meet our pastor
C. kent smith
I was born in Maine, where my father was a Baptist preacher. Shortly thereafter, we moved to New York, where my father was involved in a church planting endeavor. When I was about five years old, we relocated to upstate New Jersey, where I was raised with my older brother and two younger sisters.
God called me to vocational Christian ministry during my junior year of high school at a church youth ski retreat. That calling has guided my life ever since.
In 1980, I graduated from high school and enrolled that fall at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, on an Army scholarship. I graduated on June 2, 1984, and that same day was commissioned as an Army Second Lieutenant. Later that year, in December, I married my wife, Sandy (Dean), from Mt. Dora, Florida. Our first home together was in Leesville, Louisiana, where I was stationed at Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk).
After completing my military obligation in 1988, we moved to Covington, Louisiana, so I could attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to prepare for ministry. While in seminary, God blessed us with our first child, Melissa.
In October 1990, I graduated seminary and we moved to Danville, Virginia, where I served as Minister of Education and Recreation at North Main Baptist Church. During this time, God blessed us with two more children: our son, Brent, and second daughter, Shelby. We served at North Main until October 1996.
In October 1996, we moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to serve an aging church that was considering a relocation. Within eighteen months, God merged three congregations—Park Hills Baptist, West Main Baptist, and Reidville Road Baptist—to form River Hills Baptist Church which was established in April 1998.
I have had the privilege of serving at River Hills ever since. It has been an incredible journey, and I am deeply grateful for God’s calling and the opportunity to minister here for so long.
I also thank God for my wife, Sandy, who has been an amazing partner. She has been a source of encouragement, a shelter in life’s storms, and a model of love and ministry to me and the congregation we serve. Her unwavering support and obedience to God’s calling has been a vital to the success of our shared ministry.
God called me to vocational Christian ministry during my junior year of high school at a church youth ski retreat. That calling has guided my life ever since.
In 1980, I graduated from high school and enrolled that fall at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, on an Army scholarship. I graduated on June 2, 1984, and that same day was commissioned as an Army Second Lieutenant. Later that year, in December, I married my wife, Sandy (Dean), from Mt. Dora, Florida. Our first home together was in Leesville, Louisiana, where I was stationed at Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk).
After completing my military obligation in 1988, we moved to Covington, Louisiana, so I could attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to prepare for ministry. While in seminary, God blessed us with our first child, Melissa.
In October 1990, I graduated seminary and we moved to Danville, Virginia, where I served as Minister of Education and Recreation at North Main Baptist Church. During this time, God blessed us with two more children: our son, Brent, and second daughter, Shelby. We served at North Main until October 1996.
In October 1996, we moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to serve an aging church that was considering a relocation. Within eighteen months, God merged three congregations—Park Hills Baptist, West Main Baptist, and Reidville Road Baptist—to form River Hills Baptist Church which was established in April 1998.
I have had the privilege of serving at River Hills ever since. It has been an incredible journey, and I am deeply grateful for God’s calling and the opportunity to minister here for so long.
I also thank God for my wife, Sandy, who has been an amazing partner. She has been a source of encouragement, a shelter in life’s storms, and a model of love and ministry to me and the congregation we serve. Her unwavering support and obedience to God’s calling has been a vital to the success of our shared ministry.