A gospel-centered family on West Georgia Road
Standing Springs Baptist Church gathers on the west side of Simpsonville, South Carolina, along a stretch of West Georgia Road that has been home to this congregation for generations. The church describes itself in plain terms: a gospel-centered Baptist church committed to gospel faithfulness, biblical community, and intentional disciple making. Everything from the songs sung on Sunday morning to the small groups that meet in homes across Simpsonville flows out of that three-fold purpose.
The church building itself is easy to find. Visitors are pointed to a large brick worship center with a steeple, and just to the right of it, an auditorium called the HUB where donuts and coffee are set out between Sunday School and the main service. Behind the worship center stands a three-story brick building that houses the children's wing and childcare rooms. Guest parking is available in the front lot near the guest services entrance, where a welcome team member is ready to help newcomers find their way.
What a Sunday looks like
The Sunday rhythm at Standing Springs is built around four gatherings that move the congregation from study to fellowship to worship to prayer.
The day begins at 9:00 a.m. with Small Group Bible Studies and Core Classes for every age, from infants through adult electives. Children's Sunday School uses curriculum from Truth78, helping young students understand the big story of Scripture and how every part of it points to Christ. Infant childcare is offered during this hour, and classes run for every grade level.
At 10:00 a.m., the HUB fills with the smell of fresh donuts and coffee as the church pauses for fellowship. This is the connective hour between Bible study and the main gathering, a time when newcomers can meet members in a low-key setting before heading into worship.
The Morning Worship Gathering begins at 10:30 a.m. in the main worship center. Music, prayer, and expositional preaching carry the hour-plus service, with childcare available for infants through age three. Four- and five-year-olds are dismissed partway through the service for their own Bible study, using a simplified "7 arrows" method that walks them through the same passage being preached in the main service. Children in first grade and older who remain in the sanctuary can pick up sermon coloring note sheets from the kids wing or the entrance to the auditorium.
The day closes with the Evening Prayer and Praise Gathering at 5:00 p.m., also held in the main worship center. Childcare for infants through K5 is available during this hour, and the tone is set apart for congregational prayer and praise.
Music that makes room for the congregation
Music at Standing Springs is shaped by a clear conviction. The church teaches that the most important instrument in the room when the saints gather is the congregation's voice, and so decisions about song selection, instrumentation, and the volume of the band and vocalists are all made with congregational singing in mind. On a given Sunday the song list might include older hymns like "Praise to the Lord the Almighty" alongside newer pieces such as "King of Kings" and "All Glory Be to Christ," blending generations of congregational song. The evening gathering draws on a similar range, often leaning into theologically rich songs such as "Christ the True and Better" and "O Church Arise," and closing with the Doxology.
Children, youth, and family ministry
Children's ministry is built on the conviction that the church partners with parents to teach the next generation to know God, love His Word, and follow Christ. On Sunday mornings during the Sunday School hour, children ages three through fifth grade work through Truth78 lessons. During the worship hour, infant through age five childcare is available, and three- to five-year-olds gather for their own Bible study. All children must be checked in at the childcare desk on the first floor of the three-story building behind the main worship center. Parents receive a matching security tag that is required to pick up each child, and every childcare volunteer clears a federal and state background check.
Youth ministry at Standing Springs meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. during the school year for a time of fun, fellowship, prayer, and study of God's Word. The fall rotation works through books of the Bible with depth - a recent fall term walked students through the Minor Prophets. In the summer the midweek meeting pauses and is replaced with youth outings, at-church events, and a summer camp, giving students a different rhythm when school is out.
Small groups across Simpsonville
Small groups are the backbone of life at Standing Springs outside of Sunday gatherings. These groups meet in homes across Simpsonville throughout the week, typically for one to two hours, and are intentionally kept under twenty people so that relationships have room to grow. Each week the group shares in fellowship, prayer, and a deeper look at the previous Sunday's sermon, turning corporate worship into continued formation during the week.
