As the Chapin community grew in population in the early years of this 21st century, there was a growing need for a PCA church to be located in Chapin. Many Chapinites were commuting to Irmo and Columbia to attend a Reformed church. In 2001, the Palmetto Presbytery was formally asked to look into planting a church in Chapin. They requested St. Andrews Presbyterian Church to be the mother church of this plant. One of the main factors was the growing number of St Andrews members moving to Chapin. The Session agreed and a small group began to organize early in 2002.
The first step was to find a church planter. Dan Ratchford was one of the assistant pastors at St Andrews and was asked to go through training as a church planter and to start the church. A group of 115 from St. Andrews decided to help plant the new church, and the first worship service was held at Chapin Elementary school on November 3, 2002. The first service had 200 in attendance, and the new church quickly organized. Everyone pitched in and many positions of the church were filled by volunteers.
On October 26, 2003, the church was formally organized by the Palmetto Presbytery to be a particular church. Elders were elected by the congregation, new members were received, and a pastoral search committee was formed. In December, Dan was elected pastor of the church.
The school district allows a church to rent facilities for four years, so a committee was formed to find property for a future church building site. Over 14 acres of land was purchased on Old Lexington Highway, and a building committee was formed. We moved into our current facility in October 2006 on the fourth anniversary of the church.
