WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Turner Memorial AME Church has a humble beginning as an underground church in South Carolina, but in the last 155 years, it's grown to over 420 members.
The Rev. Kenneth Taylor is the senior pastor at Turner Memorial AME Church in West Columbia. Over his 16 years at the head of the church, he's learned about the legacies packed within its history.
The church is celebrating its 155th birthday this month; however, Taylor said the actual age of the church is likely decades, or even a century older, with its original purpose being an underground church.
"A group of slaves would meet and worship god at night in a bush harbor and other times discretely. Then, later on, evolved into an organized ministry." Taylor said. "If you count those years worshipping in a bush harbor, yes, possibly a lot more than 200, at least."
Over time, the church moved locations in West Columbia, building its current location, he said, in the 1940s and renovating it in the 1980s.
A century later, Taylor can look back on the church's history, remaining a place of worship even through some of the country's worst periods.
"I think it's, of course, the grace of God that's kept us as a congregation through Jim Crow, through civil rights, even though the pandemic, and blessed our congregation with continual growth," he said.
He said the church, which started in those small groups of 20 people, has grown and has a member list of over 420 people, with an average of 200 showing up on Sunday.
"Turner is a church that has a heart for God's people, and we continuously lift up people," Taylor said. "I think the main goal of the church is to lift up Jesus, but second to that is lifting up people."
He added the church, like many others, has made a mission of serving the Midlands' most at-risk and unreached populations, at one point being the place of worship for staff at Lake View High School, a segregated school in the early 1900s.
"We have an official child care center here," he said. "Feeding, one of the huge ministries of this church, is our feeding ministry, and through the years, we've fed thousands. On a daily basis, Monday through Friday, we feed one hundred to hundred twenty persons per day."
Through 155 years, Taylor says he's seen god's work and is betting Turner Memorial will be around for another one or two centuries.
"I believe that this ministry is built upon that rock, that rock called jesus christ and it will last forever," Taylor said.