Histories of Hilton Head Island Churches

While the written records of when Central Oak Grove Baptist Church was organized do not exist there can be some reasonable assumptions based on recorded Deeds and other information.

Based on Deed records, a parcel of land to the north of Zion cemetery was conveyed to Good Will Baptist Church by Adam Green, et al in March, 1887. This was a portion of the lands conveyed to Green and others at a tax sale in 1875.

The church’s Trustees on the 1887 deed were: James Brown, Minus Graham, Charles Garvin, George Greaves, J. B. Grant, Caesar Permelia and R. F. Greaves.

At some point the congregation at Good Will changed their name to Oak Grove Baptist Church.

In August, 1956, the Board of Deacons sold the property to Honey Horn Plantation for $1.00 and acquired the former Chaplin School across Matthews Drive which had been purchased by Honey Horn Plantation from Bluffton School District No. 2 in April of that year. The congregation has continued to worship at that location since that time.

The membership of the church currently numbers about 200. The Reverend Louis Johnson is the pastor and has been serving the congregation for about 20 years.

161 Matthews Dr
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
Phone: (843) 681-5784

A report in The New South newspaper, dated 30 August 1862, describes the organization of the First Baptist Church of Hilton Head – now known as the First African Baptist Church – the oldest church on Hilton Head Island.

The newspaper account reported that the church was established with about 120 members, all contrabands. “Of these nearly 70 were professing Christians under the rule of their late masters, while the others have been converted and baptized since our advent among them.” [The New South newspaper 30 August 1862 page 3]

The church was organized and the pastor ordained on Sunday, 17 August 1862, with the assistance of Union soldiers who had established a major presence on Hilton Head Island and had brought freed slaves (“contraband”) from surrounding plantations to the Island.

The first Pastor was Abraham Murchison, a former slave from Savannah, who was literate and a leader in Mitchelville – the first self-governed freedman’s town in America.

In a report from Major General O. M. Mitchel to S. P. Chase, Secretary of Treasury, Mitchel states that “Yesterday, which was Sunday, a little church, built for the negroes, was consecrated to the worship of Almighty God.” [Cincinnati Daily Gazette 1 November 1862 page 3] The date appears to be 12 October 1862, two months following the organization of the church.

The congregation moved to the Chaplin Community for a brief time, where they adopted the name Goodwill Baptist Church, and moved to the present location in 1889 where they initially took the name Crossroads Baptist Church before adopting the present name First African Baptist Church.

The church continues to be an active congregation with approximately 300 members.

70 Beach City Road
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
Phone: 843-681-6427

The 1950’s saw the beginning of development on Hilton Head in what is now considered the modern era. Before the bridge was opened in 1956 homes were being built and a few families had moved to the island.

Several of the new families with Baptist backgrounds starting meeting on Sundays for bible study and fellowship. With help from Ridgeland Baptist Church a meeting was held on Thursday, July 16, 1956, to organize the Hilton Head Baptist Sunday School and elect officers. The first service of the newly established group was on August 5, 1956, with 56 people in attendance.

The Baptist Church of Beaufort adopted the Hilton Head Baptist as a mission in December, 1957, and arrangements were made to construct a building for Sunday School and worship services on 5 acres of land on the South Forest Beach Drive that was donated by Sea Pines Plantation Company. The building was dedicated on July 6, 1958.

By late in 1961 the members desired to organize as a separate church and on February 18, 1962 the mission church formally became the First Baptist Church of Hilton Head. Lacking support from the Baptist Church of Beaufort for this change, the new church began meeting at the William Hilton Inn and later at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Frank Wilson while a new building was constructed on Woodward Avenue.

The membership grew and more space was needed than could be added at Woodward Ave. so in March 1976 an agreement was made with the Sea Pines Company to exchange the Woodward Ave. property for the original mission chapel and acreage. A new building and renovations to the original mission chapel were dedicated in October 1977, and a new sanctuary in 1979.

The church has held an annual Easter sunrise service on the beach since 1957. In addition to regular bible study and worship services, the church has been host to summer missionaries and has been active in missions work both at home and abroad.

From humble beginnings the membership now numbers more than 1,000.

100 S. Forest Beach Drive
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Phone: 843-785-4478

First Presbyterian Church Hilton Head had its beginnings when Fred and Billie Hack moved their young family to Honey Horn Plantation in the 1950’s and began to hold church services in a small wooden chapel building on the Plantation. This was before a bridge was built to the island and ministers were ferried across to conduct services.

