Church History
OUR History —- From Late 1800’s to Present
The Original Church
Our Church, Old shady Oak Baptist Church, originated in the Fairview Community in Fountain Inn, SC in 1872, when John Thomason – an ex-slave – furnished the lumber and helped to lay the foundation for a single room wooden structure filled with lots of love, spirit and many families under a spacious oak tree; as a result the church was named “Shady Oak”. The congregation would grow to include the families of Blakely, Adam, Hodgen, Webb, Penny, McCullough, Terry, Johnson, Brewster, Sims, Harris, Foggie, Boyd, Young, Suber, Sullivan, Fowler, McMahand, Woods, Norris, Rogers, Mills, Fuller, Smith, Thompson and many others.
The Rev. William Morgan was called to lead the congregation and the church would have several pastors during this time period, including the Reverends York Parkins, Marshall Cunningham, James W. Hill, H.B. Dawkins, John H. Fowler, E.H. Herbert, T.J. Crosson, C. Mackey Daniels and Dr. Alexander B. Brockman.
In 1890, a new and larger sanctuary was erected a short distance from the original church and was dedicated with John Austin, John Thomason, B. Terry Anderson Epps, Dozier Dial, Ed Fowler and Dock Thompson as the “Deacon Board.”
In the late 1960’s, as the surrounding area grew, many of the church members decided to relocate to better, more populated areas. A division was created in the church. Some members moved to Simpsonville, SC and some to Greenville, SC. In 1968, not desiring to give up the “Shady Oak” name, two churches were re-established – Old Shady Oak Baptist Church in Simpsonville, SC and Shady Oak Baptist Church in Greenville, SC.
The Second Church
It was now time to rebuild Old Shady Baptist Church. The members chose a new pastor, Reverend W.E. Nesbitt. Under his pastorialship, a new sanctuary was built on Route 2, Howard Drive in Simpsonville, S.C. Rev. Calvin Ballenger was Assistant Pastor of the church. It was an exciting time for Rev. Nesbitt and the members! All agreed to hold worship services twice per month, first and third Sundays. As the congregation grew and the spirit filled the people, members voted to extend worship services to every Sunday. Praise the Lord! Reverend Nesbitt led the church and the membership grew to around 200 members.
His wife, First lady M. Helen Nesbitt, was busy also! She organized the various choirs – Sunbeam Choir, Young Adult Choir and the Gospel Choir. She also played piano for all choirs.
Serving in key church positions were J.H. Fowler (Chairman of the Board), Gassoway Smith (Assistant Chairman), Cornell Norris (Church Treasury), Roosevelt Smith (Chairman of Deacons), G.W. Smith (Assistant Chairman), J.W. Woods (Trustee). Others included M. Helen Nesbitt (Adult Sunday School Teacher), Ann Wilson (Youth Sunday School Teacher) and Maggie D. McMahand (Secretary of Sunday School). As the church grew, elder members conceded to younger members and the young were encouraged to become active in church business.
Reverend Nesbitt served from 1970 until 1981 and during the period of 1982 – 1989 Old Shady Oak would be under the leadership of Pastors Reverends John Ware and Jimmy McCullough. Church leaders included Hyman Fowler (Chairman of Deacon Board), William Sullivan (Deacon), Michael Scott (Deacon), Rev. Johnny Luster (Associate Minister) and Rev. David Watts (Associate Minister).
In May of 1991, the church acquired Rev. Charles Dogan as pastor and through the grace of God he would lead the church to higher heights.
Our Present Sanctuary
In November 1994 after much praying, planning and encouraging our new church home was completed. Rev. Dogan led our first worship services on Sunday, October 1, 1995 and would continue to bring leadership and guidance to Old Shady Oak Baptist church until 2003.