My grandfather, Stan Hileman, founded the little country known as Faith Tabernacle Full Gospel of Lake Greenwood in 1978. He could not have done it without his lovely wife, Lois. The church is located on Skipper’s Landing in Cross Hill.  My grandfather had congestive heart failure and went to be with the Lord on January 19, 2007 at the young age of 83.  My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in late October 2007 and went to be with the Lord on November 1, 2007.  My parents, JD and Kim Hileman Wyatt, are now carrying on the work my grandparents began so many years ago, and for that, we the church, are so proud of them. Their goal is not to make this journey about them, but to include all of us as one body of Christ just like my grandparents would have wanted it.  We decided to do something very special this year on Homecoming in remembrance of Stan and Lois.  We decided to have a steeple built and it was unveiled on homecoming, October 18.  We appreciate Mr. James Robinson of Newbery for his hard work on the architectural design and construction of our beautiful steeple.  Not just any steeple, but a cross steeple that glows at night to represent the light of Jesus Christ, and to remind us of the light my grandparents were to so many people all over the world.  We may be a small church, but we have a big heart.  Friends and family came from all over South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to be with us on Homecoming for the special service and unveiling of the cross steeple.  A hand engraved plaque dedicating the steeple in loving memory of Stan and Lois was hung under their picture in our church’s foyer.

The singing group All for Him (Johnny and Sandra Horne and Darlene Waites) have been attending our church for over ten years.  In 2004, they started their singing ministry for the Lord in their vision to win lost souls for Jesus.  They were very dear friends of my grandparents.  My grandmother traveled with them on many of their singing destinations and supported their ministry.  God blessed All for Him with a motor home a/k/a “De Bus” a few months ago.  At homecoming, the church dedicated de bus to the Lord, and prayed for God to use it for the uplifting of his kingdom and to give them traveling mercies on their journey to bless souls.

We are proud to share with you how much God has blessed our little church over the past 31 years.  As anything with age, our church is in need of repairs and improvements.  It was my grandparents endeavor to complete these repairs before they passed away, but were unfortunate.  However, our needs were met and we are honored to say that the church has never had to have a benefit or sale to assist with the costs of the repairs or maintenance.  We give God all the honor and glory!  This summer we replaced the heating and cooling unit.  The floors in the fellowship hall were replaced, and paneling was placed in hallway leading from the sanctuary to the fellowship hall.  We would like to say thank you to Mr. Robinson and his co-workers for their hard work to replace the floors and base boards, and a special thank you to our church member, Randy Childers of Waterloo, for paneling the hallway.  I also want to thank our faithful church members who not only support the church, but take time out of their busy schedules to perform maintenance and preserve the church.  The church would not be possible without each of them.  God has blessed us with a wonderful group of members, and we love them all so dearly.  Each member has an important role in the Kingdom of God, and none of this would be possible without them.