The formal organization as a Presbyterian church occurred on 11 November 1957. The small congregation continued to meet at Honey Horn until 1965 when a new facility was built on land donated by Fred Hack and Owen McIntosh on William Hilton Parkway – the site of the current church. The membership had grown to 95 by this time.

In 1968 a classroom expansion was built and by 1970 the congregation had grown to 400.

With the membership continuing to grow a new building was added in 1978 that would seat 700. A columbarium was added in 1983 with 1200 units.

The relocation of the Honey Horn chapel building, where the church began, to the church campus on William Hilton Parkway occurred in 1994.

Responding to the continued growth of the congregation, an expansion of the sanctuary was done in 1989 bringing the present capacity to 1,000. The congregation has been generous in sharing its sanctuary with the community, being the largest indoor gathering place on the island.

In 2007 the addition of a 2 story wing was completed with the 1st floor used as a day school. The most recent update to the facilities was in 2012 which included the creation of a gathering space.

With a current membership of about 1245, First Presbyterian continues to be a an active and vibrant part of the Hilton Head community.

Holy Family Catholic Church began as a mission of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston in 1961 when a few Catholic businessmen invited Father John Simonin to come to the island to celebrate Mass. The Mass was held in the former William Hilton Inn with about 40 in attendance – many of which were visitors to the island. As attendance at Sunday Mass grew it became necessary to move the services to larger space at The Adventure Inn.

The Fraser family of Sea Pines Company gifted land for a permanent location and ground was broken for the first building that would seat 340 in December 1971. The Church dedication was held on February 25, 1973.

A Religious Education Building/Parish Hall was added to the campus in 1977.

The number of parishioners grew along with the increase in island residents and plans were developed in 1985 for the construction of a larger worship center. Once the plans were approved by the Diocese and permits obtained construction was begun. A dedication Mass was held on October 30, 1988.

The former church building was converted to a multi-purpose use facility.

Notable additions to the Church campus are the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Stations of the Cross Boardwalk.

There are about 550 active families who call Holy Family their church home.

Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church has its roots in Hilton Head’s first African American church that was established in Mitchelville in 1862, First African Baptist.

Desiring to establish a church in the Pope community several members of First African Baptist Church, under the leadership of Rev. B. W. Williams, left to organize a new congregation in 1914. A small parcel of land on Squire Pope Road was donated by the Miller family and the first church building, a wooden structure, was constructed.

Rev. Williams lead the church until his death in 1939.

The following year (1940) a storm destroyed the church building but the congregation stuck together and built a new building on the same site.

Several pastors served for short periods after Rev. Williams death until Rev. J. C. Simmons assumed the pastorate in 1948. Rev. Simmons served the church for 26 years. During his ministry the congregation grew to more than 100 members and Sunday School, choirs, Men’s and Women’s Fellowship and other auxiliary services were added.

When Rev. Simmons resigned due to illness in 1974, the church chose Rev. Benjamin Williams to lead the congregation. Rev. Williams was installed as full-time pastor in 1975 and served for almost 42 years until his death in 2016.

Under Rev. Williams Mt. Calvary began holding services on a regular weekly basis (Prior to his tenure services had been held on alternating weeks) and the church and her ministries expanded to meet the needs of the growing congregation.

While more land was purchased and additions and renovations to the buildings had been done over the years, a long awaited major construction project was announced in 2021. The dream of a new sanctuary had been fostered by Rev. Ben Williams since the 1990’s but it wasn’t until after his death that formal planning for a new sanctuary was begun.

A building that will seat 300 plus 44 in the choir loft will soon replace the current 135 seat sanctuary that will then be converted into the Ben Williams Fellowship Hall.

“One of the most vibrant spiritual traditions that Mt. Calvary continues to practice is River Baptisms, held on the shores of Skull Creek, near Hudson’s Seafood House on the Dock restaurant.  After proclaiming a belief in Jesus Christ, new church members don white baptismal robes and are escorted to Skull Creek, where they are baptized before other witnessing members, friends and family.”

Following Rev. Williams death the church installed their current pastor, Rev. Dr. Deonia Simmons, in November 1917.

