Grace Lutheran Church was founded in 1923 to serve Lutheran students at Winthrop College. The gray stone church on Oakland Avenue cost $38,000 to build and opened its door on May 2, 1926. The first pastor was H.A. Schroder. For two decades, Winthrop students and local community members each made up half the congregation. The congregation acquired a parsonage in 1954 and later purchased a house adjacent to the church. In 1955, the congregation painted the doors red to symbolize "Blood of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit." The red doors continued to be a landmark for the town and a welcome to all those who wished to worship within. In 1963, the year Grace Church celebrated its 40th anniversary, there were 238 baptized members and 158 confirmed members. Extensive exterior and interior renovations were done in 1968. The congregation installed a Zimmer pipe organ in 1975 and purchased more surrounding property in 1979. In 1987, a second Sunday morning service was added, a handicap ramp was installed, and handbells were purchased for the music program. In 1989 property for increased parking was purchased, and in 1998 the house behind the church on Aiken Avenue was given to the congregation. Known as the "White House," it currently serves as our campus ministry center. During the 2002 renovations, the church's original sanctuary, seating 230 people, was enhanced with a new chancel arrangement and a magnificent pipe organ. At that time 14,000 square feet of new space, including a fellowship hall, was added to the existing building. In 2013 the congregation purchased "A Place of Grace," an adjacent building that now houses a variety of local non-profit agencies.

Detailed church history from 1923 to 1998 is available here. (Written by Naomi Bridges and Martha Seigler) For additional information, consult History Matters, Congregational Histories 1824-2017, published by the South Carolina Synod in 2017.

Pastoral Leadership

H.A. Schroder, 1923-31

C.B. Caughman, 1931-33

J.W. Roof, 1934-38

H.S. Petrea, 1938-54

Everett Lineberger, 1954-58

C.J. Shealy, Jr., 1959-69

John Ebenezer Boyd, Jr. 1970-75

Hollis A. Miller, 1976-81

Rufus E. Lybrand, Jr., 1982-88

Guy Shealy, Interim, 1988

William Cobb, 1989-90

Carveth Mitchell, Interim, 1990

A. Glenn Boland, 1991-95

Gary Lyerly, Interim, 1996

E. Ray Mohrmann, 1996-2010

Linda Anderson, Interim, 2010-2011

Christine Stoxen, 2011-17

David Ludwig, 2013-2015

Rebecca Lord-Phillips, 2015-2018

Ken Gillikin, Interim, August 2017-August 2018

Scottie Burkhalter, Interim, September-December, 2018

Gregg Hoffman, December 2018 to present

Rachel Hoffman, December 2018 to present