A Church That Grew with Greenville
Truth-Missionary Baptist Church sits along Saluda Dam Road on the western edge of Greenville, South Carolina, in a neighborhood whose mills, mills villages, and family lots tell much of the city's twentieth-century story. The church itself began in one of those mills. On April 13, 1968, a small group established Truth-Missionary Baptist Church at Woodside Mill, and over the decades the congregation has moved five times to keep up with its growth. The current home at 200 Saluda Dam Road houses the sanctuary the church uses today, and the spirit of those early meetings still shapes the way the pastors and members welcome newcomers.
"Welcome Home" from the Pulpit
The greeting Pastor Sammy Kay and the church family offer first-time visitors is "Welcome Home." The welcome speaks plainly to anyone who has been thinking, praying, searching, and hoping for a place to belong. Visitors are promised uplifting music, helpful teaching and preaching from the Word of God, friendly people, and a place where the whole family feels at ease. The church is "a true family, rich in the relationships that matter most," where members worship, serve, laugh, cry, learn, and reach out together.
Pastor Sammy Kay and the Kay Family Ministry
Pastor Sammy Kay founded Truth-Missionary Baptist Church and has shepherded it for more than five decades. He still teaches a Sunday school Bible class each week at 10:00 AM in the main auditorium and preaches the Sunday morning service at 11:00 AM, the Sunday evening service at 6:30 PM, and the Wednesday Bible study at 7:30 PM. The congregation credits his steady preaching with thousands of lives being touched at home and abroad through missions work, Sunday school, summer events, revival meetings, and Friday night teen gatherings.
Ministry at Truth-Missionary runs in the family. Rev. Sammy Kay Jr., the youngest of Pastor Kay's four children, has been on the full-time staff for over thirty years. He serves as Minister of Music, leads the Young Adult Sunday school class on Sunday mornings, and pastors Truth for Youth on Friday nights. He also directs the Golden Glories senior citizens ministry. Reilly Kay, Pastor Kay's granddaughter, has been Media Director since her high school years at Tabernacle Christian School; she teaches second-grade Sunday school and Master Clubs and assists with Truth for Youth. Sammy Kay III, the next generation, directs athletics, helps with children's ministry, and oversees Vacation Bible School. His chosen verse is 2 Timothy 2:3, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
A Week of Services on Saluda Dam Road
Sunday at Truth-Missionary is built around three gatherings. Sunday school begins at 10:00 AM, with classes for every age including the Young Adult class led by Rev. Sammy Kay Jr. and the Bible class taught by Pastor Kay in the main auditorium. Morning Worship follows at 11:00 AM, and the day closes with Evening Worship at 6:30 PM.
Wednesday is the midweek teaching night. Children's Church gathers at 7:00 PM, and the church-wide Bible study begins at 7:30 PM, both led or taught by Pastor Kay. Friday nights belong to the teens: Truth for Youth meets from 6:30 to 10:30 PM for ages eleven through eighteen, with life-applicable devotions, free food, games, and trips. Once a month, on the first Tuesday, the Sonshine Sisters and Ladies' Prayer Circle gather for fellowship, prayer, devotions, and seasonal activities.
Old-Fashioned, Camp-Meeting Worship
The What We Believe page describes the music ministry without apology: Truth-Missionary has a spirit-filled choir that sings uplifting music, a traditional choir with a "camp-meeting flavor," and a style the church calls "old-fashioned." The same page makes the doctrinal commitments plain. Truth-Missionary is an independent, fundamental, Bible-believing Baptist church that "stands for the Book, the Blood, and the Blessed Hope." Every Bible used in teaching and preaching is the King James Version, and the pulpit is committed to preaching the Word of God without compromise. The church also has a strong heart for worldwide missions, with several missionaries and mission efforts supported each year from the congregation.
Children and Teens at the Center
Children are described as a "foundational aspect" of the church family. A first-class Sunday school meets each week with dedicated Bible teachers for every age. On Wednesdays, the church offers both Junior Church and the Master Clubs program, an age-level, club-based curriculum focused on Bible discipleship that runs during the school year. Summer brings Junior Church services that walk children through how a basic worship gathering works, with singing, Bible preaching, Scripture memory, and activities, and the year rounds out with a Vacation Bible School each summer directed by Sammy Kay III.
Truth for Youth is the church's teen ministry, formed for the "sole purpose of reaching lost teens for Christ." Weekly Friday meetings, summer camps, and winter camps give young people ages eleven to eighteen a steady rhythm of fellowship and teaching. The ministry also runs trips and special events through the year.
Golden Glories and the Sonshine Sisters
Two adult ministries round out the church life. The Golden Glories is the senior citizens ministry, directed by Rev. Sammy Kay Jr. The group focuses on ministering in Word and fellowship to the church's seniors and fills the calendar with singings, suppers, and special trips. The Sonshine Sisters and Ladies' Prayer Circle meets on the first Tuesday of each month for prayer, devotions, fellowship, and seasonal events. Both groups are designed to keep longtime members connected and to draw in newcomers from the surrounding neighborhoods.
Reaching Beyond the Sanctuary
Truth-Missionary broadcasts every service online. Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday services are livestreamed and shared on Facebook Live. Recent services and song specials are archived on the church YouTube channel, where the media staff posts new videos each week, including guest preachers, guest gospel singers, and choir specials. The Archives page keeps recent services available on demand for those who want to catch up or share a message.
More than half a century after its founding at Woodside Mill, Truth-Missionary Baptist Church continues to teach the same Book it began with, sing with the same spirit, and greet every visitor the way it has since 1968 - with the words "Welcome Home."