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A Short History of Sandy Level Baptist Church
Between 1768 and 1772 some of the people in the community now known as Blythewood began worshiping together in a fellowship first known as Twenty-Five Mile Creek. The church was constituted in 1785 and admitted to the Charleston Association in 1807. Between 1823 and 1835 the Twenty-Five Mile Creek Church had branches at Concord on Sawney's Creek, at Jackson Creek, Cedar Creek, Sand Hill-Old Field, and Bear Creek.
The Twenty-Five Mile Church met at various sites in its early life. In 1825 the congregation held meetings in two locations on an alternating basis. Some time after that the present location was selected. In October 1843, with instructions from the church conference, the "sisters" (i.e., the women of the church) selected a new name for the congregation--Sandy Level Baptist Church. The sandy plateau on which the church is located undoubtably inspired this choice.
A sanctuary was built and dedicated on the first Sunday of December 1856, with educational space added in 1950. The church gratefully and proudly continues to worship in the same sanctuary. Constructed of hand-hewn, heart pine lumber and put together with light-wood pegs and hand-made nails, the building has been preserved with much love and care. The sanctuary's balcony serves as a reminder that enslaved people were once members of SLBC. In 1861, 54 enslaved persons were on the church roll. The Civil War, however, prompted these persons to leave and, in 1869, they formed a church east of Blythewood. Sandy Level Baptist Church received a plaque dated September 19, 1981, from the Landmark Commission of the Central Midland Regional Planning Council in recognition of its historic sanctuary. The building also has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1985 the church built additional education and fellowship space in a building adjacent to its historic sanctuary. It also expanded its vocational staff to include a full-time minister of Youth and Outreach in 1991. In January of 2001 Sandy Level Baptist Church dedicated a beautiful new seven thousand square foot fellowship center and a new office complex which was constructed in the previous fellowship hall space.
The current members of SLBC treasure its rich heritage, yet are not bound by it. Indeed they regard the past as a prelude to the future. With an openness to the future and a commitment to the fulfillment of the Great Commission, SLBC continues to expand its ministries and facilities to reach a growing community for Christ.
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