Central First Baptist Church gathers on Johnson Road in Central, South Carolina, close to Central Elementary, and it has been gathering there since before the town around it existed. Founded in 1868, the church is known for a single Sunday gathering at 11:00 a.m. centered on worshiping Jesus, for a family that shares meals and burdens, and for a vision that sends people into the town and around the world as everyday disciples.
Founded Before the Town, Rooted in the Railroad Community
Central First Baptist Church was founded in 1868, and it existed even before the town was founded. A small group of believers saw the need for a gospel presence in the railroad community and began gathering to worship. As Central has grown, so has the need for the gospel, and the church continues to make Jesus known in its community. Church leaders speak of a rich 150-year history and are thankful for all those who have gone before them. Their attention now is on the present, focusing on worshiping Jesus and making his disciples, because, as they put it, "He is worthy!"
Sunday at 11 A.M. on Johnson Road
Worship happens at 207 Johnson Road in Central, South Carolina. The Sunday morning gathering is designed for the church body to gather and worship the Lord Jesus, and members are encouraged to invite friends along. The congregation describes the morning as a large gathering, a good time to meet its people and see what the church is about. The service moves through prayer, singing, fellowship, giving, and preaching, and the church states its purpose plainly: "The church service is for the worship of jesus. We set our preferences aside."
That attitude extends to what visitors wear. The advice is to dress comfortably, since some members wear suits while others wear jeans. Families can also use the childcare offered during the worship hour, which the church welcomes members to make use of. What to expect when you visit is set out plainly for anyone planning a first Sunday.
Gather Weekly, Grow Personally, Go Daily
Central First Baptist describes its mission in one line: "We joyfully make disciples of Jesus for God's glory." Three values explain both what the church does and how it carries it out.
- Gather Weekly. Every Sunday the church gathers to worship Jesus. The church is the family of God, so members share a unique bond that overrides culture, race, economics, and all other classifications. As a family they bear each other's burdens, rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. They also intentionally spend time together outside of weekly services, sharing meals together and ministering to one another.
- Grow Personally. Members are challenged to grow personally in their relationship with Jesus through the discipleship process. The church equips its people with the tools they need to develop habits of prayer, Bible reading, personal evangelism, and sacrificial giving.
- Go Daily. Every Christian must be making disciples of Jesus. Members are encouraged to pray daily for lost friends, engage in spiritual conversations, and invite people to respond to the gospel. Rather than organizing only a weekly outreach, the church wants to change the Christian mindset that treats one organized event as the chance to reach neighbors, friends, and family, so that every day becomes an opportunity. The church still organizes outreach events that minister to the community and give members a chance to engage with unbelievers, and each member is challenged to take part in short-term mission trips, both national and international.
What Central First Baptist Believes
Central First Baptist affirms the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, and its statement of belief is thorough and explicit. In summary, the church confesses one God who exists eternally in three equally divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who know, love, and glorify one another, and who is Creator and sovereign ruler over all things. God has revealed himself in the created order and, above all, in the person of his Son, the incarnate Word, and the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are affirmed as the verbally inspired Word of God, authoritative and without error in the original writings. The Bible is to be believed as instruction, obeyed as command, and trusted as promise.
Human beings, male and female, are created in God's image and have equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus. The church holds that men and women complement one another in family, church, and civic life, while holding to distinct roles in marriage and to qualified male leadership in ministry. The fall of Adam left all people alienated from God and condemned to death apart from his gracious intervention, so the supreme need of humanity is reconciliation with the God whose just and holy wrath stands against sin.
The gospel is described as the good news of Jesus Christ and is centered on the cross and resurrection: Christ died for our sins and was raised. The eternal Son became fully God and fully human, was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven. As mediator, High Priest, and Advocate, he acted as representative and substitute for those who believe, canceling sin, propitiating God, and bearing the full penalty of sin so that people might become the righteousness of God. Justification rests solely on free grace, with the obedience of Christ credited to all who trust in him by faith alone, and the Holy Spirit applies this salvation, regenerating sinners, adopting them into God's family, and empowering them for Christ-like living and service.
Those saved by grace through union with Christ by faith enter the kingdom of God and delight in the blessings of the new covenant, including forgiveness of sins and inward transformation. Good works are called indispensable evidence of saving grace, and believers are urged to love their neighbors as themselves and do good to the city. God's new people are the universal church manifest in local churches where Christ is the only Head, distinguished by the gospel message, sacred ordinances, discipline, mission, and love. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordained by Jesus, baptism marking entrance into the new covenant community and the Lord's Supper marking ongoing covenant renewal. Looking ahead, the church confesses the personal, glorious, and bodily return of Christ, the resurrection of the just and the unjust, and the restoration of all things, when God will be all in all and his people will praise his glorious grace.
