About Us

Our Staff

Pastor:
Rev. Joel L. Kelly

Musicians:
Tony Langley
Joannah Stone

Clerk of Session:
Sue Hannah

Sexton:
Faye Hannah

MISSION STATEMENT

Hodges Presbyterian Church is a part of the body of Jesus Christ; a congregation that will lead people to accept Christ as their Savior.

We will be faithful in teaching the gospel, visitation and ministering to those that have special needs.

At Hodges Presbyterian Church we seek to grow both spiritually and in number.  We welcome all who wish to worship in a congregation of believers and who want to share in our ministry of faith.

We will support the Presbyterian Church (USA), needs of the community of Hodges and the other areas we can reach out to.  We will be dedicated disciples committed to strengthen and nurture the faith and life of our congregation.

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Hodges Presbyterian Church is located at 4413 Main Street in Hodges, SC. We are just down the street from the Hodges Town hall and Godfrey's Market.

Hodges Presbyterian Church is a warm and caring community of Christians drawn together by a history of family affiliation and of service to the local community.  We treat everyone as if they are members of our family, because we realize that we are all part of the family of Christ into which we have been adopted through church membership.

Hodges Presbyterian Church is a well established church in the community, and even though our congregation is small, we are looking forward to future growth as we continue to learn how to be ever more faithful servants of Christ.  We invite everyone to join us on the journey as we move into the future of God's call to be the presence of Christ in the Hodges community.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

Before the Hodges Presbyterian Church came into existence in 1899, the Town of Hodges had already been settled for more than fifty years. The first known structure within what are now the town limits was log cabin built by General George Washington Hodges around 1822. General Hodges and his 19 siblings had been reared about a mile and a half towards Abbeville (11 miles away) by John Hodges, who had distinguished himself in The American Revolution.

In 1852 the first railroad was built through town, enabling the farmers to transport their cotton crops. Soon there were two railroads, the Southern and the P&N. Cokesbury Junction, as it was known then, began to grow. At one time, there were two physicians, two banks, a drug store, about a dozen businesses - including two cotton gins, as well as taverns and hotels for the travelling salesmen and the railroad workers - and the telegraph line which followed the rails. A school was established to educate the young people of the community - first grade through high school

In 1899, the Presbyterians of the community petitioned South Carolina Presbytery to establish a church in the community, joining the Providence Baptist Church (first organized in 1794 as the Corona Ca Baptist Church and then moved to Hodges in 1875) and the Hodges Methodist Episcopal Church (1868). Up until then the Presbyterians had worshipped at the Greenville Presbyterian Church in Shoals Junction (7 miles away), which recently celebrated its 225^th anniversary.

It took several meetings to organize Hodges Presbyterian and then finally forty-nine members of Greenville Church and one from the Upper Long Cane Church joined Hodges.   The congregation first met in the Methodist Episcopal Church building and then the Tinsley Hotel. There is no record of the first service in the newly-built sanctuary; however, records show that the session met in the new sanctuary in 1901.

With the demise of the railroads and cotton farming, Hodges became a community of small farms and homes for people who worked in Greenwood or one of the other surrounding communities. The town itself extends from the old gazebo and town pump for a radius of about half a mile and is home to around 150 people. However, Hodges has a large surrounding area and the church draws members from Greenwood (seven miles south) to Ware Place (thirty miles north), and from Abbeville County (6 miles west) to Lake Greenwood (around 15 miles east).

Through the early years, the session began to have some concerns. A report in 1907 discussed these issues:

• Attendance by members and others was seen as “good.”
• The observance of family worship was “badly neglected.”
• The observance of the Lord’s Day was “good.”
• The training of children and youth was “very good.”
• Fidelity of God’s people in worshipping the Lord with their substance and in giving to the support and extension of the gospel was “poor.”

As this report indicates, the church struggled financially. During the years between 1913 and 1926, financial struggles continued, with the session and deacons finding a number of creative ways to keep the church solvent.  At one point, in 1926, the deacons were authorized by session to borrow money, if necessary, to pay the pastor’s salary.  Although there is no record in the session minutes, according to one elder, money continued to be scarce through the period of the great depression.  During that time, the pastor took the initiative and asked that his salary be cut until such time as the members could afford to pay him more.  By 1937 the church finances seem to have improved to the point that the church was even able to begin contributing to the Minister’s Retirement plan.

Membership began to grow during the 1930s, beginning with the addition of 17 young people in 1931.  By December of 1959, membership had risen to its all time high of 155, although in 1961, twenty-four of these members were transferred to the inactive roll.  With young people increasingly moving away from the Hodges area and older members passing on, membership has continued to decline until, today, the church has a current membership of 82.

During 1999, the church observed its Centennial with great enthusiasm. Former pastors were invited back to preach, pictures and other artifacts were collected and displayed, and old traditions - such as using the offering pouch on the end of a pole - were revived. For the December 5th Centennial Service, Tom Long, formerly of Erskine Seminary in Due West, Columbia Seminary, and Princeton Seminary, came back to preach and people came from as far away as Alabama. The more than two hundred and fifty folk in attendance were more than the sanctuary could hold. And all were treated to a wonderful dinner of Hodges home-cooked dishes.

There is a long history of strong, founding families, such as the Nickles, McCords, Hannahs and Seawrights.  While there are no longer any members of the McCord or Seawright families in the Hodges church, the Nickles and Hannah families continue to be strongly represented, with members of both families currently serving as elders on session.

After the retirement of their longtime pastor, Rev. Bob Piephoff in 2006, the church spent much of its efforts in identifying and calling a new pastor.  With the arrival of the current pastor, Rev. Joel Kelly, in September 2009, the congregation looks forward to continuing to serve God in the Hodges community for years to come.

For many years, the congregation has taken as one of its primary mission projects the support of the Thornwell Home in Clinton, SC.  They regularly participate in mission projects such as the annual “Thornwell Fair” Fall festival, in which they raise money for the home.  Additional mission projects include an organized blood donation program, special collections for Presbyterian causes including the Mother’s Day offering, the Christmas Joy Offering and the One Great Hour of Sharing.  The church also has two active circles in the Presbyterian Women organization who participate in other mission projects of their own.