Answer SDA Church. Pastor Harold Thomas III took over as pastor and served until March 2011. Under his leadership, the church’s mission statement was formalized, and the fellowship hall was named after one of our faithful deceased members, Sis. Reather Zimmerman. Pastor Thomas re-established the Agape Center under the leadership of Sis. Mildred Fairfax. The Agape Center in partnership with Harvest Hope has provided food for thousands of individuals in the community. He consolidated the membership and encouraged everyone to live balanced lives with “Happy, Healthy and Holy” as his watchwords. Following Pastor Thomas, the church was led for a brief
period by Interim Pastor Carl McRoy, the Publishing Director of the South Atlantic Conference. Pastor Michael Miller became the leader of the flock in June 2012.
As we celebrate the history of our church, we acknowledge the sacrifice and dedication of all our members from 1912 to present. We are also grateful for the gifted pastoral leadership over those many years. These pastors included the following: Elder Mann, Elder J. A. Bookhart, Elder John Green, Elder F. A. Osterman, Elder McNichols, Elder Hastings, Elder Hinson, Elder N. B. Smith, Elder W. Taylor, Elder Maynor, Elder Sories, Elder Curtis, Elder Bland, Elder M. Green, Elder Tottress, Elder Sloan, Elder F. R. Nealy, Elder Strother, Elder Connolly, Elder W. H. Winston, Elder Boyd, Elder Johnson, Elder Phipps, Elder Vanderburg, Dr. C. Tate, Elder K. Abney, Elder Moore, Elder Florence, Elder Warfield, Elder M. Howard, Elder A. Todd, Elder M. Johnson, Elder Carl Nesmith, Elder Q. Gardner, Elder P. Archie-Smith, Dr. R. C. Connor, Elder Harold Thomas III, Elder Carl McRoy, Elder Michael Miller, Elder Donminique Best, and Elder Malcolm White.
As our theme rightly states, we are “Celebrating over 100 Years of Fellowship and Service.” Truly, we have come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord, trusting in His holy Word. He has never failed us yet.
