State Missions Facts
85 summer missionaries served across South Carolina during ten weeks of the summer of 2003.
283 volunteers have participated in Taiwan partnership projects from January 2001 - April 2003.
12 NAMB appointed and nine part-time ministry missionaries serve in eighteen associations. The missionaries worked with 11,759 volunteers in 2002.
128 international missions volunteers participated in the Cross–Cultural Training Institutes from January – June 2003.
Nineteen volunteers participated in an International World Changers project in Sao Paulo, Brazil during the summer of 2003.
89 teams from 72 churches and 29 associations reported going on short term missions trips in North America in 2002. The teams giving reports stated 857 volunteers were involved in these trips and 100 professions of faith were made.
In 2002, South Carolina Baptists gave nearly $721,000 to alleviate global hunger.
South Carolina missions volunteers fed almost 88,000 people in nearly 32,000 households. Four hundred twenty-seven professions of faith were made through these church and association ministries.
387 literacy missions volunteers tutored 2,462 students in 2002. These ministries reported 38 professions of faith and one new church start.
South Carolina Disaster Relief held a National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) Crisis Intervention training at Camp McCall in May with 38 crisis responders trained.
Disaster teams worked the tornado damage in Maryland and Tennessee, floods in Alabama and Louisiana, and assisted with feeding teams in Israel following the riots in Palestine.
There were 5,462 international students enrolled in colleges and universities in SC during 2002/2003 school year. Out of this number, 2,165 attend either the University of South Carolina – Columbia or Clemson University. A total of 3,155 international students attend a public college or university in our state. This past year, some 500 international students participated in Baptist Collegiate Ministry sponsored activities on campuses in our state.
The South Carolina Baptist Collegiate Ministry sponsored 39 BCM college student summer missionaries for the summer of 2003.
These students served throughout South Carolina, North America, and around the world. Out of this number, 14 students served with the International Mission Board; 15 served with the North American Mission Board; and 11 served in South Carolina. During Spring Break of 2003, some 160 BCM students served in Spring Break missions trips in Mexico, South Carolina, Boston, Galveston, North Carolina, Ecuador, Miami, Washington, Mississippi, New York, and Kentucky.
The third Hispanic Evangelism Conference was held on April 25-26, 2003 at White Oak Conference Center. There were over 600 Hispanics in attendance. The focus of the conference was "Testigos la Tierra", which means "tell the world". The conference, "Church Planting–Is It For Us?" and Basic Training for Hispanic Church Planters will also be held this year and will be interpreted in Spanish.
River Springs Church, a new church start in the Lexington Association, constituted on April 27, 2003 with a resident membership of 112. The church was blessed with a gift of 16 acres of land in Northwest Irmo.
In 2003 there have been 5 African American Church starts. God is beginning a movement among Southern Baptist African American Church planting. With 30% of our state being made up of African Americans, African American church planting will continue to be a priority.
As of June 2002, the Church Multiplication Group has recorded 24 new church starts. God is moving and churches are being planted to reach more people. There are 61 churches that are receiving Covenant Growth Assistance. The new churches are in 28 of the 43 associations.
South Carolina State Interests
In 2002, there were 2,865 campers who participated in various camps at McCall Royal Ambassador Camp. During the regular camps there were 573 decisions registered. Throughout the year, the camp is also used for retreats such as the Men’s Ministries Activities/Leadership Training Retreats, Outdoor Leadership Lab, Baptist Collegiate Ministry groups, and workdays with men from churches throughout the state to help with improvements and/or maintenance.
In 2002, 2,441 campers attended various camps at Camp La Vida. These included Acteens, GA, GA Mother/Daughter Overnights, Children in Action, and Youth on Mission camps. Decisions made included 138 professions of faith, 157 rededications, 15 commitments to full-time Christian service, 96 commitments to full-time mission service, and 48 other significant decisions. $3,507.17 was given through the Cooperative Program during the nine-week camping season.