A Brief History of Grace Baptist Church

Grace Baptist Church was "Born of God" in 1960 by a handful of dedicated Christians who were burdened to establish in West Columbia, a solid, Bible-preaching, missionary-minded, Christ-centered Baptist Church. Godly men were used to assist in its organization and provided wise counsel for a scriptural New Testament Church.

The church started in a small, wood-frame, white church building on three small lots. The first pastor was Rev. Moody Roberts. The next pastor was Rev. Marshall Godfrey. The third pastor was Rev. Floyd Paschall. In 1970, Dr. B. Clayton Shumpert became the pastor and served faithfully for almost twenty years.

Dr. Bob Kelley came to Grace in 1991 and pastored here for 15 years until his death in October of 2006. In July of 2007, Pastor Bill Egerdahl became the 6th pastor of Grace Baptist Church.

A new fourteen-hundred seat auditorium was built in 2000 costing three-million dollars. The church owns approximately thirteen acres of land and has established some fourteen ministries which include our Shut-in, Printing, Day Care, Tape, Youth, Grace Correspondence Bible Studies, Deaf, Junior church, bus and AWANA, Jail, Hispanic, Fort Jackson Ministries and many others.

Grace Christian School is a ministry of Grace Baptist Church with students in Kindergarten through Grade 12. Starting in 1973, the school has over 400 graduates and is proud to have many second-generation students.

Thousands of souls have come to know Christ as personal Saviour through the ministry of Grace Baptist Church. The membership is over fourteen-hundred. The church supports more than 160 missionaries and mission projects. This year, 2010, is our 50^th anniversary and more than $200,000 will be sent to missions all over the world.

As the church continues in its forty-ninth year, the attendance, offerings, and overall ministry is on the increase. To God be the glory! It is Bible-preaching church for a Bible-loving people. It is a meaningful ministry for a needy people. Columbia is in the heart of the state and Grace Baptist has the city at heart.