Maple Creek Missionary Baptist Church has anchored the south side of Greer's Main Street for more than half a century and traces its roots back to 1887. Its motto, "A Church With A Passion for God and Compassion for People," has shaped the congregation's life since the day two men sawed down a maple tree by a creek to make a pulpit.
From a Creek, a Maple Tree, and a Two-Horse Wagon
The church's name comes from the place it began. In 1887, the Rev. W.B. Chainey and David Holtzclaw were looking for a place to hold worship for their African-American congregation. They settled by a creek, sawed down a maple tree to make a pulpit, and borrowed a two-horse wagon, turning the body upside down for pews. "Maple Creek" was the obvious name for what grew from that morning.
From those outdoor beginnings, the congregation moved to a barn shelter, then to an old house. On April 20, 1891, the church purchased its first sanctuary lot on Pelham Street, with David Holtzclaw, J.S. Sullivan, and D.S. Sullivan serving as trustees. In 1968, the church added a cemetery to its holdings.
By 1972, growing pains pushed the church to build again. In July of that year, the congregation broke ground for its present home at 609 South Main Street, a building that houses a large sanctuary, a fellowship hall, offices, and classrooms. The mortgage was paid off by 1986, and the property has since been improved with an audio and visual system, stained-glass windows, a paved parking lot, an outdoor bulletin board, and landscaping. The old sanctuary was eventually demolished in favor of a children's play area and a community picnic site that neighbors can share.
One Bible verse has hung over the Maple Creek pulpit for generations. On October 9, 1952, the Board of Deacons recommended that the words "Sir, we would see Jesus," from John 12:21, be placed above the pulpit. In 1973, Deacon B.S. Robertson carried the same verse over to the new sanctuary, where it remains a quiet anchor for worship.
Hours of Worship
Sunday at Maple Creek follows a steady rhythm. Sunday School begins at 9:30 a.m., and morning worship follows at 10:45 a.m. The service is shaped by the choirs who sing on their respective Sundays and by messages drawn straight from Scripture. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month.
Midweek, Bible study gathers on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. Services are also livestreamed on Facebook for those who want to join from home.
What Visitors Find at The Creek
Visitors will find ample parking on both sides and behind the church, with wheelchair-accessible spaces. The music ministry ranges from hymns to current songs and is led by a team that includes a senior choir, a men's choir, a youth choir, and a praise team. People are invited to come, belong, volunteer, make a difference, and grow.
Children have their own place at Maple Creek. The church offers music, drama, and Bible teaching for children, youth, and young adults, and an on-site nurse is available to provide accommodations. Youth, led by Youth Director Shirley Kelley and Youth Minister Iva Jean Rice, take educational trips, attend youth conferences, take part in summer Vacation Bible Study, and serve the church through dance ministry, youth choir, oratorical contests, drama, ushering, and audio and visual work.
The Greer School of Christian Leadership and Development
Housed in the church's Christian Education Department, the Greer School of Christian Leadership and Development (GSCLD) is Maple Creek's answer to the call to teach. The program offers Bible-based courses certified by the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Each course can be completed in ten hours, and students are eligible for Continuing Education Units in Biblical Studies.
GSCLD's mission is to train the minds, develop the Christian character, and enrich the spiritual lives of its students through quality Bible classes in a Christ-centered environment, anchored in 2 Corinthians 10:5. The program is open to church members and community residents who want to deepen their walk with God, integrate personal decisions with Bible principles, and build a God-conscious Christian philosophy of life. Registration is handled through the church office.
A Network of Ministries
Maple Creek's ministry life is wide and intergenerational. The church supports a Pastor's Aide Ministry, an Associate Ministers group, Administration, the Missionary Ministry, Bible School, Sunday School, Deacons, Deaconess, Trustees, Christian Education, Evangelistic and Outreach, Drama and Theatrics, Children's Church, Benevolence, Hospitality, Women's Discipleship, Brotherhood and Discipleship, Youth, Custodial, Prison, Visitation, and Media ministries. A Flower Club tends the church's life in smaller ways.
Choirs form a particular backbone. A Senior Choir, a Men's Choir, and a Youth Choir are supported by a Praise Team and a pair of usher boards for seniors and youth. A Leadership Advisory Council, along with committees for the budget, men's and women's days, fellowship, revival and publicity, transportation, the office computer, and the bulletin board, keeps operations steady.
The staff behind these ministries includes Pastor Rev. Mary Durham, Assistant Pastor Rev. Maryland Durham, and Associate Ministers Rev. Stephanie Mayfield, Rev. Gloria Bonds, Rev. Iva Jean Rice, Minister Denise Long, and Minister Ricky Carter. A full team of deacons, deaconesses, trustees, and Sunday School teachers supports the work of the church at every level, with Deacon Ministry Chair Billy Mayfield, Trustee Ministry Chair Patrick Brooks, and Deaconess Ministry Chair Betty McCoy among those who keep the boards moving.
The Family Life Center
The Maple Creek Multi-Cultural Developmental Family Life Center Corporation is a 501(c)(3) ministry that operates out of donated space at the church. Its reach is intentionally regional, providing charitable services throughout Greer, Taylors, Greenville, and the surrounding communities of Greenville and Spartanburg counties. Education, job training, and parenting support are central to its work. The center's aim is to bridge the social, racial, ethnic, economic, cultural, and religious gaps that so often divide a people.
Beliefs and the Church Covenant
The congregation's statement of faith centers on six anchors. The church believes that all Scripture is inspired by God and is the fundamental authority for truth, that there is one God who exists in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), that Jesus Christ is the crucified and risen Savior, that water baptism is a direct commandment and outward expression of new life, that communion is a celebration of the Lord's Supper, and that the church is a divinely ordained body of believers whose mission is to exalt Jesus Christ.
These beliefs are reinforced through a written Church Covenant recited at Maple Creek. Members promise to walk together in brotherly love, exercise Christian care and watchfulness over one another, uphold public worship, maintain family religion at home, train their children in the faith, deny ungodliness, contribute cheerfully of their means, and strive to live to the glory of God even unto death.
Reaching Out from Greer
Maple Creek takes seriously its call to serve its neighbors. The church feeds the hungry, runs a clothing outreach, delivers harvest baskets door-to-door at Thanksgiving, and ministers physically and spiritually to prisoners. It works alongside the twenty-eight churches of the Enoree River Baptist Association, the I.M.A. of Greer and Vicinity, Praise Cathedral, Taylors First Baptist, Faith Temple, Mayfield Chapel, New Faith, Greater Hopewell, Moores Chapel, and New Trinity to hold special community events.
Mission support extends through the National Baptist Convention of the USA, and the congregation's longer-term hope is to send one of its own to minister the gospel in foreign countries. The church's leaders like to say that denomination is not the issue: there is one God, one Scripture, one baptism, and one Holy Spirit.
Giving and Staying Connected
Tithes and offerings can be made online through Givelify or mailed to the church office at 609 South Main Street, attention the finance team. Sunday services and past messages are available on the church's Facebook feed, and the office can be reached at 864-877-1791. For a congregation that has stood with Greer almost since the town was founded, the work continues to focus on family values, faith, and fellowship, rooted in a place where a maple tree once became a pulpit.