Much of what is known of the early years of Queen Chapel is based on oral tradition with little documentation to establish exact dates and locations. What is documented is when the church had its beginning and when the site of the present church was purchased.

Background: The first African Methodist Episcopal church was established in 1794 by Richard Allen and others when they faced racial discrimination by the white American Methodist’s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Recognizing that other churches faced many of the same obstacles, Allen helped organize a conference with delegates from Philadelphia, Baltimore and other cities that met in April, 1816, that resulted in the establishment of a religious denomination with the name African Methodist Episcopal.1

“The African Methodist Episcopal Church, dormant in South Carolina from 1822 until 1865 because of white hostility toward Blacks, was re-organized” and “had by the end of Reconstruction established themselves as the second largest Negro denomination in the state.”2

Queen Chapel had its beginning on May 12, 1865 when the Steamship Argo landed on HHI due to a storm when on the way to Charleston. Several A.M.E. ministers were on board and decided to hold a service while they were delayed. The service was held under a large oak tree with prayers and singing, and thus began Queen’s Chapel A.M.E. Church.

There are differing stories about the time and location of the first building and the writer of this report has found nothing definitive. Various sources only say that a building was built a few years after the service under the large oak tree. While some believe that it was in the Town of Mitchelville, other reports suggest that it was located on the former Pope plantation.

What is known is that the property where the church is located today was purchased from W.D. Brown in 1886 and a building was built or relocated on the site in or about 1892. Oral tradition is that the church was built in 1862: however, the hurricane of 1893, caused significant destruction on the island. A report from the period said that only one of eight church buildings was left standing.3 The one church is not identified so it is possible that it was Queen Chapel.

A new building was built in 1954 and served the congregation until 2002 when that building was renovated with the addition of a new sanctuary with seating for 300.

Queen Chapel is an active congregation of approximately 120 members. Space is provided to Sandalwood Community Food Pantry as a service to the community.

114 Beach City Road
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
Phone: 843- 681-3315

Established in 1886, St James Baptist Church is a church of historical significance because it is the only remaining institution remaining from the town of Mitchelville, the freedmen’s village established by United States Army in 1862.

As the First Baptist Church relocated to another area some former members of that congregation, desirous of a place of worship in Mitchelville, organized St. James Baptist Church. St. James has been a continuous presence and a center of spiritual and civic involvement since 1886.

St. James has served as the caretaker of the Old Cherry Hill School located across the road from the sanctuary as well as being the caretaker of several native islander cemeteries.

It is unfortunate that the early church records were destroyed in 1968 when fire destroyed the house of the church officer where they were kept. What is known is that the first church building and its contents was destroyed by fire in 1945. It was replaced by another wooden structure that served the congregation until the present brick sanctuary was built in 1972.

Changes are again on the horizon for St. James because growth of the Hilton Head Island Airport is forcing the church to be relocated.

The Town of Hilton Head has agreed to purchase the property and build a new sanctuary for the congregation in an area close by but outside of the airport’s “object-free zone. In addition, the Old Cherry Hill School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be relocated adjacent to the church.

Information for this report was gathered from several press clippings and a church history prepared for the church’s 125th anniversary on file at the Heritage Library.

St. James is getting a new building after 91 years of worship on Church Road on the northern end of the island. The little building on the right of the church used to be a school.

• The Island Packet, August 27, 1970

Fitz Simons Allison, the XII Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, recognized the growing number of full-time residents on Hilton Head and envisioned a second Episcopal church for the island. In the fall of 1985, he appointed Rev John McKee, a retired priest who lived on the island, as Vicar of this mission endeavor.

In November 1985, Rev McKee held an organizing meeting at Spring Lake Pavilion in Hilton Head Plantation, with thirty-six men and women, and the Mission Church was begun. A discussion was had about a name for the church and when no single name garnered strong support, Rev McKee suggested All Saints and the group agreed.

On December 5, 1985, the Pelican Restaurant Bar had been identified as a place where the group could meet, and the first service was held. This served as the home of the church for two years. During this period a search was undertaken for the first Rector and Gordon Mann arrived in September 1987. The need for additional space forced the move, in November 1987, to the Hilton Head High School Library. This served as the meeting place for the congregation until moving into their own building.