The groups are designed to be multi-generational. Children are welcome, childcare is provided in each group, and families are encouraged to attend together so that the same study shapes the household from the youngest to the oldest. Small groups run from September through May, with the summer set aside as a break for leaders and hosts.
What the church believes
Standing Springs is a member congregation of the Southern Baptist Convention and holds to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. The church's statement of faith walks through eighteen articles, beginning with the nature of Scripture as God's wholly truthful and trustworthy revelation, and continuing through the doctrine of God as one being in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The statement affirms the historic Christian understanding of humanity as created in God's image, fallen into sin, and in need of salvation. Salvation is described as the work of God's grace through regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification, with no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. The church teaches the eternal security of the believer, confessing that all whom God has accepted in Christ will persevere to the end.
The church is defined as an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, observing two ordinances - baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper - and governed under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. The final articles address the Kingdom of God, last things, the duty of every believer to share the gospel, Christian stewardship, religious liberty, and the family as the foundational institution of human society, defined as the covenant union of one man and one woman for a lifetime.
Elder-led, deacon-served, congregationally ruled
Standing Springs describes its leadership structure with three phrases: elder led, deacon served, and congregationally ruled. The elders carry the responsibility of shepherding and overseeing the church, devoting themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word, with the church affirming a plurality in this role. The deacons are given to serve the church, often by meeting practical needs and helping carry the burdens of the congregation. Underneath both offices, the church teaches, Christ is the chief Shepherd who guides and indwells every believer by His Spirit.
Senior Pastor Jordan has served the church since January 2019 and brings a passion for equipping the local church through the preaching of God's Word. He completed a PhD at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in the spring of 2025. Associate Pastor Nick, who joined the staff as Youth Director and Pastoral Assistant in 2025 before becoming Associate Pastor in 2026, holds an MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and has a particular heart for students. Assistant Pastor Karl came on staff after forty years in private practice as a civil engineer, bringing a passion for seeing God's people transformed by the gospel. Children's Director Christiana Zachary, who joined the team in the summer of 2025, oversees the children's ministry with a focus on helping the youngest members of the congregation know and love the gospel.
Becoming a member, taking the next step
The church takes a serious view of church membership, describing it as a formal relationship between a local church and a Christian in which the church affirms and oversees a Christian's discipleship and the Christian submits to living out that discipleship in the care of the church. Roughly six times a year, Standing Springs holds a two-part new members class that walks through what the church believes and how it operates. After the class, a pastor meets personally with each candidate to hear their story, and new members are presented to the congregation in a family meeting about six times a year for affirmation.
Baptism, too, is treated as a first act of obedience after salvation. The church teaches that baptism by immersion does not save, but is a powerful outward sign of an inward reality, identifying the believer with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those interested in baptism or membership are invited to connect with one of the pastors.
Reaching beyond Simpsonville
Reproducing disciple-makers is one of the three core values of Standing Springs, and it runs in two directions. Individually, the church wants to equip every believer for personal discipleship. Corporately, it works to plant and revitalize other churches, taking seriously the call of Christ to make disciples of all nations. The church is engaged in local and regional missions efforts, and congregants regularly serve together in mission trips and outreach partnerships.
What to wear, where to park, and other first-visit questions
Visitors are welcome to come as they are. On a given Sunday at Standing Springs, jeans and t-shirts sit alongside suits and dresses, and no one stands out for how they are dressed. The main worship center has a steeple and is easy to spot, and guest parking is closest to the front entrance where the welcome team is stationed. Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person, with the stream beginning five minutes before each worship gathering.
A church shaped by the gospel it proclaims
From the songs sung on Sunday morning to the sermons preached from the pulpit, from the children working through Truth78 in their classes to the small groups meeting in homes across Simpsonville during the week, Standing Springs Baptist Church aims to keep one thing central: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is elder led and congregationally governed, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, and a community that wants every generation, from the youngest in the nursery to the oldest in the seniors ministry, to know the same grace that has shaped its own life together.