Tag Archives: South Carolina

South Carolina Sheriff Fulfills Pennsylvania Boy’s Dream

The Christmas holiday became a little more special for a Pennsylvania boy who thought his dream of learning to be a hunter had ended with a mix-up.

Alex Collins lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania with his mother Leslie.  Leslie is a single mother who has been ill and is not able to take her son to the hunter’s education classes let alone take him in the woods to hunt.

Alex and his mother heard about a program launched by the Sheriff of Chester County, South Carolina where the Sheriff would take young men and teach them how to become hunters.  The report only said Chester County, so Alex mistakenly thought it was Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Alex and his mother dropped off letters at the Chester County, Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Department asking for Alex to be a part of the program.

Alex was crushed when he found out about the mix-up.

That’s when Chester County, PA Sheriff Carolyn Welch contacted Alex Underwood, Sheriff of Chester County, South Carolina.

The Monday after Christmas, Alex was flown to Chester, South Carolina by Underwood who took the boy to learn how to be a hunter.  He bought him all the gear he needs to go into the woods and bag a deer.

The two Sheriffs and deputies of both departments chipped in to send the boy on the trip.

“People read the story and it just took off,” Underwood told the Herald. “Everybody wanted to make sure Little A (Alex) was taken care of, and I want the whole country to know that we are going to show Little A the best hunting and fishing trip anybody ever had.”

Fox News reports that Sheriff Underwood said Alex is going to be taken to a “secret hunting spot” that is held so closely by sheriff’s department employees that Alex has to promise not to tell anyone how to find it.

Christian Returns Wallet With Scripture Note

A South Carolina man who left his wallet behind while he was traveling out of state is having a Merry Christmas after an anonymous Christian returned the wallet with everything inside.

Bruce Ryland stopped for gas in Warren, South Carolina while returning home from a trip to Atlanta.  He remembered using a credit card to pay for the gas but doesn’t remember where the wallet went after that.   He told a local TV station he probably left it on the top of the car when he drove off.

The wallet had over $300 inside.  Ryland called the gas station to see if anyone had turned it in but nothing had been found.

“I was running crazy, canceling credit cards, debit cards, trying to scramble and get the insurance cards and drivers license,” he said.

Over a week later, a package arrived in the mail from someone in Sparta, Georgia identified as “N. Cummings.”  Inside, the wallet with all the cash enclosed and a note that outlined the Biblical reasons for returning the wallet:

“Three Scriptural reasons I am moved to do this,” it read. “Please read them for yourself: Luke 10:27, Luke 16:10, Psalms 83:18. You’re welcome.”

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself,” the first verse reads.

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much,” the second states.

“That men may know that Thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth,” the third Scripture reads.

Ryland tried to find the Christian behind the letter but couldn’t find them.  So he sent a gift card to the return address on the envelope for $305 dollars…the same amount as the cash in the wallet.

Anti-Christianist Lawsuit Against School Ceremony To Be Reheard

A lawsuit brought by anti-Christianists against a South Carolina school who held an elementary graduation event inside a Christian chapel will be reheard after an appeals court remanded a district court ruling that sided with the school district.

The anti-Christian American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit in 2013 to stop the Mountain View Elementary School from holding 5th grade graduation at a local Baptist university’s chapel auditorium.

The anti-Christianists claimed that by holding the event in the building, the school was automatically endorsing Christianity.

U.S. District Judge G. Ross Anderson, Jr. denied the anti-Christianist’s request for an injunction but the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the judgment saying the lower court did not provide analysis in the ruling.

The AHA claims that an unnamed atheist student was uncomfortable when one of the other students at the event gave a prayer and other students bowed their heads to pray.  Despite the fact the school did not order the student to pray and that the student and those who bowed to pray were just exercising their religious rights, the anti-Christianists say it’s illegal for the Christians to exercise their faith in a way that a non-Christian might see them.

The school claims they were using the facility because they needed a location that could handle the growing attendance for the event.

South Carolina State Senator: “Darwinism Has Replaced Christianity”

A South Carolina state senator is speaking out about the way atheistic evolution is being used as state-sanctioned gospel in schools.

Mike Fair, who represents Senate District 6 in South Carolina, has sponsored bills that have called for students in public schools to learn arguments both for and against evolution including discussions of creationism.

“The ‘truth’ must conform to Darwinism, or it is not allowed,” Fair says. “I don’t suppose it matters what your eyes see or your mind tells you.”

Fair claims that the government is illegally and unconstitutionally promoting the atheistic religion.

“Making inferences to the best factual information is not allowed if it points to a religion other than atheism,” he wrote. “Consideration that the fine tuning of our galaxy is a miracle (or made that way) is a discussion that is not allowed.”

“I believe the principles established by the Founders are being removed from the public square by a series of narrow decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court,” he continued. “I am bothered that the Supreme Court has changed the Constitution by a series of 5-4 votes clearly outside the methods duly established to properly change our Constitution.”

Hundreds Rally For Prayer In School

Students, parents, community leaders and pastors gathered in Hartsville, South Carolina for a weekend rally in support of allowing prayer to be placed back in schools.

The Hartsville Center Theater hosted over 450 people who listened to leaders throughout the community talking of the need for prayer, the power of prayer and also to join together in songs of praise to God.

It was the second rally hosted by Florence One School Board member Pat Gibson Hye-Moore and Pastor of New Providence Baptist Church Cliff Leonard.  The men said it was the larger of the two events.  The event grew from a concern “that morality has plunged in America since prayer was removed from school.”

