From the Duncan YMCA to Reidville Road
Tyger River Presbyterian Church sits on eight wooded acres along Reidville Road in Moore, on the west side of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Its story begins in late 1997, when Dr. Doug Cushing was given a bold calling: start a new church to reach out to the growing population of Spartanburg's west side. He had no members and no building, only a vision of founding a church committed to bringing positive and relevant worship to all ages.
The first worship service was held on October 16, 1997, at the YMCA in Duncan. Within a year the congregation had grown enough to be chartered with 100 members on August 18, 1998. Eight acres on Reidville Road were purchased for a permanent home, and Phase I of the building project - including the sanctuary - was finished in July 1999. The sanctuary was dedicated on the church's first anniversary that August. Phase II, an addition that opened up space for an expanding ministry, was dedicated on the sixth anniversary in August 2004.
Tyger River called its second installed pastor, Rev. Hudson Neely, in November 2016. After he accepted another call in May 2024, Rev. Steve Rhodes served as interim pastor while the church searched for its third installed pastor. On August 3, 2025, Rev. John Daniel DeBevoise preached his first sermon at Tyger River. The church marked its 20th anniversary in 2018 with the launch of the 2020 Vision campaign, and at its 25th anniversary in 2023 the congregation announced 25 goals for its ministry teams and retired the building debt.
Sunday Morning: Sunday School at Nine, Worship at Ten
Worship at Tyger River centers on Sunday morning. Sunday School classes for every age meet at 9:00 a.m. from August through May, and the worship service follows at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary. The congregation's core values describe worship as "positive and relevant," and the welcome to first-time visitors is simple: come as you are.
Childcare is provided during both the Sunday School hour and the worship service. Workers and volunteers have completed the church's Safe Place Training program and have cleared background checks, and the building is described as a safe place for all ages. A Children's Sermon is part of every worship service, and younger children are invited to Children's Church class each Sunday following the Children's Sermon. Past messages are available as a podcast and on the church's sermon archive.
Children Growing in Grace and Gratitude
Tyger River describes its commitment to children as fundamental. Sunday School classes are offered at 9:00 a.m. for children of every age, using the "Growing in Grace & Gratitude" curriculum. The Children's Choir takes part in worship several times a year, and one Sunday each month the children help pack backpack food bags as part of the church's Feed the Future ministry.
Sharing space in the Reidville Road building is the Tyger River Children's Center, a separate nonprofit that grew out of the church in 2000 and enrolled its first class in fall 2002. The Children's Center operates a faith-based afterschool and summer program offering a developmentally appropriate learning experience in a safe, Christian environment that promotes social, intellectual, and spiritual growth. Its board and volunteers remain closely tied to the congregation, and the church encourages members to consider volunteering with the Center.
Youth on Sunday Nights
Ministry to young people at Tyger River runs from Sunday morning Christian Education classes through Sunday evening youth group. Sunday School classes meet at 9:00 a.m. and study the same scripture that will be the focus of the day's worship service.
The youth group gathers most Sunday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. for a meal, an activity, and a devotion. The night usually begins with shared food, and families in the church are invited to sign up to provide a meal for the group. Confirmation classes are offered each year for eighth graders, and the Youth Team plans special events, offsite outings, and an annual Youth Mission Trip.
Adults: PW, WWJB, Free Spirits, Choir and Praise Band
Adults at Tyger River have several weekly rhythms. Multiple adult Sunday School classes meet at 9:00 a.m., ranging from Bible studies to thematic and book studies, and all are open to anyone who would like to join.
Two fellowship groups are part of the regular calendar. PW, the women's group, meets on the first Wednesday of each month in various homes and restaurants - members arrive at 6:00 p.m. to socialize, and discussion begins around 7:00 p.m. PW also plans special events throughout the year and a Women's Retreat each fall. "What Would Jesus Brew" (WWJB), the men's group, meets on the third Tuesday of each month at Cribb's Kitchen Tyger River. The evening begins with social hour at 6:00 p.m. and a Bible-based discussion at 7:00 p.m. No RSVP is required. Free Spirits, the church's group for adults 50 and older, gathers periodically for Sunday brunches, day trips to places like Flat Rock Playhouse, tasting events, and more.
