Sandy Creek Baptist Church

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit the site where Sandy Creek Baptist Church began in 1755. Pastor Shubal Stearns (1706-1771) was saved under the preaching of George Whitefield in 1745. He was baptized as a Baptist a few years later, moved to Virginia, and then in 1754 relocated with his wife and several others to central North Carolina where they started a church that would change the spiritual landscape of the South.

After founding Sandy Creek Baptist Church (SCBC), Shubal lived only 16 more years, but the effect of his ministry far outlasted his years of service. By 1770, SCBC had grown to over 600 members, ordained 125 preachers, and established 42 churches as far west as the Mississippi River and as far south as Georgia. The Lord greatly used this man and this church.

The original log cabin building burned down and its replacement was built in 1802. Furthermore, there are no known portraits of Shubal Stearns. The major thought that struck me is that Sandy Creek Baptist Church isn’t about Shubal Stearns, it is about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord uses men and the Lord blesses, but the glory belongs to the Lord. The ministry is about Christ. The church is about Christ. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Eph. 3:21).