There was a vision, almost from the beginning, for a permanent facility and funds were being collected for that purpose. Property was purchased on Meeting Street and groundbreaking ceremonies were held on December 10, 1989. The first service in All Saints Episcopal Church was held on Thanksgiving Day, November 21, 1990. In a 2012 schism, the majority of churches in the Diocese of South Carolina removed themselves from the Episcopal Church and joined the Anglican Church in North America. All Saints chose to remain in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.

Island Lutheran Church started with a small group of like-minded Lutherans who began meeting at the Port Royal clubhouse on Hilton Head Island in 1985. As the group grew, plans were made to seek a permanent home and a parcel of land was purchased at the corner of Main Street and Wilborn Road. Soon construction was started on a sanctuary, meeting rooms and a church office. This first building phase was completed in April 1992.

The church motto is “Knowing and Sharing the Joy of Salvation through Jesus Christ”. This is carried out through a full range of opportunities for worship, Bible study for all ages and fellowship. The congregation added a family life center in 2001, which has been made available to the larger community for a variety of uses from violin lessons to meeting space for groups like Neighborhood Outreach Connection.

Island Lutheran is affiliated with The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). Themembership today numbers around 450.

The Church of the Cross in Bluffton has its roots in St Luke’s Parish which was established in 1767. The first parish church was built in the Pritchardville area in 1787.

A small community developed on the “Bluff” of the May River, mainly as a summer resort for inland planters and a ferry stop between Beaufort and Savannah, and by the early 1830’s the first services were held there. By 1842 a chapel was erected on a site close to the present location.
In the summer of 1854 construction began on the current building which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Federal troops burned most of the structures when they marched into Bluffton in 1863 but the church was spared. While the structure was spared the congregants had fled and services did not resume until 1870.

The deadly hurricane that hit the area in 1898 damaged the building but by February 1900 repairs and improvements were completed. Among the improvements was the creation of a chapel in the narthex which was easier to heat during the winter months when the congregation was smaller.
Nearly 100 years later Bluffton began to see rapid growth and the narthex wall was moved back to its original location in 1997. This allowed for the renovation of the balcony to serve as the choir loft and the location of the English pipe organ that was installed in 1999.

The church purchased land on Buckwalter Parkway in 2000 as a location for the Cross Schools that members of the church had started in 1998. The first building was constructed in 2005 with several phases added as the school grew. Beginning with 1st grade in 1998, a grade was added each year. The school now has students from toddlers through 12th grade.

The Chapel and Cross Point on the school’s campus host weekly Sunday morning worship services in addition to the services held at the Historic Campus on “the Bluff”.

Today The Church of the Cross has approximately 2500 members and is a dynamic and involved congregation respecting the past, living the faith in the present and looking forward to what God has in store for the future.

Campbell Chapel AME Church, located in Bluffton, SC, is not only noteworthy as a religious institution but also significant is the history and cultural influence it has had on the Bluffton community. This year marks 150 years since a group of nine former slaves acquired a building that had been built for a white Methodist congregation in 1853. They affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal conference that began in Philadelphia, PA in 1794 but had existed almost exclusively in the northeast states prior to the Civil War. The name Campbell Chapel was chosen in honor of Jabez Pitt Campbell who was elected as the 8th Bishop of the AME Church in 1864.

Campbell Chapel Sunday School was the only means of formal education for many disenfranchised African Americans during the Reconstruction Era. This significant contribution to the community was one of the justifications used in seeking recognition on the National Register of Historic Places which was designated in 2019. In June 2023, the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network announced the addition of Campbell Chapel AME to their network.

The current membership of the church is around 250 and included in that number are some descendants of the original nine freedmen who founded the church. A summary of the impact the church has had throughout its history was best stated in a letter from the current Pastor, Dr. Jon R. Black, when announcing the upcoming events celebrating the 150 year anniversary: “Through the faithfulness of our members in each generation, Campbell Chapel has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and comforted those in mourning.”

The 150th anniversary was celebrated June 30 – July 7, 2024, with the theme “Celebrate Our Past and Embrace Our Renaissance to Growth” 1874-2024.

Christ Lutheran Church was formally organized with a charter service held on October 28, 1973. October 2023 marks the church’s 50th Anniversary.

The church had begun as a mission in 1972 when the Lutheran Church in America called on Pastor Boyd Cook to move to Hilton Head Island to establish a Lutheran ministry. Finding a few lifelong Lutherans and others drawn to the new ministry, there were 99 members who signed the Charter. In the early years services were held at the Montessori School, Adventure Inn and the Island Theatre.

