GREENVILLE, S.C. — First Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C., has been declared out of fellowship with its local association over the congregation’s membership policy.
First Baptist accepts members by transfer from other churches who have not been baptized by immersion, contrary to Greenville Baptist Association’s historic stand that church membership “is for believers in Jesus Christ who have been baptized by immersion.”
Founded in 1856, First Baptist Church is four years older than the association. The church previously broke ties with the Southern Baptist Convention but remains a member of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
Jeff Rogers, the church’s pastor, said the association handled the matter in “a Christian and charitable way.”
“We have accepted the association’s decision while at the same time standing by the decision that our congregation has made,” Rogers told the Baptist Courier.
The church’s policy is to require immersion only for members making a profession of faith. Last year the association asked the church to rescind the policy. At this year’s annual meeting in October, the association took action, considering the church as having “withdrawn” from membership by not changing the membership requirement.
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