At the edge of downtown Greenville, South Carolina, just off the tree-lined blocks near the Reedy River, Earle Street Baptist Church has gathered for worship and fellowship since 1922. Housed in a brick building at 225 West Earle Street, the congregation is known in the Greenville Baptist Association for its blend of historic, traditional roots with a creative, outward-facing ministry that reaches into the city, across the country, and around the world.
The church's identity is summed up in a phrase members use often: the "Greater Way." Since 2018, Earle Street has pursued that Greater Way as its overarching goal, organizing its life around three core values drawn from Jesus' two great commandments and the Great Commission: love God, love neighbors, and make disciples. The Greater Way is not a seasonal theme but a way of living, memorialized in the church's Greater Way Covenant adopted in 2019.
The Greater Way Covenant
The Greater Way Covenant walks members through ten practical commitments. It begins with accepting, trusting, and resting in God's love, then moves into spending time alone with God, gathering together in worship, and obeying the teachings of Jesus. The second movement focuses on neighbors: seeking them out, overcoming barriers, serving them, and building real relationships with them. The third is making disciples through example, prayer, and spiritual conversations, then helping new disciples understand and live the Greater Way themselves so the pattern multiplies. The language of the covenant echoes throughout the church, from sermons and Sunday School classes to the way ministry leaders talk about their work.
Sunday Mornings on Earle Street
Sunday mornings follow a steady two-part rhythm. At 9:15 AM, Sunday School classes meet across the building. Children's classes are on the first floor; youth gather in the Family Life Center; and adults settle into one of eight classes ranging from "Come and See" (ages 50 to 80, discussion-based) to "Daily Bread" (twenties to forties) to the women-led "Gleaners" class. A ninth class, "Wednesday Morning Sunday School," meets at 11:00 AM in Room 200 for those whose week keeps them from Sunday mornings.
At 10:30 AM, the Sanctuary Choir leads worship in the Sanctuary. The service is livestreamed on YouTube, and for those attending in person there are children's worship stations in the Sanctuary with bulletins and resources so families can keep younger children close. First through fifth graders are also invited to Children's Worship (first and third Sundays), a separate age-appropriate experience that builds on the morning's Sunday School lesson.
Wednesday Nights Around the Table
Wednesdays at Earle Street start with a meal. From 5:00 to 5:45 PM in the Fellowship Hall, the kitchen crew serves three options each week: a meat-and-two entree, a boxed salad with grilled chicken, and a two-slice pizza meal. The cost is modest, the conversation is loud, and the room fills with members and guests before the evening programming begins.
At 6:00 PM, preschool and children's choirs rehearse, with Preschool-Kindergarten in Room 100 and grades 1 through 5 in the Choir Room. From 6:30 to 7:00, midweek activities for kids continue in Rooms 100 and 101, with childcare available for infants through age three. At the same hour, adults gather for Midweek Recharge discipleship groups, and the Sanctuary Choir rehearses at 7:15 PM. For youth, the Family Life Center opens for gym time at 5:00 PM, followed by an opening celebration with announcements, games, videos, and music, and then small group Bible studies.
A Music Ministry of More Than 200
Earle Street takes its music seriously. More than 200 people of all ages are involved in the music ministry, which includes two children's choirs, a youth choir, a youth handbell choir, an adult handbell choir (the Earle Street Ringers), a senior adult choir, and the Sanctuary Choir. The Sanctuary Choir rehearses Wednesday nights at 7:15 PM and sings each Sunday morning, welcoming members whether they read music or not. The youth choir travels to the Gather and Praise Festival in Hilton Head each March, and the youth choir and handbell ensemble provide music for the Hanging of the Green service and Youth Sunday. Senior Adult Choir rehearses as needed and leads worship on Senior Adult Sunday.
Preschoolers, Children, and Youth
The preschool and children's ministry is built on the conviction that church and parents share the work of foundational Bible teaching. Sunday School uses the Gospel Project curriculum, which walks through the entirety of Scripture. Children's Worship, age-graded choirs, and Wednesday night midweek activities give kids multiple touchpoints each week, while camps, Vacation Bible School, Easter egg hunts, pool parties, and missions activities round out the year. Updates flow through the @EarleKids Instagram account.
