A Church Built for Families in Upstate South Carolina
Brushy Creek Baptist Church sits on Clay Street in Easley, South Carolina, a Southern Baptist congregation whose entire ministry is shaped around one idea: inspiring upstate families to make Christ-centered parenting their greatest achievement and highest priority. The church's motto captures it plainly - "Living the Gospel to Inspire Upstate Families toward a Lasting Priority." Around that mission, a full rhythm of worship, age-grouped teaching, midweek student gatherings, and a weekday preschool all turn in the same direction.
First-time guests are asked to arrive a little early if children are being checked in for the first time. The church meets at 100 Clay Street and streams its Sunday worship live on YouTube and Facebook for those joining from home.
Sunday Mornings: Worship and Sunday School Side by Side
The weekly gathering has two anchors. Sunday School begins at 9:15 AM, with classes for every age group - children, students, and adults - meeting at the same time so that families can arrive and depart together. At 10:30 AM the congregation moves into the main sanctuary for Sunday Worship, a service designed to teach the Bible in a relevant and powerful way for people from every walk of life.
The 10:30 AM service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those who are sick, traveling, or simply prefer to worship from home. The church encourages anyone feeling unwell to stay home and join online rather than push through symptoms.
A Family Ministry Organized by Life Phases
What sets Brushy Creek apart is the way its small-group life is organized. Rather than sorting adults by age alone, the church sorts families into seven "Family Phases" that mirror the journey of parenting and grandparenting:
- Phase 1 - young adults finishing school, launching careers, buying a first home, and finding a church.
- Phase 2 - new parents navigating the arrival of children, with milestones like baby dedication and a child's first Bible.
- Phase 3 - elementary-age families looking for stability, with milestones around salvation, baptism, and first communion.
- Phase 4 - busy households juggling multiple schools and activities, where the church's "village" matters most.
- Phase 5 - families with middle school, high school, and college children, marked by driver's licenses, first jobs, and college acceptances.
- Phase 6 - empty nesters becoming grandparents, reclaiming time, and serving in the church and community.
- Phase 7 - older adults living out Titus 2, mentoring the next generation and finishing well.
Each phase carries its own milestones and its own class offerings. Adult classes include groups for Phases 1-2, 2-4, 3, 3-4-5, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B, and 7C, plus men-only and women-only classes at several phases. The aim is that a family's Bible study and friendships grow alongside their children.
KidsCreek: A Children's Ministry That Starts at the Nursery
Children's ministry is built into the rhythm of every Sunday morning. KidsCreek Sunday School runs from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, with classes broken down by grade so that each child is taught at an age-appropriate level. KidsCreek Worship follows from 10:30 AM to noon, an experience written just for kids with interactive lessons, music, and games designed to keep them engaged.
Check-in is simple and well-rehearsed. Birth through one-year-olds enter and exit through the main nursery entrance, with a drive-thru option for parents who want to drop off without unbuckling. Two-year-olds enter through the exterior door of the playroom and exit through the breezeway double doors. Three- and four-year-olds and children in K5 through fifth grade check in at the bottom of the main sanctuary. Children are brought back into the sanctuary at the end of the service to be reunited with their families.
Childcare is provided during the Sunday service, and the same care is offered for those using the livestream at home if a parent needs to step away during the broadcast.
Wednesday Nights for Students
The student ministry gathers Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Each Wednesday is built around worship through song, teaching from the Bible, games, and sometimes a shared dinner. The goal is to help students draw near to God and grow in a relationship with Him that lasts beyond graduation. Students also have their own Sunday School class at 9:15 AM, and a dedicated student Instagram keeps families posted on weekly details.
Zac Taylor leads the student ministry as part of the Family Ministry Team, working alongside Danielle Collins, Dawn Powell, and Alison McClellan to walk with families from the nursery through the senior year of high school.
Brushy Creek Weekday Preschool
For families with young children, the church runs the Brushy Creek Weekday Preschool four days a week, Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The preschool's mission is "to nurture the hearts and minds of young children by fostering a deep love for Jesus, a joyful enthusiasm for learning, and a strong sense of belonging within the church community."
The daily routine includes phonics classes, music with singing, instruments, and movement, age-appropriate science and social studies themes, weekly chapel for Bible stories and character development, monthly themed activities, and physical education that builds both gross and fine motor skills. Morgan Miller directs the preschool, and a family handbook, school calendar, toilet training policy, and registration packet are available for prospective families.
What Brushy Creek Believes
The church teaches a thoroughly evangelical, Baptist set of core beliefs rooted in the Bible. God is one Being in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the sacrifice for human sin, rose again on the third day, ascended to Heaven, and will return to reign as King. The Holy Spirit indwells followers of Christ from the moment of salvation and empowers them to live for God.
Salvation is a free gift received by faith in Jesus; it cannot be earned by works. The Bible is the trustworthy, Spirit-given revelation of God's character and plan, and is the source of final authority for faith and life. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, a public picture of death to sin, burial, and resurrection to new life in Jesus. Communion is a symbolic memorial of Christ's death and a hopeful anticipation of His return. Marriage, the church teaches, is the lifelong covenant union of one man and one woman, God's unique gift that pictures the union between Christ and His church.
These beliefs are summarized in the church's own statement and elaborated further in The Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Mission and Strategy
The church organizes its ministry around five values that begin with "Life." Life by the Book centers everything on Scripture. Life in Progress understands the Christian life as a journey of growth and service. Life in Last seeks to deepen love for Christ both for the world and for one another. Life with Others emphasizes doing life together in groups. Life in Focus calls the church to worship, giving, and service with undivided attention.
From Acts 2:42-47 the church draws a weekly strategy: Look Up in worship, Love In through group life and Sunday School, and Live Out through service and evangelism. Seven daily "measures" - Floor, Coat Rack, Door, Phone, Couch, Lamp, and Clock - give that strategy a personal shape, asking each member whether they have built on the right foundation, put on Christ, invited someone in, taken time to talk, drawn close to others, let their light shine, and stewarded their time, talents, treasures, body, and testimony well.
Mission Partners Near and Far
Brushy Creek extends its ministry through a wide network of mission partners. Locally the church works with Piedmont Baptist Association, Piedmont Women's Center, Samaritan's Healthcare in Pickens County, United Christian Ministries in Easley, the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which builds beds for kids who don't have one. Across the region it supports Connie Maxwell House and Gideons International. Around the country and the world it partners with Flourish Adoption, NAMB Prison Ministry, Wycliffe Bible Translators, and the Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program for cooperative missions funding.
Leadership and Staff
Dr. Nick McClellan serves as Senior Pastor, with Rodney Graham as Senior Adult and Care Pastor, Micah McMinn as Connections Pastor, and Jimmy Sanders as Operations Pastor. Stephen Crouse directs congregational worship as Worship Director. The Family Ministry Team includes Danielle Collins, Alison McClellan, Dawn Powell, and Zac Taylor, who leads the student ministry. Morgan Miller directs the Weekday Preschool.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and the phone line is answered at (864) 859-2273. Visitors and prospective families are warmly invited to reach out, drop in on a Sunday, or join the next livestream from wherever they are.