Our Heritage and Our Hope

The story of Earle Street Baptist Church began with a dream... a dream that is constantly renewed in each generation. The dream was born in the heart of Dr. J. A. Brown, pastor of Central Baptist Church in downtown Greenville. In 1909, Dr. Brown led the congregation at Central to start a fund to begin a church in a newly developing neighborhood on the north end of the city.

The Earle Street area was once part of the estate of one of Greenville's most prominent citizens, Colonel Elias J. Earle. Whitehall, which sits just across the street from our church, was built by Henry Middleton on property given to him by Elias Earle and is the oldest remaining house in the city of Greenville. By the 1920's, families in the area began meeting in a series of homes, hoping and praying to establish a neighborhood church on Earle Street. Soon, the fledgling congregation secured a tent from the South Carolina Baptist Convention as a temporary dwelling in which to hold worship services.

Earle Street Baptist Church was officially organized on Sunday, March 12, 1922, with 117 charter members. Reverend J. Furman Moore was the founding pastor. The current sanctuary was completed in November of the following year.

The church experienced significant growth in the next several decades. By the late 1940's, the church was teeming with activity and was dreaming bigger dreams. As Greenville continued to grow and new residential neighborhoods developed, under the leadership of Dr. Nathan Brooks, the church established a mission of its own in 1949. In 1950, this mission became the Northgate Baptist Church.

During this time, Earle Street became the first church in Greenville to operate a weekday kindergarten ministry. This era also saw the construction of a new, three-story education building.

The 1950's and early 1960's were for Earle Street a kind of "Golden Age", as they were for so many churches, especially urban churches, who trace their roots back several decades. The dreams of by-gone generations reached their fullest peak in this era, at least statistically. Sanctuaries were full. Sunday School rolls were overflowing. America was going to church.

The decades of the 1960' and 1970's in Greenville, as in most American cities, were times of significant social change, including a major population shift to the suburbs. Many established churches in downtown neighborhoods saw their congregations age and decline in numbers, as their members (especially their younger members) moved away and joined suburban churches.

In some ways, Earle Street was no exception. There was no immunity to demographic realities. The dream was certainly challenged in this era. But in some very significant ways, Earle Street was a definite exception.

Over the years, Earle Street has been blessed with many capable pastoral leaders, most of whom have served long tenures, providing stability amidst the challenges that inevitably face all churches. Among them is Harold Killian, our Pastor Emeritus. Reverend Killian faithfully served here for nearly twenty years, starting in 1967. His nurturing style helped foster the strong bonds and vital friendships that would prove so critical to the renewal of Earle Street in the closing years of the twentieth century.

Lay leadership played a vital role as well. In 1986-87, the Long Range Planning Committee of the church undertook a major study of the church and its future, entitled Project Assistance for Churches in Transition. In the midst of this study, the church called Dr. James G. Wooten as pastor. Adopting a five-year plan under the theme "Dreaming the Dream Again," the church began an exciting new era of its life. Some have compared this whole experience to being born again as a church. In 1988, the North American Mission Board honored Earle Street as the national Church of the Year for its long-range planning process.

In the 1990's, we remodeled our entire facility and constructed a new Family Life Center. We have recently remodeled Preschool and Adult Education space again to accommodate major growth that has occurred in the past three to five years. We established an Endowment Fund to help secure the future of Earle Street church. In the 1990's, we had the privilege, once again, of giving birth to two Vietnamese congregations.

An interesting historical event occurred in 2002, eighty years after Earle Street was established as a mission of Central Baptist. Central, our mother church, closed its doors after years of declining membership, and the remaining members joined Earle Street in a new beginning together. In many ways, the circle of life is complete, as we have welcomed into our home the one who gave birth to us.

In January of 2009, Dr. Stephen Clyborne became our senior pastor after having served as our associate pastor for seven years, and the dream continues. It feels as if a new golden age is upon us. Our heritage is rich with the blessings of God and the faithfulness of previous generations. Our hope is founded on the belief that the same God who has led us to this point still has a dream for us. We invite you to share the dream with the people of the Earle Street Baptist Church as we continue to follow God forward through the ages.