A Family on Nursery Road
Palmetto Church of Christ sits at 7000 Nursery Road in the northwest reaches of Columbia, South Carolina, in Lexington County just across the river from the state capital. The church describes itself in plain language as a family of believers following Jesus together, and the phrase appears on the church's banner and across the discipleship pathway. Their working motto, "In Columbia as it is in Heaven," points to the conviction that the rhythms of the church are meant to shape the city, not just the sanctuary.
What makes Palmetto distinct is the clarity of its framework. Everything from a Sunday sermon series to a Honduras mission trip is organized around three goals the congregation repeats often: be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. The building is a single campus, the leadership is a stable group of shepherds, and the calendar rotates around a few reliable weekly rhythms.
Three Goals of a Disciple
Be with Jesus is the first and primary goal. The church teaches that following Jesus means reorganizing your life around a constant connection to the Spirit, learning to carry Jesus into every part of the day, whether at home, at work, or in traffic on I-26. Become like Jesus is the second. Palmetto holds out full transformation as the promise of the New Testament and invites members into the slow work of being increasingly possessed by the character of Jesus from the inside out. Do what Jesus did is the third, the call to continue his work on earth as it is in heaven. Together these three goals shape the church's teaching, its small groups, and its outreach.
The framework shows up in the language used for new people. A first-time visitor is not pitched a building or a program but an entire way of life practiced in community. The church calls this "practicing the way of Jesus," a lifelong apprenticeship rather than a once-a-week event.
Sunday on Nursery Road
Sunday at Palmetto begins at 9:00 a.m. with Bible classes for every age, from the youngest children through adult electives. These classes are described as a primary place for new members to get connected and to go deeper with the same small cohort each week.
At 10:00 a.m. the congregation gathers for the main worship gathering, which typically lasts about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. The pattern is the same most weeks. The church sings together, prays together, sits under a sermon that walks through Scripture, celebrates the Lord's Supper with bread and juice, and receives a financial offering that funds the church's work in Columbia and beyond. Communion is observed every Sunday, a rhythm shared with the broader Churches of Christ tradition.
Children are part of the gathering from the start. Before the sermon, kids ages three through five are dismissed to a separate program called Kids with a King, led by trained volunteers. Older children remain with their families for the singing and the sermon, while age-appropriate classrooms are available during the Bible class hour.
Sunday evening belongs to the LifeGroups, small intentional communities that meet in homes and at the church building at various times across the city.
Wednesday Evenings Around the Table
Wednesday is the other anchor of the week. A shared dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. in the church building, and at 6:30 p.m. the church opens Bible classes for every age. The format is the same as Sunday morning, prayerful reflection on a passage of Scripture, discussion, and the chance to build relationships that carry into the rest of the week. Adult classes in particular are pitched as a place for newer members to get connected.
LifeGroups: Small Communities Across Columbia
LifeGroups are the primary small-group vehicle at Palmetto and the church's clearest answer to the question of how the three discipleship goals actually get lived out. The groups are intentionally small, organized around relationships that last longer than a single program year, and scattered across homes and meeting places throughout the Columbia area.
The church names three reasons a LifeGroup matters. Community, because meaningful spiritual life does not happen in isolation. Formation, because the people you do life with shape you more than any sermon can. And impact, because LifeGroups are not just for themselves; they are meant to push the Kingdom of God into the neighborhoods where they meet.
Palmetto Kids
The children's ministry uses Biblical Knowledge to teach children and to guide them toward knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Classes meet both Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. and Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m., staffed by volunteers with a heart for the next generation. Throughout the year the ministry runs Parent's Night Out, Vacation Bible School, and a Fall Festival, alongside the Kids with a King program during Sunday worship.
Palmetto Students
Student Ministry, led by Kyle Holton, partners with parents in the same discipleship work the rest of the church is doing. The students gather weekly to sit under Scripture, share meals, grow in friendships, and have a great deal of fun along the way. The ministry sees itself as a resource for families who want to grow in faith at home, not a substitute for it.
