5/1/08
Connie Maxwell Home honors S’ton Baptist as Top 50 donor
By Jerriod Grizzle

JERRIOD GRIZZLE/Manning Times

Church Secretary Sarah Couliette and member Dan Campbell hold up the certificate of appreciation given to the church by the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home.

When Summerton Baptist Church Minister Rob Pierce was told that his church was getting a certificate of appreciation for giving donations, he was excited, to say the least.

“It makes us really happy that the size of the church here in Summerton that has between 275 to 300 people every Sunday is recognized for what we do,” he said.

This past Sunday the SBC was given a certificate from the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home (CMCH). The church is one of their top 50 donors out of 2,091 Baptist churches in the state.

The CMCH provides hope for children and families dealing with difficult situations in their lives. Headquartered in Greenville, with four other campuses across the state, the charity is known for taking in children and showing them love, family and giving them a home.

Traditionally the home is given monies by the Baptist Convention to support its work and according to Children’s Home CEO Ben Davis, it is churches like Summerton that go above and beyond the call of duty that deserve recognition.

“We have 135 kids that we serve on a daily basis that come from a number of different situations,” said Davis, who personally presented the award to the Summerton church. “We get 13 percent of our operating budget from the Baptist Convention but the rest of our budget comes from people that care enough to keep the kids sheltered, clothed and fed. The Home has been around for 116 years and there is no way that we could have remained without that participation. It is a vital part of who we are and what we do.”

Pierce said that on behalf of his members, he felt honored at the recognition from the organization.
“It’s a good thing for the members of the church to see firsthand where their money goes and how it blesses them by blessing others.”