Worship on West Church Street
First Baptist Church of Batesburg sits on West Church Street in the town of Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, where it has gathered for worship for more than a century and a half. The church's motto - Love God. Love Others. Change the World. - hangs over a community that traces its roots to a July Sunday in 1872, when a small group of Baptist believers resolved to plant a church. Within a year, on May 24, 1873, sixteen men and women met in the newly constructed worship center and constituted what was then called Batesburg Baptist Church.
Sunday morning at FBC Batesburg centers on a single service in the sanctuary at 10:00 a.m. The congregation describes itself as a family of worshipers "seeking to know God and make Him known through both rich, traditional hymns and newer, authentic songs of worship and praise." Leaders describe worship as "a heartfelt expression of love, adoration, admiration, fascination, wonder, and celebration" - not merely the singing of songs, but "seeing God for who He really is" and giving Him "the best of your time, your talents, your thoughts, your words, and your deeds."
Senior Pastor Rev. Henry Stamper shepherds the congregation. He and his wife Andrea are the parents of four children and the grandparents of three, and the church describes his desire as standing "in the center of God's will," seeking to follow the course God charts for his life. Worship is led alongside a worship choir that currently rehearses on Sunday mornings at 9:45 a.m. in Room 201 and sings each Sunday plus several special evening programs through the year.
Bible Study for Every Season
Bible study is the backbone of life at FBC Batesburg. Three weekly gatherings carry the weight of that conviction.
Sunday morning Bible study meets from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., just ahead of the worship hour. The whole church organizes around its classes. Room 111 cares for nursery infants from birth through age three; toddlers ages three and four meet in the same area. Room 206 hosts K5 through fifth grade, while Room 210 gathers students in sixth through twelfth grades. A GenZ class for college and career meets in the Fellowship Hall, and a SonSeekers class for young adults meets in Room 202. A full slate of adult classes, led by named class leaders, fills the rest of the floor plan, and a separate Wednesday morning Bible study meets from 11:00 a.m. to noon.
On Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m., adult Bible study resumes with in-depth studies and short-term classes designed to aid the faith journey. The church frames Bible study not as a program but as the engine of the congregation, with a Bible Study Director and Bible Study Outreach Director responsible for promoting enrollment, training workers, maintaining records, and identifying unreached people in the community.
FBC Kids: Train Up a Child
The children's ministry, called FBC Kids, draws its name from Proverbs 22:6 - "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Sunday school meets at 9:00 a.m. for preschool through fifth grade, using innovative methods to instill biblical values.
During the 10:00 a.m. worship service, children are welcomed into the sanctuary for a dedicated Children's Message. After the short lesson, preschoolers through second graders leave for their own Children's Church - a God-centered, hands-on session led by a rotation of adult volunteers and teenage helpers. Children in third grade and older collect a binder of games and puzzles that run parallel to the sermon.
For children six weeks through two years, a trained nursery team offers childcare during the service. Parents are welcome to keep their children with them if they prefer.
Wednesday evenings belong to AWANA, which begins at 6:00 p.m. with a family-style meal in the fellowship hall, followed by age-grouped programming from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in three clusters: kindergarten and first grade, second and third grade, and fourth and fifth grade. Kids are dropped off and picked up in the fellowship hall. Director of Children and Youth Programs Kelly Williamson, who grew up in the Batesburg-Leesville area and holds an Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education, oversees the ministry.
Youth Sundays and Wednesdays
Middle and high schoolers at FBC Batesburg meet year-round on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. in Room 210, where a dedicated teacher walks them through the life and ministry of Jesus. The church has designed its Sunday evenings intentionally for the next generation.
At 6:00 p.m., students gather in the sanctuary for praise and worship. By 6:15 they move upstairs to Room 210 for the Bible lesson or devotion, then descend to the Fellowship Hall for a meal at 6:45. Activities follow at 7:15 and dismissal comes around 7:30, with the option to stay later for those who are not waiting on a ride.
The youth ministry is divided into two groups. F3, for high schoolers in ninth grade and up, is named for the rhythm of the evening - faith, fellowship, and fun. The format teaches young disciples about the strength of faith, the importance of fellowship with other believers, and the joy of learning more about God and His love.
Mother's Morning Out and the After School Program
FBC Batesburg operates two weekday programs that extend the church's reach into the broader community. Mother's Morning Out has served the Batesburg-Leesville area for more than two decades and currently runs Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon for children ages 9 months (or walking by September 1) to four years old. Teachers are trained in CPR and First Aid and meet SC DSS childcare standards. Class placement is determined by a child's age as of September 1, and curricula for ages two through four are Bible-based and center-based, with attention to number, letter, and word recognition, fine and gross motor skills, and kindergarten readiness. All staff have completed child protection screening and SCDSS training, and the program is open Monday through Friday. Online registration is available, and tuition contracts are published for the school year and summer.
The FBCB After School Program serves children in K4 through fifth grade. In-district children ride from school to the church, while others carpool; a snack is provided on arrival. The afternoon includes homework time, recess, crafts, and other activities.
WMU and the Mission of the Church
FBC Batesburg partners with the Southern Baptist Convention and the South Carolina Baptist Convention for missions locally, across North America, and around the world through the Cooperative Program. Within the church, women's missions are organized through the Women's Missionary Union, an auxiliary of the SBC.
Four WMU groups meet regularly at the church. The Lydia Mission Group meets on the first Monday of the month at 2:00 p.m., and the Baptist Middle Women (BMW) group meets on the first Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. The Baptist Young Women (BYW) group meets on the second Sunday at 6:00 p.m. in Room 101, and the Julia Mae Group meets on the second Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The BMW group is the only WMU group with online giving available.
A separate men's ministry gathers on the last Sunday of the month immediately after the worship service.
What We Believe
FBC Batesburg teaches from the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, the confessional statement of the Southern Baptist Convention. The church affirms one God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without division of nature, essence, or being. The Bible is received as the divinely inspired record of God's revelation and a "perfect treasure of divine instruction." Jesus Christ is confessed as the eternal Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, who honored the divine law by His personal obedience and on the cross made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now serves as the one Mediator between God and man.
The church teaches that human beings were created by a special act of God in His own image as the crowning work of creation, and that by free choice humanity sinned and brought sin into the human race. Salvation is described as "the redemption of the whole man," offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.
A New Testament church, in the church's own words, is "a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ." Those two ordinances are believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, which members observe as a memorial of the Redeemer's death and an anticipation of His second coming.
Joining the Church
Three paths into membership are open at FBC Batesburg. Believers coming from another Baptist church can transfer their membership. Believers from another denomination can join by statement of faith. New believers are welcomed into membership automatically when they are baptized at FBC. Baptism follows a conversation with one of the pastors; once scheduled, it is performed by full immersion.
A History That Inspires the Future
First Baptist Batesburg has reshaped its buildings more than once. Two worship centers have risen since the first, joined by an educational building in 1929 and its replacement in 1995. The membership that once called itself Batesburg Baptist eventually voted to change its name to First Baptist Church. Through all of that growth and change, the membership has kept its original vision - "a gathered community of believers dedicated to worshiping our Lord and proclaiming His good news of salvation through Jesus Christ." The church's ministry assistant, Laken Burgeson, supports the day-to-day work from the office at 436 West Church Street, where the doors stay open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the church invites every new generation to add its chapter to the story.