In 1975 the congregation was gifted land that had been set aside by the Greenwood Development Company, the developers of Palmetto Dunes, for a future church. Building plans were developed and a capital campaign was successful at meeting its goal of $21,000. Groundbreaking occurred on September 7, 1975, and the first service in the new building was held on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1976.

The campus has grown from the initial sanctuary and multipurpose room with the 1988 addition of a new building with classrooms and church offices. This allowed the church’s accredited preschool program to move from their double-wide trailer. Another addition was the purchase of an adjacent parcel of land to create more parking spaces.

Christ Lutheran Church continues to be an active congregation with around 200 members.

Sea Island Chapel began in 2003 as a small fellowship of Christians who desired to study and worship together. They sought out Dr. Robert Cuttino, a retired Baptist minister, to be their mentor and secured a place to meet at Indigo Pines, a senior living facility on Gardner Drive.

The small group grew and decided to formally organize as a non-denominational church open to all who are followers of Jesus Christ. Regular Sunday morning worship services and a mid-week Bible study were held, and a choir was organized. When the facility reached capacity, the decision was made to accept an offer from Island Funeral Home to have weekly worship services there while continuing to have a service for the residents at Indigo Pines.

A search for a permanent location took several years and was finally realized with the purchase of property on Marshland Road that was originally Ballard Fish House and later was home to the Elks Lodge. Renovations were completed and the church began meeting in their facility on July 1, 2012.

The two Sunday services continue to be held – Indigo Pines Chapel at 9:15 AM and Sea Island Chapel at 10:30 AM.

Unlike the native islander churches on Hilton Head Island that came into existence after the Civil War and churches that were organized as the population began to grow after the construction of the first bridge, Providence had its beginning in 1986 after the island had seen significant growth and development.

The first service of Providence Chapel was held in the auditorium at the Seabrook retirement center on September 7, 1986 with 205 in attendance. The Presbytery of Charleston issued a charter to the group of worshipers on December 14, 1886 officially recognizing the organization and the name, Providence Presbyterian Church. Membership at the end of the first year was 138.
The Chapel at the Presbyterian Conference Center on South Beach Drive was made available to the young congregation and, after extensive renovations, services began on Easter Sunday, April 19, 1987. They affectionately referred to their church as “the little church in the woods.”

In October 1987 two mobile units were added next to the Chapel that were used for the church office, nursery and Sunday school classrooms. A fund drive was begun in 1988 to finance a new church campus to be developed on a 26 acre site on Cordillo Parkway. Membership had grown to near 250 and $1.6 million was raised in 3 months. Over the next five years the fund grew to $2.3 million.

The new campus was dedicated in February 1993 and included a 400 seat sanctuary, 2 education buildings, a fellowship hall and an administrative building. In 2017 an additional Capital Campaign resulted in upgrades being made to the campus. There are now around 450 members and average worship attendance of 250.

In the July 2022 issue of the Observer we told of the establishment of St. Luke’s Parish in 1767 and the physical presence on Hilton Head Island with the construction of the Zion Chapel of Ease in 1788. The Chapel fell into disuse and was dismantled when Union troops occupied Hilton Head during the Civil War. We jump forward about 100 years to 1964 when a small group of Anglicans, who were part of the new development and growth on the island, saw the need for a Christian witness and secured the legacy name of St. Luke’s for a new “mission church” on the Hilton Head. With the generous donation of 5 acres of land on Pope Avenue by the Sea Pines Company, the group raised the funds to build a Worship Sanctuary and Sunday school wing. Thus began a lasting presence that has been an active fellowship contributing much to the life and culture of Hilton Head through her outreach ministries. The physical presence of the church has grown and developed over the years along with the growth and development of the congregation and their ministries. A campus revitalization was completed in 2017. A significant change in church governance took place in 2009. Statements and actions by The Episcopal Church, which demonstrated their willingness to disregard scripture, conflicted with the belief in the authority of the Holy Bible held by many in the church. During an all members meeting held on December 1, 2009, a large majority of the membership voted to change the name of the church from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church to St. Luke’s Church and to amend the church’s Charter by removing “any and all references to the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, the Diocese of South Carolina, and any Canons associated therewith” and replacing it with “The purpose of the Corporation is to operate as a religious non-profit corporation (or church).” While the change was significant it did not alter the mission or work of the church which continues to be a vibrant Christian witness to the Hilton Head community.