The youth ministry, led by Minister of Youth and Recreation Lucy Wilkinson, meets in the Family Life Center for Sunday School at 9:15 AM and joins the worship service at 10:30 AM. Youth choir and handbells rehearse Sunday afternoons. Wednesdays begin with open gym and hang-out time from 5:00 to 6:00 PM, then transition into a large-group gathering with games, videos, and music, followed by small group Bible studies. Special events include summer camp at Lookup Lodge, the Awanita Fall Retreat, Music Camp, Wildfire fundraiser events, Big Thursday outings (bowling, pool parties, ice skating, trampoline parks), summer community mission days, and international mission trips. A Bronx Mission Trip, open to eleventh and twelfth graders, college students, and adults, is a long-running summer partnership with A House on Beekman in New York. High schoolers and adults also travel together to Ecuador and Thailand. The @earlestreetyouth Instagram account carries the latest details.
Adults: Sunday School, Support Groups, and Seniors
Beyond Sunday morning, adults have several pathways for connection. Two ongoing support groups meet monthly: a Divorce Recovery Support Group, coordinated through Minister of Music Janice Hinnant, and an Eldercare Support Group. Senior adults are described as a "valued and vibrant" part of the church; they gather regularly for fellowship events, retreats, and day trips, with Wayne Turner coordinating those activities.
Sharing the Gospel Locally, Nationally, and Internationally
Earle Street describes its work in word and deed as missional in focus. Undesignated giving is shared through what we call "Cooperative Missions," channeling ten percent of all undesignated offerings to one of four partners selected by the giver: the ESBC Greater Way Partnership Fund, the Baptist World Alliance, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, or the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program (with an option to split equally among the three national/international bodies).
Local partnerships run deep. Community Missions builds wheelchair access ramps and performs home repairs year-round as needs arise. Earle Street partners with Habitat for Humanity as part of an annual Faith Build, providing volunteers across roughly eighteen workdays. The church serves with Miracle Hill, which shelters and serves homeless and hurting children, women, and men across Upstate South Carolina, and with Triune Mercy Center, where teams prepare and serve meals several times a year. Earle Street is also building a partnership with United Ministries and exploring involvement in their Interfaith Hospitality Network for families experiencing homelessness. Once a year, the congregation holds an Inasmuch Day, sending preschoolers, children, youth, and adults into the community for service projects.
Nationally, the church has a long history with the Marie Younts Girls Group Home. Earle Street was instrumental in founding the home, originally located on Earle Street; it relocated to Mauldin in 1996 and continues to be supported through a dedicated team. Disaster Relief teams are trained and ready to deploy when storms or floods strike.
International partnerships are anchored by two long-running relationships. Since 2006, Earle Street teams have traveled to Camp Chacauco in Patate, Ecuador, working with missionaries Steve and Carol Thompson on vacation Bible schools, school visits, and painting and construction projects at the Baptist camp, which serves as a seminary and retreat center with a view of the volcano Tungurahua. A partnership with Thailand began with a mission trip in 2018 and includes prison ministry, ESL classes, market ministry, and refugee work. Each fall the church fills shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse.
The Family Life Center and Recreation
Earle Street describes itself as an active congregation, and much of that energy flows through the Family Life Center, which hosts basketball leagues for all ages, youth hang-out nights, and community fellowship events. The Recreation ministry organizes a Spring Camping Trip at Devil's Fork State Park on Lake Jocassee and a Fall Camping Weekend at Table Rock State Park, both of which draw multigenerational groups.
Serving on a Team
Members and non-members alike can sign up to serve on any of nearly twenty teams, including the Usher Team, Acolyte Team, Habitat for Humanity Team, Triune Mercy Center Team, Operation Inasmuch Team, Community Missions Team, National Missions Team, Food Services Team, Greeters Team, Bereavement Team, Paraclete Ministry (Spiritual Care) Team, Medical Ministry Team, College Ministry Team, Singles Ministry Team, Media Library Team, Discipleship Team, Connections Team, Prayer Team, and the Marie Younts Girls Group Home Team.
Leadership
Gary Strickland serves as Interim Pastor. A former senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Mauldin (1991 to 2007) and Professor of Pastoral Care at Sioux Falls Seminary (2007 to 2020), he and his wife Stephanie have returned to the South Carolina upstate. Janice Hinnant has served as Minister of Music since 1995; a Furman University graduate with a master's degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, she also sings with the Greenville Chorale. Lucy Wilkinson leads the youth and recreation ministries. Office and Facilities Manager Ellen Heyward and Ministry Assistant for Finance Gina Conn round out the staff that keeps the church running day to day.
Getting Connected
Visitors are welcome at 225 West Earle Street in Greenville. Sunday School begins at 9:15 AM, with worship at 10:30 AM. Wednesday nights start with dinner at 5:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall, followed by choirs, discipleship groups, and youth programming. Worship services are livestreamed on YouTube, and giving, event registration, and a Daily Prayer Guide are all available online. For those wanting to learn more, the church office can be reached at (864) 233-5332 or info@esbcgreenville.org.