A Light on Augusta Road in West Columbia
Green Hill Baptist Church meets on Augusta Road on the western edge of West Columbia, South Carolina, with its main entrance at 1800 Augusta Road and a separate church office just down the street at 1734 Augusta Road. The church's own motto sums up what it wants to be in that setting: "We seek to be light in this world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, as we glorify the Lord." Green Hill is a Baptist congregation that has adopted The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as its confession, and it lives out that confession through weekly worship, small groups, children and student ministries, and a wide network of mission partnerships that stretch from its own neighborhood to India.
What Green Hill Believes
The church holds to The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as its statement of faith and teaches it section by section. Scripture is set out as a perfect treasure of divine instruction, totally true and trustworthy, with God as its author and salvation as its end. God is one living and true God who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct in person but undivided in nature and essence. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, who honored the divine law by His personal obedience, made provision for redemption through His death on the cross, was raised from the dead in a glorified body, ascended to the right hand of God, and will return in power and glory. The Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, illuminates truth, convicts of sin, regenerates the sinner, baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ, and seals the believer until final redemption.
Salvation, in Green's teaching, involves the redemption of the whole person and includes regeneration (the new birth), justification (God's full acquittal of repentant sinners who trust in Christ), sanctification (growth in grace through the Holy Spirit), and glorification (the final blessed state of the redeemed). A new Testament church is described as an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, governed by Christ's laws, with pastors and deacons as its scriptural officers. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime, and children from the moment of conception are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
Sunday Mornings on Augusta Road
Sunday School and small groups meet at 9:30 AM across the campus, with classes for children, students, a mixed-age class called Generations, an adult class called One Accord, and a senior ladies' class called Lydia. Worship gathers in the main sanctuary at 10:30 AM, and visitors are invited to come in through the side doors or the back of the large building. Children's church is dismissed at a designated point during the 10:30 gathering so they can learn in a way suited to their age. The 10:30 service is livestreamed on the church's Facebook page so that members who are traveling or shut in can join from home.
The service is described by the church as blended: "We worship the Lord with all songs, timeless hymns, classics, and contemporary worship songs. We are a blended church." That means the music moves comfortably between older hymnody and newer worship songs, and visitors are told simply to "come as you are." Nursery care is offered for infants through three-year-olds in a safe and secure area so that parents of the youngest children can worship without distraction.
Wednesday Nights of Prayer and Teaching
Wednesday night is built around a 6:00 PM Prayer Meeting that draws the whole church together to pray. At the same hour, children meet in the Children's Worship Room for their own programming, and students gather in the Student Ministry Annex for Bible study and prayer. The arrangement lets families with children of different ages arrive once and have a place for everyone, while adults can take part in the prayer gathering or a separate Bible study. The pattern repeats week after week, with the same six o'clock start time and the same rhythm of prayer, teaching, and community.
Children's Ministry: Simple, Safe, Solid
Children's ministry at Green Hill is built around three words the church uses to describe itself: simple, safe, and solid. The team teaches that the gospel can be presented in a simple and understandable way, that children meet in a secured area for their safety, and that the curriculum teaches what the Bible says and what it means for their lives.
The weekly schedule includes Children's Sunday School downstairs at 9:15 AM (the Sunday morning programming begins with Sunday School at 9:30 across the campus), a Children's Church segment that is dismissed during the 10:30 worship service, and a Wednesday gathering at 6:00 PM in the Children's Worship Room. The mission statement for the children's ministry rests on Mark 10:14-15 ("Let the little children come to me, do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God") and Proverbs 22:6 ("Train up a child in the way he should go; when he is old he will not depart from it"). The team commits to teaching children to know and love God, to talk daily with God, to honor and respect others, and to share the love of Christ with others, providing an environment where every child can grow spiritually, emotionally, socially, and intellectually in God's love.
Student Ministry: Believe, Love, Serve
The Student Ministry is led by Associate Pastor Jarrett Levinson and gathers in the Student Ministry Annex on the Green Hill campus. Students meet for Sunday small group and Sunday School at 9:30 AM and again on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 PM for Bible study and prayer, with parents and students welcome to reach out to Pastor Jarrett with any questions.
The student ministry is organized around three commitments. Believe: students are helped to know who Jesus is and to understand what they believe and why. Love: students are taught that Jesus commands them to love one another, and that love is lived out through community, activities, and meeting together. Serve: students are encouraged to use their gifts to serve the church, with additional opportunities to serve the community and the wider world. The combination of teaching, fellowship, and hands-on service gives students a steady rhythm rather than a one-off program.
Men's Ministry Around the Table
The Men's Ministry meets the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM. The evening starts with a meal in the Fellowship Hall and then moves to the Harter Building for Bible study and fellowship. The format is unhurried: come in, share a meal, open God's Word together, and talk as Christian brothers. The monthly rhythm makes the ministry accessible to men whose weeks are full, while the table fellowship keeps it rooted in everyday life.
