Good Hope Baptist Church
6101 Privetts Road
Conway, South Carolina 29526
On Thursday before the fourth Sunday in September 1864, Bugswamp Baptist Church was constituted by Rev. Zy Bullock and Elder D.N.Gore. Twenty-one of our ancestors saw the need to provide a place of worship in their community. These dedicated people became charter members and faithful workers in the church located on land owned by John Booth. The newly chartered group used as their place of worship a log structure beside the Bugswamp Cemetery. The cemetery still stands at 7146 Hucks Road, Conway, South Carolina.
The church moved to its present location in January 1877, and since that time has been called “GOOD HOPE.” By order of the church in conference on Saturday before the third Sunday in January 1877, the Cape Fear Baptist Association was notified of the change.
The new church was a small frame structure located on property presently owned by Good Hope Baptist Church. Extensive remodeling was done to the building in 1885. According to well documented church conference minutes, the first frame building was torn down and replaced by another frame building in 1918. Sunday school classrooms were added to the building around 1934.
A brick-veneer sanctuary was completed in 1955. The old church building was lifted and became the upstairs of the educational building. The classrooms remained intact at the back of the building. Renovation to the sanctuary was made in 1959-60, and again in 1988. In 1969, the educational building was remodeled and the building we now enjoy is the result of extensive renovation in the early 1990s.
The first pastorium was constructed of white asbestos-siding in 1953 for a cost of $13,000.00 A new brick-veneer home was completed in 1983 at a cost of $85,000.00.
Good Hope Church was served by part-time pastors for seventy-six years (1877-1953). Dedicated, gifted leaders in the community served faithfully in conducting the affairs of the church and in meeting spiritual needs in the absence of full-time pastoral leadership. The church called Rev. Robert H. Crooks as its first full-time pastor in 1953. The current pastor is Rev. John Wesley Sullivan.
Many physical changes have been made to the property and much hard work, a sacrificial giving, and dedicated service has brought us to our current status. Physical growth came as a by-product of spiritual growth. Baptized believers have joined together in this community for 140 years for the purpose of bringing people to the Lord Jesus Christ, equipping them for service, and providing a place for them to worship and serve.
Worship, Bible Study, Music, Prayer, Missions, and a strong “Love for the Saints” will continue to keep us a “GOOD” church and give “HOPE” to future generations. May the next 140 years bring even more growth in the name of our Risen Savior, who sacrificed himself to make all things possible for all people throughout the ages and eons to come.