Pastor Austin McKnight
Austin McKnight is the pastor of Central First Baptist Church. He grew up in the Upstate as the son of a pastor and graduated from Fruitland Bible College in 2008 and North Greenville University in 2010. After marrying his wife, Paige, in 2012, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he attended and graduated from Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity. In 2015 the family moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he helped plant a church with the North American Mission Board. They returned to the Upstate in the spring of 2018 to pastor Central First Baptist. Austin and Paige have three children, Annie, Judah, and Violet. Away from ministry, he enjoys running, hiking, reading, and pretending to be a monster with his kids.
Breakfast Tables and Tuesday Nights
The fellowship habits of the church reach well beyond Sunday morning. Men meet weekly for breakfast at Hardee's on Highway 93 in Clemson, where the pattern is fellowship around the table and a brief devotional, and the church has also cooked free breakfasts for men and boys. The men of the church have prepared a free breakfast for the ladies in honor of Mother's Day, and a men's prayer breakfast has been a setting for prayer and sharing. A ladies' Bible study meets on Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m., led by Leigh Hedden, and the church has gathered for a Valentine's dinner and for a homecoming celebration with a meal shared after the service.
Saturday in the Neighborhood
Outreach at Central First Baptist often takes the shape of a community day. The church has joined with other churches for a community-wide celebration in which congregations unite to serve and show the love of Jesus, and it has hosted a community block party at 207 Johnson Road with free snow cones, popcorn, and inflatables for kids. A back-to-school gathering brought a water slide, games, and hot dogs for families heading into a new school year. Saturday morning kids camps have been free, with fun, games, crafts, and a Bible story, and neighbors have been invited to help with yard work and with workdays around the church building. A firearms safety course on handling a firearm has also been offered.
The same pattern carries into missions. Members have taken short-term mission trips, including a Baltimore mission trip, and have supported Operation Christmas Child with a rally and with a youth fundraiser in which people sponsored young people to spend twelve hours rocking in a rocking chair. A tubing trip for the church is another example of the life together that surrounds the preaching. Each of these efforts reflects the conviction behind the vision: every day, not just one organized event, is an opportunity to reach neighbors, friends, and family with the gospel.
A Deliberate Path to Membership
Membership matters deeply at Central First Baptist, where the Bible is called the cornerstone of the church and membership the cement that holds everyone together. Both Jesus and Paul are held up as pointing toward membership for encouragement, protection, and instruction, and the church pursues that through a defined process.
The first step is a one-hour Membership Class that all prospective members attend. It covers the statement of faith, the church covenant, why to join a church, and outreach and missions, and it is offered as needed throughout the year. Completing the class leaves prospective members able, but not obligated, to sign up for the next step, a membership meeting. In that meeting, a prospective member briefly meets with the pastor to share about God's converting work in his or her life, then signs the statement of faith and church covenant, and the application goes to the pastors. After a Sunday morning service, the pastor who conducted the interview briefly describes how the applicants have come to know the Lord. The congregation affirms the prospects, and those admitted are commissioned as missionaries to the city.
Sermons, Worship Online, and Giving
Teaching runs through the whole of Scripture at Central First Baptist. The church's sermon work has moved through Genesis, including messages on the first three chapters, the Psalms, Paul's letter to the Galatians, and the Gospel of Luke, a study devoted to discovering the truth about the Messiah, Jesus. Archived services and worship music are available online, including songs by Shane and Shane and Jordan Kauflin, and the most current services are available on Facebook at the church's Facebook videos.
Giving is handled with the same directness. The church teaches that everything it has is a gift from God and that people are called to be wise stewards of those gifts through sacrificial giving. Online giving through MyVanCo allows automatic recurring contributions and a complete giving history, with major bank transfer, debit, or credit card accepted. For larger gifts, the church recommends ACH bank transfer because the transaction fees are lower and more of the donation reaches the church. Donors can direct gifts to the general offering or to special offerings that occur throughout the year.
A Church Still at the Heart of Central
Central First Baptist Church remains what it has been since 1868: a gathering of believers in the heart of Central, South Carolina, worshiping Jesus at 11:00 on Sunday morning and making disciples in the days between. Its people gather weekly, grow personally, and go daily, carrying the conviction that the gospel belongs not only to the church but to the whole town around it.