Women On Mission
Women on Mission meets each month to learn and pray for missionaries serving around the world, across South Carolina, and locally, and to discuss ways the women of the church can be involved in their ministries. The group also helps facilitate the meeting of various community and church needs, which means the monthly gathering is both a learning time and a launching pad for service. The group partners with the national WMU (Women's Missionary Union) and supports the Janie Chapman Offering for South Carolina missions, along with the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions through the International Mission Board.
Deacon Family Ministry
Green Hill's Deacon Family Ministry pairs every member family in the church with a deacon and a "Deacon Family," a small cluster of the congregation that the deacon shepherds. The deacons include Paul Landge, Keith Leaphart, Jimmy Richardson, Tim Williams, Richard Gates, Richard Allison, Mike Berrian, Brian Gutknecht, and others, and they are organized into named groups such as Adkins-Branham, Brazell-Croft, Davis-Gardner, Gates-Humphries, James-Lucas, Martin-Purvis, Ray-Sullivan, and Thurmond-Worthy. The structure is designed so that every member family has a deacon who knows them by name and a small group that shares their stage of life.
Mission Partnerships Near and Far
Green Hill supports a circle of mission partners that the church prays for regularly. Connie Maxwell Children's Home, a Baptist ministry in South Carolina, is one of the church's standing prayer emphases, and the church asks members to pray for the children, the staff, the meeting of needs, and the lasting impact of the home's ministry.
Internationally, Green Hill is a partner with Paul Landge as he leads the Happy Home Orphanage in India through the India for Christ organization. The church prays for the salvation of the Indian people, for the children of Happy Home that they would grow to be disciples of Jesus and make a positive impact, for the support staff that their needs would be met and that they serve the children well, and for Paul and Ruth as they lead and guide the ministry and seek to make the name of Jesus known in India.
Green Hill also partners in mission work in Moldova and El Salvador, with opportunities for members to learn, to go, or to commit to going through the church's communication card. The three denominational offerings the church promotes - the Janie Chapman Offering through WMU, the Annie Armstrong Offering through the North American Mission Board, and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering through the International Mission Board - round out the mission picture and tie Green Hill into the broader work of the Baptist cooperative network.
Pastoral Leadership
Jeff Powell has served as Pastor of Green Hill since July 2020. He is from Louisiana and describes himself as "100% Cajun," and he and his wife Jane have been married for more than twenty-five years. They have five children, Tyler, Allie (who Jeff notes is "currently in heaven"), Austin, Ashlynn, and Sarah-Grace, and a grandson, Oliver. He loves spending time with his family, especially in the outdoors. He holds both a bachelor's degree and a Master of Divinity, and he is a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has more than twenty-seven years of full-time pastoral ministry experience and has traveled to fifteen countries preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he is passionate about reaching the nations with the good news of Jesus.
Jarrett Levinson serves as Associate Pastor and gives leadership to the Student Ministry. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and his MDiv in Christian Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was an active member of Green Hill and served as a deacon before the church called him to staff in the spring of 2017. He is married to Megan Levinson, and he enjoys helping students understand who Jesus is and apply biblical principles to their lives and serving the church in any capacity.
Darlene McCormick serves as Ministry Assistant. She is married to Dr. Mike McCormick, who once was on staff at Green Hill as Pastor of Worship and Discipleship and now serves as Lead Pastor at Berlin Baptist Church. Darlene holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Management from USC and has served Lake Murray Baptist Church as ministry assistant for eight years and First Baptist of Lexington as preschool teacher and director for fifteen years. She and Mike have three daughters, and Darlene says her two favorite titles are wife and mom, but the best title is Daughter of the King.
Plan a Visit
The church sits on Augusta Road on the western edge of West Columbia, with the main entrance at 1800 Augusta Road and the church office at 1734 Augusta Road. Visitors arriving for Sunday morning can come through the side doors or the back of the large building. Sunday School and small groups start at 9:30 AM, and the worship service begins at 10:30 AM. Wednesday programming - Prayer Meeting, Children's Ministry, and Student Ministry - starts at 6:00 PM.
The dress code is informal: "Come as you are! We don't care, we just want you here!" Nursery is available for the youngest, children through age three. Giving is available online through the church's Realm giving page, and a Worship Guide helps visitors follow along with each service. Texts to the church can be sent to (833) 279-0426, and the office phone is 803-794-5125. The mailing address for the church is PO Box 6276, West Columbia, SC 29171. A Facilities Use Policy is in place for members who want to use the church building for weddings or other non-regular activities, and a printed Green Hill Map helps newcomers find the rooms they need.