About Us

EXPLANATION FOR EXISTENCE

Lakelands Baptist Association

Purpose statement: It shall be the mission of the Lakelands Baptist Association to prepare the Lakelands area of South Carolina and beyond for God’s coming Kingdom by focusing specifically on missions, ministry, and church multiplication.

The Lakelands Baptist Association began in 1870 as the Abbeville Baptist Association, as at that time there was only the Abbeville District. Since then, the Abbeville District has been divided into Abbeville, Greenwood and McCormick counties, and has grown to include 47 Southern Baptist churches in these three counties, hence the name change of the association in 2005 from Abbeville Baptist Association to the Lakelands Baptist Association.

While the purpose of the association has changed in its written form, its underlining purpose remains the same, which is to provide an opportunity for the churches in the association to gather at various times of the year for fellowship through structured events, but to also cooperate together in working to expand the Kingdom of God by focusing on missions (winning the lost), ministry (showing Christ’s love to all people) and multiplication (planting new churches as needed in keeping up with the ever expanding population of the area).

While all of the churches within the association affirm similar theological truths regarding the Word of God, each church is autonomous, meaning they are self-governing without the interference of outside influence so long as they maintain similar doctrinal positions as other like-minded Southern Baptist churches within the association. Therefore, all the churches within the association have agreed with the constitution of the association by affirming the Baptist Faith and Message, 2000.

The association does many things, from giving churches greater opportunities to be involved in God’s Kingdom work than they might would have otherwise, through involvement in Disaster Relief, English as Second Language, mission trips both stateside and international, associational youth events (such as Submerge, HarvestFest, and Renew), associational men’s and ladies’ gatherings, WMU, college ministry through Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Lander University and Erskine Colleges, and senior adult events. But the association provides less visible services as well, from training search committees, working with churches in conflict, providing training opportunities, counseling services to pastors and lay members alike, as well as mutual encouragement and edification among the member churches through the Association Prayer Intercessors Team, annual meetings, etc.

The unspoken motto of the 44 associations around the state consisting of membership from over 2000 Southern Baptist churches in South Carolina: “We can do far more together than any of us can do alone.”

Written by Rev. David W. Little, Associational Missionary, Lakelands Baptist Association