Wrenn Memorial Baptist Church has stood on Sidney Street in Greenville, South Carolina, for more than half a century, but its roots go back to January 1939 when a small group of charter members first gathered under a tent. Today the church is known around the Upstate for several things that have marked its life for decades: a love of gospel singing that produced both a youth choir and a Jubilee Choir with vinyl records to show for it, a bus ministry that still picks up children and adults who have no other way to get to church, an AWANA-based Good News Club that celebrated thirty years in 2015, and a missionary family that now numbers forty-two workers and agencies around the world. It is an Independent Baptist church holding to the historic Baptist distinctives, pastored since 2008 by the Reverend Jim Duncan.
From a Tent in 1939 to Sidney Street
The congregation began as Northside Baptist Church in January 1939 under the founding pastor, Reverend Dallas Mathis. Fifty-five charter members met in a tent while construction began on what would be the first of five different buildings the church would occupy over its history. Mathis left in July of that first year, and in August 1939 the Reverend John N. Wrenn, a minister of twenty-nine years, accepted the pastorate. A second floor was added; then in the late 1940s a two-story addition went up on the rear of the building. By 1958 the church was ready for a new chapter, but a fire in January of that year, just after the Sunday evening service, destroyed everything.
The congregation moved to temporary facilities and voted to rename the church from Northside to Wrenn Memorial, in honor of the pastor who had guided them. A modern, air-conditioned building rose from the ashes. Pastor Wrenn continued faithfully until June 1964, when at eighty-four he suffered a heart attack and died six days later. By then he had conducted 3,166 funerals, baptized 3,104 people, held 286 revival meetings in South Carolina Baptist churches, and preached more than 19,000 times. He had been preaching in Greenville for fifty-three years and was still preaching regularly when he went to be with the Lord.
Reverend John Everhart was appointed interim and then, in September 1964, ordained into the ministry and called as the third pastor. Under his leadership the church grew, adjoining properties were bought, and in 1970 the congregation voted to build a new 400-seat facility. The first service in the present sanctuary was held in August 1971, and worshipers carried forward twenty-six pews, the pulpit furniture, a piano, an organ, the top of the old steeple, and the four porch columns into the new room. Pastor Everhart served thirty-five years before retiring. Pastor Robbie Robertson became the fourth pastor in 1999 and served until 2006, overseeing construction of the Recreational Building that today hosts AWANA and many other activities. After a two-year interim under Pastor Emeritus Everhart, the church called the Reverend Jim Duncan in 2008. Under Pastor Duncan the church has paid off all its debts, remodeled the kitchen for fellowship and special events, and greatly increased the missions budget.
A Church Known for Gospel Singing
From the beginning Wrenn Memorial was known as a church that enjoyed singing the Gospel message. A youth choir was organized in 1975 and recorded a vinyl record in 1976; in 1978 a second adult choir called the Jubilee Choir was formed and went on to record two records of its own. That heritage of congregational and choral singing continues in the Sunday morning and evening services today.
What Wrenn Memorial Believes
Wrenn Memorial Baptist Church is an Independent Baptist church holding to the fundamentals of the faith. The church teaches that there is one God displayed in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God created all things for His glory and made man in His image. Man used his God-given free will to disobey and sin, and that sin separated the human race from God. God made the way back by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, virgin-born, who lived a sinless life and died as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He was buried for three days and nights, resurrected by the power of God, and appeared to His disciples and to over five hundred people at one time. Forty days after His resurrection He ascended to heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for those who put their faith in Him. Christ will return in bodily form as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to receive His Church and to begin a thousand-year reign.
The church holds the Bible to be the very words of God, God-breathed, infallible, and complete. It teaches that hell is a literal place of fire and torment prepared for the devil, his angels, and those who reject Jesus Christ. The two ordinances observed are baptism by immersion, for those who have already received Christ as Savior, and the Lord's Supper, which remembers the crucifixion of Christ. The church is Baptistic in doctrine and embraces the five historic Baptist distinctives: the supreme authority of the Bible, believer's baptism, local church autonomy, preaching and evangelism, and the separation of church and state.