College, Women's, and Wider Church Life
Palmetto maintains a College Ministry alongside a Women's Ministry, both of which are listed among the church's main connection points. Inside the building, the church runs a roster of practical teams that keep Sunday morning running: Worship, Connections, Hospitality, Audio/Visual, Security, Kids, Students, and Ladies. Whatever a person's gifts or interests, the church says, there is a place to plug in.
Loving Columbia: Local Partnerships
Local mission work is organized under three headings: Community, Our City, and The World.
Sharing God's Love is a nearby organization that serves families and individuals facing emergencies related to basic living needs. Palmetto partners with Sharing God's Love through food and toy drives, monthly support, and other opportunities that surface during the year.
Nursery Road Elementary School is right down the road from the church building. Members of Palmetto mentor students in several subjects, and the church is working to build a long-term relationship with the school and its families.
Each month, a group from Palmetto serves women and men transitioning out of homelessness through Rapid Shelter Columbia, providing a meal, praying, and spending time in conversation. And every Sunday, members of Palmetto lead a worship gathering in the chapel at Fort Jackson for the men and women who serve there.
Around the World: Honduras and the Congo
Global mission is a long-standing part of Palmetto's identity, with two main partnerships.
In Honduras, the church has been serving for nearly twenty years, primarily in Tegucigalpa and the surrounding community of Mololoa. Each summer a team travels to build houses, share the good news, and feed families. The work does not stop when the team comes home: the church supports a local church and a daily feeding center that feeds nearly 200 children every day. An annual fundraiser, the Hills for Hope 5K and Fun Run, helps cover the cost of the partnership.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palmetto sends short-term teams each year to serve alongside local congregations. Throughout the year the church also provides financial support, medicine, and resource drives for the same partners.
What Palmetto Believes
The shepherds affirm a set of core beliefs that guide the church's teaching and direction.
There is only one God, who is not limited by creation or by human ideas about God. God rules all of creation in love, justice, and wisdom, and exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit.
Jesus Christ, the Son, is completely God and became a complete human being. His life revealed God to us. His death demonstrates the love of God that redeems the original rebellion and the evil that followed. His resurrection overcame the power of death and opened the way to life with God after death. Jesus now sits with the Father and personally intercedes on our behalf.
The Holy Spirit is completely God and carries out the work of the Father and the Son. The Spirit teaches, gives gifts, and transforms believers into the image of God, and empowers them to accomplish God's will on earth as it is in heaven.
Humans are created in God's image so that they can enjoy personal and communal relationship with God. The image gives dignity, enables love, sets people apart from the rest of creation, and invites them to join in God's creative work in the world.
The Bible is the story of God's work among his people in his world. Through the Spirit, God used humans to write it, with Jesus at its center. The Bible is the authoritative standard for faith and life.
Salvation is by God's grace, through Christ's cross and resurrection, and by the Spirit's active work. It is received through faith, sealed in the response of confession and baptism, and followed by a lifelong apprenticeship to Jesus.
Shepherds and Staff
Palmetto is led by a group of shepherds who provide pastoral support to the church family, give theological direction, and serve as the leadership team. Tom Beach has served since 2013, Danny Mullins since 2001, Chip Holton since 2022, and Kevin Grindstaff, Wade Holton, Philip Hutcherson, and Ed Nicholson since 2023.
The staff team includes Michael Hollis as Preaching Minister, Sean Brown as Involvement and Outreach Minister, Kyle Holton as Student Minister, and Melissa Bryan as Office Administrator.
Practical Details for a First Visit
Visitors will find a casual dress code ranging from jeans to dress clothes, and a one-hour worship gathering that includes Communion each week. Bible classes for all ages begin at 9:00 a.m. and worship begins at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays, with a Wednesday evening rhythm of dinner at 5:30 p.m. and classes at 6:30 p.m. The church livestreams its worship gatherings on its YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person, and a full library of past sermons is available there as well. Giving can be dropped in the box at the back of the sanctuary or made online.