“We’re taking God out of everything,” lamented Hye-Moore. “We are taking the Creator, the one that created everything, we’re just trying to kick Him out and He’s not happy with that.”

South Carolina representatives in 2013 proposed a bill introducing a moment of silence prayer in the schools but it has not progressed beyond its introduction.

Megachurch Baptizes 2,335 During Sunday Service

In one day, over 2,300 people followed Jesus Christ into baptism at a South Carolina megachurch.

NewSpring Church announced via social media that 2,335 people were baptized at 10 different locations during their Sunday morning services.   However, lead pastor Perry Noble said that despite the big overall number, it still comes down to the individual.

“Over and over again His people are called to celebrate who God is and what He has done,” Noble said. “As His church, we should refuse to be silent when He has been so good … every number has a name, every name has a story and every story matters to God.”

Noble said that baptism is the first day and individual officially goes public as a follower of Jesus Christ and as His representative on Earth.  The church notes on their website that reading the Bible and studying the teachings of Jesus makes it easier to hear the Holy Spirit’s guidance in daily life.

The pastor also noted that their goal is not to be a huge church but to get thousands saved so they can join other churches and expand their reach and effectiveness for Christ.

“We want all churches to be thousands strong because of the potential the church has,” Noble said.

South Carolina Church Baptizes Over 700 At Church Camp

A church camp hosted by a South Carolina church ended up with a massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit that lead hundreds of youths to be baptized.

The summer camp of NewSpring church, which is called “The Gauntlet”, held baptisms for 733 teenagers in Daytona Beach, Florida.  The event is in its 9th year and had over 3,000 middle and high school students for four days of experiencing God and developing fellowship with their peers.

“The thing that sets the Gauntlet apart is relationships,” NewSpring spokeswoman Suzanne Swift told The Christian Post on Monday. “Culture offers a lot, but the hope we have in Jesus coupled with the community that students build at the Gauntlet is what makes it different. Once students experience hope in Jesus they tell everyone about it.”

Pastor Perry Noble said that of the 733 who were baptized, 240 of them were teenagers who accepted Christ for the first time.

The church was quick to note they do not require the teens to be members of their church to be baptized, only to have accepted Christ as their Savior.  They encourage all the teens to be involved in a local church in their home communities.

Hurricane Arthur Bears Down On Carolinas

The first named storm of the Atlantic storm season is bearing down on the Carolinas as a class 1 hurricane.

Hurricane Arthur reached class 1 status early Thursday morning and has been strengthening at a pace that has surprised meteorologists. Initially forecast to be no stronger than a class 1, many forecasters now predict it could reach mid to upper class 2 status.

The National Hurricane Center says Arthur should stay off the North Carolina coast for the most part but the outer bands will cause significant rainfall and flooding that can lead to washed out roads and downed power lines.  Some areas could be without power up to a week according to emergency management officials.

Tony Saavedra with the National Weather Service said the worst of the storm for the Carolinas would happen in the early morning hours Friday when 3 to 5 inches of rain and sustained winds in excess of 85 miles per hour should hit Cape Hatteras.

There are concerns along the mid-Atlantic and New England states that Arthur will ruin the 4th of July weekend.  Boston moved its 4th of July celebration concert with the Boston Pops and fireworks to Thursday because of forecasts of heavy rain from Arthur on Friday.

Officials are also watching the beaches to stop surfers from chasing after the large waves caused by the storm.  The makeup of Arthur is causing riptides stronger than normal and officials say most surfers won’t be ready for the strength of the riptides.

Congressman Tells Believers Not To Wait On Political Messiah

Congressman Trey Gowdy, who is heading the House of Representatives’ select committee for the Benghazi terror attack, told a group of believers at Second Baptist Church Houston that they need to stop waiting for a political messiah and place their hope in the true messiah.

“If you want to change culture, don’t wait on the Supreme Court or anyone else,” said the South Carolina congressman. “The real hope in Christ is expressed through the lives of His followers. Changing the hearts and minds in this country is our job.”

Gowdy said that Christians must to step up and speak the truth in a way that is respectful to other people but unwavering in presenting the Gospel truth.

“You don’t insult people into changing their minds,” said Gowdy.

Gowdy said that it’s important for people to hold their elected officials accountable for more than just the votes they cast or actions they take in their office.  He said leaders need to be held accountable for their actions in their private lives because everything we do is a reflection on the Lord and how He is working in our lives.

Gowdy said that Christians need to educate themselves because the answers to all things are in Scripture.

“Are you educated in the teachings of Christ?” Gowdy said. “The answers to all our political questions are in the Bible… But what good does that do unless you know the Bible?”

Man Decapitates Jesus Statue

The members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Charleston, South Carolina received a shocking awakening on Sunday morning when a man decapitated a statue of Jesus.

Witnesses say that a man with a Kobalt sledgehammer approached the statue outside the church around 5:45 a.m. and then lopped off Jesus’ head.  The witnesses called police who found Charles Jeffrey Short, 38, walking near the church a short time later and he admitted to committing the crime.

Police found the sledgehammer covered in dust and residue in the man’s backpack.

Short told police that he did so because of the Ten Commandments.

“I think I used a sledgehammer to strike that statue about six or seven times, because the first or second commandment states to not make an image of a male or female to be on display to the public,” Short told officers.

Police are investigating if Short was behind a similar attack on statues last week at a different church.  The head and hands of a statue of Jesus and a child were broken off and missing.