Our Story

Members of the Baptist faith living in the present Elloree vicinity were forced to travel ten to fifteen miles, through dense woods and swamps on poorly defined trails, to hear the Gospel preached at Four Holes Baptist Church. As member numbers grew, they saw the need to have a church located closer to home. They chose the spot where the Santee Branch crossed the Old Moncks Corner Road as the first site of the meeting house. The land was given by Hermon and Catherine Rush in 1808.
The old meeting house was used for the services until Henry Rush gave additional land to expand on in the same year. To the right of the old church was the burial ground that is still used by the church today and bears the name Santee.
William Judson Snider, was a licensed preacher of the church in 1857. He offered land to the church, in the newly chartered town of Elloree, at the corner of Main and Wolfe Streets. To celebrate the one hundredth anniversary, the members voted to build a new brick building on the site in Elloree.
Because the nearby town of Santee might someday have a church whose name would be a cause of confusion, the members of Santee Baptist voted in 1954 to change the name to First Baptist Church of Elloree.

Because Elloree First Baptist Church has been a part of the community since the very beginning, we feel called to minister to the community by seeking out and saving the lost.  In order to do this, we know we need to no be the best church in our community, but the best church FOR our community. 

Scripture repeatedly teaches us that God's ultimate goal for our lives is to become like Christ. To do this means to be a part of peoples lives. We know the only way to be the best church FOR our community is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow Him to take hold of people and do only a work He can do in their lives.  To do this starting in November 2024-October 2025, we have a goal of connecting with 600 people, 300 Gospel Conversations, and 30 Salvations.