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Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Through whom
also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and
character, hope. Now hope
does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans
5:1-5 has been heavily rooted within the heart and core of Clover EPC
since its establishment on June 6, 1991.
Our people have overcome great circumstances through God. Hope, love, and compassion is in the hearts of our people.
This church has persevered through hard times and good times by
God’s grace and this is our story.
Clover
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, originally First EPC Clover, was a mission church under the care of
the Mid-Atlantic Presbytery of the EPC and Linwood Evangelical
Presbyterian Church of Gastonia, North Carolina. Then Evangelist Chuck Baynard with five others would start an
Evangelical Presbyterian Church out of a day care center on Marion Street
in Clover in June of 1991. Later the group moved into a small house on South Main Street in
Clover, South Carolina. In
May of 1992, Evangelist Chuck Baynard finished his Master’s Degree from
Bethany Theological Seminary and on October 23, 1993, Evangelist Chuck
Baynard was ordained by the Mid-Atlantic Presbytery of the EPC at
Kempsville EPC in Virginia Beach, Virginia. By 1994, First EPC had grown
to twenty-two members and needed a new home.
So, in December of that year, First EPC Clover moved to 101 Marion
Street. This building,
formally the BellSouth Telephone Company, dated back to the early 1900’s
and met the needs of the growing church.
The church was constituted as an Evangelical Presbyterian Church on
October 15, 1995 with its first Session with Jody Burton as the first
Clerk of Session. By the end
of the same year, the church would have thirty-two members.
Now
as an official Evangelical Presbyterian Church with its own session in
place, First EPC Clover would continue to grow and change.
In 1996, the church established its Office and Theological Library
at 106 South Main Street in Clover. In
the same year, the church would get a new pulpit and prayer rail from a
church in Brevard, North Carolina and pews would be added from a church in
Fort Mill. South Carolina. The church had its first steeple in place on the top of the
building in 1996 as well. With
thirty-four members at the beginning of 1997, First EPC Clover would make
one of its biggest statements to the surrounding community that it had
yet. Two large tablets
featuring the Ten Commandments were placed on the front of the building.
Many people in the community still refer to our church as “The
Church with the Ten Commandments.” The Tablets and the crosses in the
front lawn at Easter representing lives lost by abortion would become a
signature of First EPC in 1997. The
placing of these crosses each Easter still carries on to this day.
By the end of the year, First EPC Clover grew to forty-six members.
For the next two years, First EPC Clover added programs to the
church and developed into a stable church in the Clover area.
In 2000, the sanctuary would feature a new sound system and in
December 2000, the first deacons were ordained at First EPC Clover.
In 2001, some renovations were done in the classrooms and
fellowship area with the congregation staying with a total above forty
members. In 2002, the church
moved the Office and Theological Library to the church.
The Outside Beautification Project, a three-year plan for building
and grounds beautification of the church, was started in the spring of
2002. On March 11, 2002,
Pastor Chuck Baynard received his Doctorate in Pastoral Ministry from
Whitefield Theological Seminary. The
church’s new web site was launched in July of 2002. In August, the church put in place a new youth program
entitled Youth On Fire. The
program’s title came from Jeremiah 20:9:
Then I said, "I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak
anymore in His name." But His word was in my heart like a
burning fire, Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it
back, And I could not. In
response to the new program, the nursery and elementary school classroom
received major facelifts. Ms.
Regina Moore was named choir director and the church held itself above
forty members for the year.
Two
thousand and three brought big changes to First EPC.
In January, the first ever Board of Deacons was established with
the addition of three deacons the previous year. Physical changes also occurred at the church as the foyer, pastor's study,
and sanctuary were all completely remodeled. On June 29,
2003, First EPC Clover voted to change its name to Clover EPC and the
congregation approved Vision 2008, our vision for the church for the next
five years. The church also saw record growth in 2003, by adding fourteen
members within a period of five months. Two-thousand and four
brought about continued changes. Renovations to the Fellowship Hall,
Kitchen, and Classrooms was completed along with the Outside
Beautification Project. A new church sign was placed in the front
with a new set of Ten Commandments to replace to set that had withstood
damage from the weather. Church facilities were paid off and a
Mortgage Burning Ceremony was held in October to kick-off the Fall
Revival. In November, Clover EPC placed even more emphasis on the
youth and appointed Todd J. Goff as Director of Children's
Ministries. The new elementary program, called Refuge, was
also put in place and Youth On Fire remained for older youth of the
church. In December, Ms. Regina Moore stepped down from Choir Director
because of school commitments and Mrs. Beth Goff became the Worship Leader
for the Praise Team. Clover EPC withheld previous membership numbers
with total number of members being in the upper forties. Two-thousand
and five was a slower year for Clover EPC but some major stepping stones
were met. Vacation Bible School 2005 had the largest attendance of
any previous year. The praise and worship team put together its
first full production for the annual Christmas Cantata. Two
deacons came off the Board of Deacons in 2005 as well.
Two thousand and six was a very busy year
for Clover EPC. The Church held its Fifteenth Anniversary
Celebration in June of the year. The Celebration involved
children's entertainment along with different gospel and bluegrass
groups from around the area. The new brick sign was put in along
with a wall at courtyard featuring the ten commandments. New water
lines were run to the building along with a new heating and air
conditioning system. There was also several things that occurred
within the church family. Long time deacon Patty Casey made her
journey to be with the Lord in May of 2006. This prompted the
start of the Peppermint Memorial Garden. The Garden was
established to remember those who have went home to be with the Lord.
Each person is remembered by a single rose bush. Two rose bushes
were planted, one for Patty and one for Ms. Sue Erdel. The Board
of Deacons shrunk with the passing of Patty and Todd J. Goff became an
elder and left his post as Chair of the Board of Deacons. Todd was
also named Clerk of Session during the summer of 2006. Todd
becomes the third Clerk of Session in the church's fifteen year
history, following in the footsteps of Jody Burton and Rick Sistare. The church also updated its Vision Statement in 2006.
Clover EPC continued to work and grow with
the Lord's grace in 2007. The Church lost Deacon Gail Branham in
May when she went to her heavenly home. The Church made more
improvements to the building including recovering the pews as well as
building a stage and removing the old pulpit. The stage also
gained new sound equipment and a projector and computer became permanent
fixtures to the front of the Church. The ten commandments on the
front of the building became hand painted stained glass window displays.
The Church held retreats at Caldwell Lake and the Goff home. The
Church voted in December of the year to call Reverend James Brown of
Gaffney to come and serve starting in February of 2008 as Assistant
Pastor of Small Groups. The Church finished the year with two
Christmas programs, one put on by the children of the Church as well as
the annual Christmas Cantata. The following year included
purchasing more land for future building expansion. The Church had
the biggest V.B.S. program to day with close to thirty children in
attendance some evenings. The Church also adopted a new mission
statement as well as vision statement.
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