CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A decades-long school backpacks ministry by North Charleston Baptist Church continues this month at a new location.
The school where the ministry took place was one of two that closed in the face of declining population coupled with an increase in poverty for the families left behind. But where some might see discouragement, Pastor David Carney and North Charleston members see opportunity.
“I see growth if and when God’s people get their hearts on fire for the Gospel and share it with their friends,” Carney told Baptist Press. “No amount of our community projects can make up for the lack of our personal devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
That being said, “[The] three circles [evangelism tool] is the greatest thing our church has done in the last five years,” Carney continued. “It got our people comfortable with spiritual conversations with their friends and neighbors.”
It’s those conversations, coupled with the church’s community activities, that have led the 100 average attendees at North Charleston Baptist Church to become change agents in their community. Some members say having a pastor who is a former international missionary helps the church think missionally.
Carney served as a missionary for 10 years in Russia and five years in Singapore. Reared in an Independent Baptist pastor’s family, he was in Russia when he first heard of the Cooperative Program, the way Southern Baptist churches work together to provide for missionaries worldwide.
“I had to travel to hundreds of churches to raise my support; took two years,” Carney said. “To see how the International Missions Board functions is phenomenal. There’s nothing better than the Cooperative Program giving of the Southern Baptist Convention.
“What I did not have was on-field support and structure,” Carney continued. “We had field directors, but nobody was resident. Southern Baptist teamwork collaboration on the field is fantastic. Not only did I see it, but they invited me to their meetings! I’m thankful for that. That became the support structure for me I did not have.”
“I had to find housing, transportation and language school myself,” he added. “IMB does that for you. I can’t tell you what a blessing that is.”
Upon his return from Singapore to care for aging parents, Carney was invited to submit his resume to North Charleston Baptist, a Southern Baptist church.
“My [Independent Baptist] father was a godly man and left his mark on my life,” Carney said, but when he had the opportunity in 2019 to pastor a Southern Baptist church, he couldn’t say no. “It’s a wonderful church. They’re good people.”
North Charleston Baptist, started in 1959, has always given to missions through the Cooperative Program, but under Carney’s leadership it grew to 11 percent by 2024. The same year, nearly the same dollar amount was given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions.
“We started working on the offering to strengthen and build it and watched the Lord do good things,” Carney said. “The Cooperative Program is the avenue by which we participate in local, national and international outreach. God calls a few to go but God calls all of us to be involved. IMB missionaries don’t get sent without the offerings.
“West Virginia is a tough place to live, with a lot of poverty,” the pastor continued. “I’m thrilled to see the state [convention] partner with [the North American Mission Board] as well.”
North Charleston Baptist joined in a 2024 NAMB event in 2024 in the coal fields of southern West Virginia. The church sent about 20 members to help renovate a church.
Locally, despite the area’s sudden economic drop that resulted in trimming the church’s CP giving to 5 percent last year, the backpack ministry moved from one school to three nearby low-income housing projects. This year’s 50 backpacks and the school supplies they contain are grade-specific, coordinator Debbie Farrell told Baptist Press.
“We provide a snack in there, and an encouraging card; that’s new this year,” Farrell said. “There’s also a keychain with a poem on it about who they are in God’s eyes. Church members bring in different things, and a group of us sit down together, put the backpacks together and pray over them that God will bless the kids throughout the school year.”
Also new this first week of August: a Blessing Box on the church property, also supplied by members, with cost-free food and toiletries inside, available 24/7.
“This is an opportunity for us to open the [church] door and feed the hungry,” Ferrell said, adding that she trusted God with the items going to those who need them. The box was painted in pink polka dots in mid-July by North Charleston Baptist teens.
“It’s kind of exciting to see them get involved,” Ferrell said.
A “Middle School Bash” one Sunday night in mid-August also is a longtime ministry.
“It’s about getting our community supporting our students,” Ferrell said. “We cancel Sunday night to do this, to ask God to place His hands over their school and the people connected with it.” The same event also promotes Wednesday evening activities at the church for all ages.
Earlier this summer, North Charleston Baptist took Vacation Bible School to three low-income housing projects within 20 miles of the church.
“It was very good; got us out of the four walls of the church and put us out into the community as the hands and feet of Jesus,” Ferrell said. “We gave them a little hope.”
Invitations to the church were handed out, and for those without transportation. North Charleston Baptist has had a van ministry for nearly 40 years.
The church’s vision statement is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, the pastor said.
“Five years ago, we launched life groups on Wednesdays. It exploded,” Carney said. “We’ve been really blessed, numerically and spiritual growth. We were maybe 35 on Wednesdays. Now it’s close to Sunday morning attendance, at least 75 percent. It’s encouraging our people to invite their friends and families because of their excitement about being part of the church and the body of Christ.”
Excitement despite the decline of the community numerically and economically. The church’s challenges include the area’s poverty, spiritual decline and the difficulty of reaching young people who feel trapped and hopeless “while we’re watching our cherished older generation slip away to heaven,” the pastor said.
Carney wrote a booklet – “Hope for Our Home Town” – that he and church members distribute at every opportunity.
“It’s a Gospel witness of how Christ can turn around a community when people turn to Christ,” Carney said. “We are seeing some signs of hope among the young people turning back to the Lord, seeking answers they can’t get without a Christian worldview, understanding who Christ is.”
Community events are not as well-attended as they were in the last three decades of the 20th century, Carney said. “The way out of that for us is the personal relationships of our believers, them stepping out of their comfort zone and sharing Christ with their neighbors.
“It always comes back to relationships. Yesterday I said goodbye to our oldest member. I stood by his bedside, held his hand and prayed for him,” the pastor continued. “This morning I helped a young couple, their car had been impounded. I paid for it – the church did – and helped them get on their way. The Lord’s telling me to walk with Him every day and He’ll take care of whatever comes my way.”