Christ Lutheran Church was formally organized with a charter service held on October 28, 1973. The church had begun as a mission in 1972 when the Lutheran Church in America called on Pastor Boyd Cook to move to Hilton Head Island to establish a Lutheran ministry. Finding a few lifelong Lutherans and others drawn to the new ministry, there were 99 members who signed the Charter.

In the early years, services were held at the Montessori School, Adventure Inn, and the Island Theatre. In 1975, the congregation was gifted land that had been set aside by the Greenwood Development Company, the developers of Palmetto Dunes, for a future church. Building plans were developed and a capital campaign was successful at meeting its goal of $21,000. Groundbreaking occurred on September 7, 1975, and the first service in the building was held on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1976. The campus has grown from the initial sanctuary and multipurpose room with the 1988 addition of a new building with classrooms and church offices. This allowed the church’s accredited preschool program to move from their double-wide trailer. Another addition was the purchase of an adjacent parcel of land to create more parking spaces. Christ Lutheran Church continues to be an active congregation with around 200 members.

Island Lutheran Church started with a small group of likeminded Lutherans who began meeting at the Port Royal clubhouse on Hilton Head Island in 1985. As the group grew, plans were made to seek a permanent home and a parcel of land was purchased at the corner of Main Street and Wilborn Road. Soon construction was started on a sanctuary, meeting rooms and a church office. This first building phase was completed in April 1992.

The church motto is “Knowing and Sharing the Joy of Salvation through Jesus Christ”. This is carried out through a full range of opportunities for worship, Bible study for all ages and fellowship. The congregation added a family life center in 2001, which has been made available to the larger community for a variety of uses from violin lessons to meeting space for groups like Neighborhood Outreach Connection. Island Lutheran is affiliated with The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). The membership today numbers around 450.

Robert and Manelle Graves opened their home for a Thursday evening Bible study in 1977. As more people began to attend, the group started to have Sunday morning worship services led by volunteers or retired pastors who had moved to the island. These services were held at various locations including restaurants, vacant offices and the theater at Coligny Plaza. The group called themselves Hilton Head Community Church and hired their first pastor, a young man named Chuck Neder.

He served for a brief time but left to become youth leader at a school in Tennessee. A pivotal change came when the group made a connection with Christian Renewal Church in Brunswick, Georgia. Through this contact, the congregation hired Randy Bozarth as pastor and in December 1985, they formally incorporated with the name Christian Renewal Church in South Carolina.

The congregation grew under the leadership of Pastor Bozarth, who served from 1984-1992, with attendance of more than 300. During this time services were held at Hilton Head Beach & Racquet Club banquet hall and later at the cafeteria of Hilton Head High School. A difficult period began when the Beaufort County School District changed policies about the use of school facilities for church services. Finding themselves without a pastor and a secure meeting place, many in the congregation drifted away. Those who remained faithful persevered and eventually called Gilbert Posey to be their pastor. Under his leadership the church began to prosper, and land was purchased on Gardner Drive where, in 1984, funds were raised to build their church building. Pastor Posey served 16 years and left a church that was vibrant and active. Kaleb Allen has been the pastor since 2018 and has led the church in a period of substantial growth. Today there is a staff of 13, and 750 members worship regularly between the Gardner Drive location and at the Hilton Head Christian Academy facility in Bluffton.

Central Church on Hilton Head Island began when a small group of 7 people, who felt the need for an evangelical, New Testament church, met together in January 1987 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. This small group began to reach out to others in the community and several home groups developed while the church continued to worshipat St. Luke’s for the next two and a half years.

Realizing the need to have their own building, funds were raised and a parcel of land was purchased. Some months later it was discovered that the site had the only complete and historic Indian Shell Enclosure in the United States. In order to preserve the site, the Town of Hilton Head purchased the land.

Palmetto Bay Plaza was remodeled and became the first building for the church. This property served for a brief period until July 1992 when the Central Church acquired the property at 975 William Hilton Parkway which had been the location of a dinner theater and night club. Over the years there have been four renovations to the building and a major construction project, of over 30,000 square feet.

Today around 350 people attend services each week.