According to statistics gathered by Pastor Benjamin Carver, 58 percent of Mount Pleasant residents are not affiliated with a church.

In an effort to change that, he and Pastor Charlie Phillips are planting Shem Creek Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant.

This biblical reformed congregation consists of about 25 members as of now. They meet Sundays at 5:30 p.m. in St. Paul's Lutheran Church in the Old Village for a meal and Bible study. By fall, they plan to begin corporate worship.

But this amount of growth in just the few short months after their journey began has been encouraging, he said.

Shem Creek Presbyterian Church is associated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (A.R.P), which is the oldest and most historic Presbyterian denomination in America. separate from Presbyterian Church USA, with which Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church is affiliated.

Historically, Presbyterian churches are tied to a location such as rivers, land or the community. The area in which Carver hopes to serve is along the Coleman Boulevard corridor, hence the name Shem Creek Presbyterian Church.

The idea is to plant more churches once this one is sustainable. According to Carver, planting new churches has always been the most biblical way of reaching people and has proven to be the most effective way of reaching people with the Gospel and making more followers in Christ. That is because they're reaching out to the unchurched and non-Christians, whereas an established church tends to see new members arriving as transfer members. With plant churches, you actually have to invite people to join, he explained.

The best way to reach the unchurched, he said, is not through megachurches and television ministry, either.

“Little by little, we're growing the kingdom of God through more smaller churches,” Carver said

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The effectiveness of church plants is that they reach eight times more nonbelievers than established churches. The vision of Shem Creek Church is “Growing in the Gospel for Christ and community.”

The church's mission is to offer reformed worship, communal discipleship and Gospel outreach.

“We're here to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the community, tied to the Gospel that Christ gave to us,” Carver explained.

Parishioners have been focusing on evangelical outreach such as volunteering at the Miriam Brown Community Center, helping kids with homework and such. Carver is a volunteer chaplain at East Cooper Medical Center, as well.

Shem Creek Presbyterian Church has partnered with a missionary in Costa Rica who works in the slums offering help and supplies to orphans and single mothers. The church collects donated items and ships them to the poverty-stricken area.

Pastor Ben Carver

Carver was born in Greenville, where his family still resides, and attended seminary at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte.

He received his Masters in Theology from their main campus in Boston.

He served at Johns Island Presbyterian from 2010 until last fall when he felt the time was right to plant a new church in the ever-growing Mount Pleasant community.

Carver, who is the author of “Redemption in the Minor Prophets,” was called to serve in college. He had been wrestling with the decision, but God pressed on him the need and desire.

“I played it safe in church positions where I could still use my gifts. But planting a church is a challenge, and I saw the need and the opportunity to reach more disciples and bring in more people, so here we are. It is exciting to see it begin to flourish,” Carver said.

The liturgy confession will also be relaxed but still affirming the theology. “It will be less cold and formal than some Presbyterian churches as our vision is to celebrate our faith in Christ while affirming our rich theological heritage.”

Pastor Charlie Phillips

In addition to music and small groups, Phillip's ministry is pastoral counseling, meeting with people and talking with them about the struggles and problems of life. He will be leading music and discipleship and his wife D.J., who ministers as she builds relationships in the community, and prays and serves others with the love of Jesus Christ. .

The couple comes from Surfside Beach, but met Carver originally in Greenville.

As the church moves towards Sunday worship, plans for services are being made. The music led by Phillips is considered an ancient modern approach to worship where the hymns are sung in an informal and relaxed style. Music will be accompanied by piano, violin and acoustic instruments and the hymns will be rich in theology.

As of now, Shem Creek Presbyterian Church is raising financial support to continue to grow and lead in worship. They will continue to collect and ship supplies to Costa Rico. Anyone interested in these efforts is encouraged to contact Carver.

For more information about Shem Creek Presbyterian Church, visit Facebook or email Carver at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. There will be a worship preview service on Sept. 21.