Two churches have joined together to better serve the Cayce area.

First Baptist Church of Cayce has been losing members for many years as the older members pass away and the younger ones finish their education and relocate for jobs.

Sadly, that is happening to many churches nationwide.

Interim pastor Dr. Ken Harmon told me that First Baptist was down to 35-40 active older members. They were looking for options.

Their options were to close the church, turn it over to the Baptist Association, allow other groups to use the church buildings at different times, merge with another church or somehow renew the congregation.

At the same time, Mill City Church was thriving and growing under the leadership of Senior Pastor Chet Smith. He had come from Sweetwater Baptist Church in North Augusta with the mission of starting a new church. They were averaging 120 in Sunday worship.

That is when God’s hands began moving people, places and things into position to create a “Union of Churches” to serve the Cayce area.

One player was Johnny Rumbaugh of the Lexington County Baptist Association. He was aware of the situations at both churches and saw a possible solution to a shrinking church and a growing church that needed more room to grow.

There were lots of discussions and compromises about worship styles, governance, leadership and administration. FBC Cayce even started 100 days of prayer to determine if the union was within God’s will.

In the end, the majority of members were willing to sacrifice personal preferences for the greater good. Now, the 2 churches have become 1 and are looking towards the future.

Pastor Chet said their vision is serving the community, bringing people to Christ and being a blessing to all.