Former Pastors

Rev. William Dickson
1797 – 1831
Rev. William Dickson was born in Cookstown County, Tyrone, Ireland about 1760. He was educated at Glasgow, Scotland and studied theology under a very famous professor, John Brown of Haddington. About this time he was seized by a British recruiting ship and press gang on passage between Ireland and Scotland. Here compelled to do service as a common sailor for several months, his discharge was eventually secured through the influence of an Irish nobleman. Mr. Dickson, a teacher, emigrated with his family to South Carolina in 1793. The next year he was received by the A.R. Presbytery of the Carolinas and Georgia, completing his theological studies under the Rev. Peter McMullen, an Associate Reformed minister in Due West, SC. In 1795, he was licensed to preach by this same Presbytery. From 1797 to his death in 1831, he labored faithfully at Bethany and Pisgah. He and his wife, Martha, had 3 children.

Rev. Dr. Robert Calvin Grier
1841 – 1847
Rev. Robert Calvin Grier, D.D., was born March 2, 1817, in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, in the bounds of the Sardis congregation, the pastoral charge of his father, the Rev. Isaac Grier. His father was the first Presbyterian minister born in the State of Georgia. R. C. Grier began his theological studies under his father and completed them at Erskine Theological Seminary. He was licensed by the First Presbytery in April 1839, and he was ordained and installed pastor over Bethany and Pisgah congregations in June 1841. This was his first pastoral charge. In 1847, he resigned to become President of Erskine College. For the remainder of his life he labored in Due West as pastor of the Due West Church and as President and Professor of the College. Dr. Grier’s death was on March 30, 1871. He and his wife, Barbara, had 11 children.

Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Erskine Boyce
1849 – 1885
Rev. Ebenezer Erskine Boyce, D.D., was born in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina on December 12, 1820. Following graduation from Erskine Seminary, he began some early work in Virginia, West Tennessee and Kentucky. He was ordained pastor of Bethany and Pisgah in 1849. Dr. Boyce is noteworthy for having the longest pastorate in the history of Bethany ARP Church, 36 years. This was his first and only ministry and it continued until 1885 afterwhich he continued as pastor at Pisgah until 1893. Dr. Boyce departed this life on November 5, 1902. The entire General Synod, then meeting in Gastonia, NC, attended and conducted his funeral. He was married twice and had several children.

Rev. Dr. Robert Milton Stevenson
1887 – 1911
Rev. Robert Milton Stevenson, D.D., was born in the bounds of New Hope congregation, Fairfield County, South Carolina on November 20, 1860. His seminary training was taken at Erskine Seminary. Having been licensed by First Presbytery in 1880, Rev. Stevenson began preaching in Winnsboro, South Carolina. From 1882 until 1886, he served several churches in Virginia. In 1886, he took up the duties of stated supply of Kings Mountain and Bethany churches in South Carolina. On May 13, 1887, Rev. Stevenson was installed as a part time pastor of Bethany. In 1892, he was installed as part time pastor at Crowder’s Creek and in 1893, as part time pastor at Clover. To these three churches he ministered until 1911, when he became Editor-in-Chief of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian in Due West, South Carolina, a position he held until his retirement in 1941. Dr. Stevenson died on December 3,1942. He and his wife, Emma, had 6 children.

Rev. Dr. William Pressly Grier
1912 – 1946
Dr. William Pressly Grier, D.D., was born at Due West on December 26, 1887 and attended local schools there. He attended Erskine College where he distinguished himself as an athlete in baseball and tennis. Following graduation from Erskine, he taught for a brief period in Tennessee. He graduated from Erskine Seminary in 1912 and was licensed to preach that same year by the Second Presbytery. On July 5, 1912, he was ordained by First Presbytery at Bethany ARP Church and installed as pastor of Bethany, Clover, and Crowder’s Creek churches. Under Dr. Grier’s leadership, these churches grew in number significantly. In 1934, Erskine College conferred upon him the degree of D. D. In 1946, Dr. Grier resigned from Bethany and became full time pastor at Clover until his death in 1952. He and his wife, Nellie, had 5 children.

Rev. Murray White Griffith
1946 – 1949
Rev. Murray White Griffith, was born in Mecklenberg County on August 10, 1905 and raised in the bounds of the Ebenezer ARP Church. Following graduation from Erskine College, he taught and later worked for Southern Railway in Virginia. With a desire to be a foreign missionary, Mr. Griffith entered Erskine Seminary and graduated in 1931. Though he did not enter the mission field, he did serve several pastorates in South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. These labors continued until the spring of 1946 when he was called to be pastor of Bethany and Crowder’s Creek churches. In May 1949, Rev. Griffith accepted a work in Charlotte at the Parkwood Avenue Church in the old PCUS denomination. Rev. Griffith departed this life on August 1, 1973. He and his wife, Wilma, had 4 children.