Music is woven into weekly worship. The Adult Choir helps lead the congregation in song, and the Praise Band - made up of volunteer singers and instrumentalists from a variety of musical backgrounds - leads worship every Sunday as well. The Praise Band rehearses Wednesdays from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m.
The Carpenter's Table: Three Churches, One Pantry
The Carpenter's Table Community Outreach Center is one of two nonprofit ministries housed at Tyger River that grew out of the church's own outreach. It was formed in 2001 by a group of people from Tyger River, Joy Lutheran Church, and Nazareth Presbyterian Church, and began as a food pantry for neighbors on the west side of Spartanburg County. In its first full year, the pantry served 32 families. Today the Outreach Center serves hundreds of households each month.
The Carpenter's Table's primary goal is to lessen hunger in the Upstate community by distributing food to those in need while sharing information about nutrition and preserving the dignity of those it serves. Tyger River remains intimately involved in both operations and fundraising for the pantry. The Carpenter's Table is open every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
Feed the Future
Tyger River's Feed the Future ministry addresses weekend hunger among children at River Ridge Elementary School, the school's across-the-street neighbor. Each week during the school year, the church packs gallon-sized bags with two main entrees, two breakfast items, two fruits, and three to four snacks for roughly 20 to 25 children identified by their teachers and guidance counselor. The bags are delivered to the school on Friday afternoons, and the teachers distribute them before the children leave for the weekend. Tyger River's youth help pack the bags one Sunday a month, and the ministry continues to provide food to the same children and their families throughout the summer when school is closed.
Reformed Worship, Core Values, and Governance
Tyger River describes itself as a community that is welcoming and inclusive, a safe place for people to explore their faith, a place where worship is positive and relevant, where families are nurtured, children are cherished, and singles are welcomed. Forgiveness - both receiving and giving - is named as central to the healing of relationships between God, self, and others, and Ministry Teams are the working expression of how the congregation connects with God, serves the world, and supports one another.
The church is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), in the Foothills Presbytery and the Synod of South Atlantic. The Worship Team's stated aim is to provide "meaningful, well-planned, Reformed Christian worship that both glorifies God and encourages and challenges us into a deeper relationship with God, with each other, and with the world." The combination of a traditional Adult Choir with a contemporary Praise Band points to a blended approach to weekly worship.
Tyger River's day-to-day ministry is shared by the staff and the church's elected leaders. Rev. John Daniel DeBevoise serves as Pastor. Elizabeth-Kelly Pope is the Director of Faith Formation, and Linda Tranthem is the Administrative Assistant. The church is governed by a Session of Ruling Elders, each of whom oversees a Ministry Area: Jeff Rose, Building & Grounds; Johanna Bertino, Christian Education; Kim Cansler, Fellowship; Katie Wilber, Fellowship for Interest Groups; Andrew Kopp, Membership; Joe Bullington, Outreach; TJ Marks, Outreach for The Carpenter's Table; Bill Kennedy, Personnel; David Rice, Stewardship; David Green, Worship; and Adam Ashcraft, Youth. A board of Deacons - Marsha Alexander, Georgia Bullington, Andrew Foster, David Grote, Jeremy Kessinger, and Janna Trammell - shares in the pastoral care of the congregation.
A Mountaintop Moment
With its building debt retired and its ministry teams in motion, Tyger River is leaning into a new chapter of life together on Reidville Road. The congregation's annual stewardship campaigns invite members to give of their time, talent, and treasure, and online giving is available through the church's Realm platform. Tyger River continues to describe itself with the words that have guided it from the beginning: a community that is welcoming and inclusive, a safe place for people to explore their faith, and a church whose worship is positive and relevant to all ages. Worship is at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays, the food pantry at The Carpenter's Table is open Saturday mornings, and the doors on Reidville Road stay open throughout the week for children, youth, adults, and neighbors across the west side of Spartanburg County.