Sunday Gatherings: Sunday School, Morning Worship, and Evening Service
Wrenn Memorial's weekly rhythm centers on three Sunday gatherings. Sunday School meets at 10:00 AM for all ages, the morning worship service begins at 11:00 AM, and an evening service is held at 6:00 PM. The morning service includes Children's Church for K4 through fifth grade, so parents can worship while their children are taught at their own level. Both Sunday services are livestreamed, and recordings remain available afterward for those who cannot attend in person.
Wednesday Nights for the Whole Family
On Wednesday evenings the church building fills again. At 7:00 PM a Prayer Service is held for adults, while children in K4 through sixth grade gather for Good News Club and students in seventh through twelfth grade meet for youth group, all at the same hour. A free meal is served at 6:30 PM to children and families attending Good News Club, which runs September through May in the Fellowship Hall.
The Bus Ministry Still Rolls
One of the most distinctive features of Wrenn Memorial is its Bus Ministry. Pick-up is available for both the Sunday morning service and Wednesday services. The Sunday bus leaves around 9:15 AM, and the Wednesday bus leaves between 6:00 and 6:15 PM. To arrange a ride, callers can contact the church office and leave a name, address, phone number, and the number of riders. The ministry has long been a way for children and adults without transportation to take part in the life of the church.
Good News Club, Vacation Bible School, and Children's Church
Good News Club is the church's Wednesday-night children's program, run as an AWANA chapter since an organizational meeting in January 1985. The first AWANA service that March drew 126 children, and the ministry has continued every year from September to April since then. The club is designed to be fun, safe, and biblically based: kids sing, play games, listen to Bible stories, and learn and recite Scripture verses. Children's Church meets every Sunday during the morning worship service for K4 through fifth grade. Each summer the church also runs a week of Vacation Bible School for the wider community, held in the evenings.
The C.R.E.W. and Youth Camp
Middle and high school students belong to The C.R.E.W., which stands for Christians-Ready-Equipped-Willing. The goal of Wrenn's youth ministries is to share the love of Jesus Christ and to teach young people to grow in the Lord through regular Bible study, worship, and following Christ in obedience. Youth ages twelve through seventeen meet every Sunday at 5:00 PM and every Wednesday at 7:00 PM. Monthly youth events are scheduled throughout the year, and each summer the church takes students to youth camp at Camp Hannon in Sunset, South Carolina. Fundraisers such as pancake breakfasts and barbecue lunches help campers attend.
WMU, Ladies Bible Study, and Men's Prayer Breakfast
The Women's Missionary Union gathers on the second Tuesday of each month to study God's word and pray for the church family and community. The ladies support nonprofit missions including McCall's Hospice House, Ronald McDonald House, Tabernacle Children's Home, and Samaritan's Purse, and they provide meals for bereaved church families during times of death. A separate Ladies Bible Study meets every Tuesday from September through May at 10:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall, with all ages invited and pick-up available for those who need it. On Monday mornings the men of the church meet at 7:00 AM in the fellowship hall for coffee, sausage biscuits, and prayer.
Forty-Two Missionaries Around the World
Wrenn Memorial supports forty-two missionaries and mission agencies in the United States and around the world. The missions program began in the mid-1970s when Pastor John Everhart met Odis and Betty Seals and introduced them to the church. The church then took on the ministry of Bob and Joan Tyson of Good Samaritan Baptist Missions in Nicaragua, and from those first partnerships the program has spread to numerous places and agencies across the globe.
The Pastoral Team
Pastor Jim Duncan has served as senior pastor since 2008. A Greenville native and 1978 graduate of Parker High, he earned his B.A. from Furman University in 1987 and worked toward an M.Div. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Before accepting the call to Wrenn he served Mt. Airy Baptist Church in Easley as Minister of Children and Youth, First Baptist Church in Ranger, Texas in youth and music, Reedy Branch Baptist in Barnwell, South Carolina as senior pastor, and founded Victory Baptist Church in Barnwell and Foreman Memorial Baptist Church in New Ellenton, South Carolina. He and his wife Beth have four grown children and enjoy time at their cabin on Lake Hartwell.
Levi Murphy serves as Associate Pastor to Youth. With seven years of youth ministry experience, he earned an associate degree from Believer's Institute of Biblical Studies, was licensed to preach in 2021, and was ordained in 2022. He is known for his heart for discipleship and biblical teaching, and in addition to his work at Wrenn he serves as a leader in prison ministry and in the Proactive Parenting Initiative. He and his wife Hannah Jolly Murphy have been married since 2021.