Rev. George Seebert Lauderdale
1952 – 1957
Rev. George Seebert Lauderdale, was born on April 6, 1929 in Winnsboro, South Carolina and was raised in Lexington, Virginia in an ARP Church pastored by his father. Following graduation from Erskine College, he worked for the Virginia Department of Highways for a short period. Spiritual influences in his life which he understood as God’s call led him to enter Erskine Seminary. He graduated in 1952. On July 27 of that same year, he was installed as pastor of Bethany. Under his leadership, the church grew in number. Poor health led him to resign in 1957. In June of that year he accepted a call to the Ebenezer ARP Church in Lexington, Virginia. Rev. Lauderdale remains active in ministerial pursuits today. He has directed the missionary organization, Intercession for Israel, for a number of years. He also has served on the founding board of the Christian Broadcasting Network. His poetic talents are evident in the many Scripture rhymes which he has written and published. He and his wife, Sally, had 3 children.

Rev. Dr. Forrest William Sherrill
1957 – 1973
Rev. Forrest William Sherrill, STD, was born on October 17, 1904 in Iredell County, North Carolina. His mother died when he was a child. He and his brothers grew up in the Dunap Orphanage in Tipton County, Tennessee. Dr. Sherrill attended Bryson College and graduated from Erskine College in 1930. Two years later, he graduated from Erskine Seminary. In 1933, he was ordained to the ministry by First Presbytery in Gastonia, North Carolina. His early pastorates included Prosperity in South Carolina and Broad Creek in Virginia. He also served churches in Lincoln, Tennessee; Blacksburg, South Carolina; Cotton Plant, Mississippi; and Stony Point – New Amity – Elk Shoals Field in North Carolina. In 1957, he became the pastor of the Bethany ARP Church, preaching his first sermon on Mother’s Day of that year. In July, he moved his family into the community and was installed in December 1957. Dr. Sherrill’s ministry at Bethany lasted for 17 years. He retired in 1973 and continued to attend services faithfully until his death in 1986. He and his wife, Kathryn, had 8 children.

Rev. Calvin Churchill Jett
1974 – 1977
Rev. Calvin Churchill Jett was born in Batesville, Arkansas. He attended King College in Bristol, Tennessee and later prepared for the ministry at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Following graduation, he was issued a call from Bethany. Calvin was installed at Bethany, his first church, in July, 1974 and served until December, 1977. From 1978-1982, he served Calvin Presbyterian Church in Marion, NC and from 1982 until his retirement in 2010 he was the pastor of the Story Memorial Presbyterian Church in that same city. He and his wife, Susan, have 4 children.

Rev. William Langley Barron
1978 – 1981
Rev. Billy Barron was born in York, SC and raised in the York ARP Church. Following graduation from the University of South Carolina, he pursued theological training at Erskine Theological Seminary, graduating in 1978. Billy served Bethany, his first pastorate, from March, 1978 to March, 1981. Other churches he has served include the Lakeland ARP Church (now Shepherd Road) in Lakeland, Florida (1981-1984), Ebenezer ARP Church in Charlotte, NC (1984-1990), and Boyce Memorial ARP Church in Kings Mountain, NC (1990-1994). In 1995 he began to serve as pastor of Faith ARP Church in Merritt Island, Florida, from whence he recently retired. He and his wife, Sissy, have 5 children and live in Greenville, South Carolina.

Rev. David Webb Setzer
1981 – 1984
Rev. David Webb Setzer was born in Rock Hill, SC and grew up in the Southern Baptist Church. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. His preparation for the ministry was undertaken at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Erskine Theological Seminary. Prior to the ministry, David worked as an Insurance salesman and for United Parcel Service. His first pastorate was Bethany where he served from September, 1981 until September, 1984. Following his departure from Bethany, David served the Trinity ARP Mission in Columbus, Georgia and is currently retired having served as pastor of the Centennial ARP Church in Columbia, SC until 2016. He and his wife, Carol, have 4 children.

Rev. Joseph Walker Everett, III
1985 – 1991
Rev. Joseph Walker Everett, III was born in Columbia, SC, the son of an ARP minister who served the First Presbyterian Church of Rock Hill. Joe graduated from Rock Hill High School and following college worked for a time with Young Life in the Rock Hill area. This ministry was instrumental in leading him to prepare for pastoral ministry. He graduated from Erskine Theological Seminary in 1980. From 1985 until 1991, Joe pastored the Bethany ARP Church. During the next two years, he lived with his mother in Rock Hill and supplied various pulpits in the Carolinas, including a term as Interim Pastor of the Pleasant Hill ARP Church near Lancaster, SC. On November 13, 1993, the Lord called Joe home at the youthful age of 44.

Rev. Alan Arthur Morrow
1992 – 2017
Rev. Alan Arthur Morrow was called to Bethany in 1992 and faithfully served until his retirement in January of 2017. Born and raised in Ogdensburg, New York, Alan grew up in the United Presbyterian Church. Following graduation from the State University of New York, he moved to Bartow, Florida in 1972 and began work with a civil engineering firm. There he came into contact with the ARP Church. Two years later, he and his wife moved to Jackson, Mississippi where he began preparation for the ministry at Reformed Theological Seminary. Following graduation in 1980, he served the Elsberry ARP Church in Elsberry, Missouri (1980-1983) and the first Presbyterian Church in Frostproof, Florida (1983-1991). He and his wife, Delby, have 4 children and Rev. Morrow is currently serving as supply pastor of the Smyrna and Hickory Grove ARP Churches.