OUR HISTORY
The story of The Garden Greenville starts in living rooms. Jack and Amonda Hancock began a Bible study in their living room in 1974. People searching for the Word and the Holy Spirit came every week. On a Sunday morning in March 1979, the Bible study grew into a church, Mt. Zion Christian Fellowship. Multiple sites were outgrown as more and more people came. Eventually, approximately 40 beautiful acres of land was purchased, and a facility was built on Garlington Road in Greenville, SC.
In another living room, years later, in 1996, Steve and Becky Keyes gathered six families to talk about planting a church. They also listened and obeyed as Father led them to plant CrossRoads Community Church in Simpsonville, SC. People came searching for strong Biblical teaching. CrossRoads later became City Church in 2012, when leadership realized it was no longer a seeker-sensitive church, but a church that valued both the Word and Holy Spirit.
In April 2014, Mt. Zion was without a Pastor, and City Church had outgrown its facilities. Mt. Zion had become a small congregation of seasoned members, whereas City Church had mostly younger members under the age of forty. In April 2014, a series of meetings took place between the two Elder Boards. The transition was fast and moved quickly into practical steps. When God gives you an assignment, He makes a way. The two Elder Boards merged, the City Church building was leased without any advertisement, and steps to creating a new church began. On August 31, 2014, the people of City Church joined the people of Mt. Zion on their beautiful campus for the first service of two churches under one roof—Bridgeway Church.
The story of Bridgeway is an amazing story of God’s grace, faithfulness, and obedience. It is the story of many coming together with one heart who said “yes” to follow in the ways of Jesus, honoring the Word and being Holy Spirit-led. From the beginning, both churches had the desire to be a family church dedicated to the Word and the Spirit to fulfill the great commission of Jesus to make disciples who make disciples.
In 2021 the name was again changed. The Garden Greenville was selected to reflect continual growth. Throughout all the changes, there remains a church family who desires to honor God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit by creating a safe place for the freedom to worship and win Greenville to win the World by teaching and discpling the next generation.
