A nearly 150-year-old Spartanburg County church is seeing new life through renovations

Bob Montgomery, Herald-Journal
·2 min read
Rev. Amos Durham of Ridgeville Baptist Church leads a prayer during the Third Annual Unity at the Flag Pole, held at the Spartanburg County Courthouse in Spartanburg, Tuesday evening, July 17, 2018.
Rev. Amos Durham of Ridgeville Baptist Church leads a prayer during the Third Annual Unity at the Flag Pole, held at the Spartanburg County Courthouse in Spartanburg, Tuesday evening, July 17, 2018.

A Spartanburg County church that has been around since 1881 has undergone extensive renovations.

Renovations to the Ridgeville Baptist Church sanctuary included painted walls, an expanded pulpit area , reupholstered pews, new windows and doors, the addition of a small ladies lounge and a diaper-changing area.

When in-person services resumed in August 2021 following the height of the COVID pandemic, the historic Black church had been totally remodeled and updated, "creating a warm, inviting environment for continued praise and worship," Frye said.

"We wanted to bring the church sanctuary up to the 21st century and make it more convenient for our congregants," said Rev. Amos Durham, pastor of Ridgeville Baptist Church in Inman.

"Christ is the light of the world, and a lot of sanctuaries nowadays are dark. We wanted the sanctuary to reflect the light of the world, to show we're not in darkness anymore."

Spartanburg landmarksHere's where to see historical Black landmarks in Spartanburg County

Although details of the church's origin are sketchy, Durham said Ridgeville Baptist began as a brush arbour revival on its existing property that was donated by the Foster family.

Around 1902 or 1903, the second church building was erected on a hill next to the cemetery. That structure remained and served as the sanctuary until 1986, when the current building was erected.

At that time, all furnishings and décor were deemed to be modern and up-do-date.

In 2009, the church added a family life center, complete with kitchen, restrooms, ladies lounge, storage and conference rooms and gymnasium. The center has provided assistance to the homeless, a soup kitchen, and as a senior day care and wellness center for church members.

In early 2020, church leaders voted to upgrade the building, "to bring its design, décor and technology into the 21st century," Frye said. With no activity at the church during the COVID pandemic, work began on the building renovations without interruption.

New restrooms were also added to the front of the church.

"This will allow worshipers access to restrooms without having to walk outside to the rear of the church, resulting in less disruption of the worship service," Frye said.

Durham said the church has recently grown from 225 to 260 congregants, with an average in-person attendance on Sundays of 85 to 125. The church still provides live services online, he said.

"We've seen growth. We have a youth ministry with youth director Brianna Geter that's strong," Durham said. "They're the ones that are going to keep the church moving and going. If youth are not involved, your church is not going to grow."

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: A nearly 150-year-old Spartanburg County church is seeing new life