Wesley United Methodist Church - Hartsville, SC About Us  Wesley United Methodist Church was organized in 1893 by a small group of people living in the newly incorporated town of Hartsville, South Carolina. The first church building was a wooden structure on what is now Carolina Avenue. The sanctuary was built in 1903 becoming the first brick building in Hartsville.
In the early 1930’s, an educational facility, the McNabb Building, was added. The building that houses the Hartsville Soup Kitchen Mission was purchased from the Segars Chevrolet Company in 1966 and was renovated to be a youth center.
The new Family Life Center addition was completed and dedicated on December 8, 2002, housing the new staff offices, Pastor’s Study, Ladies Parlor, All Saint’s Hall, and new kitchen. An elevator was included, making this a truly user friendly facility for all ages and abilities.
Published in 1985 was a detailed book, The Story of Wesley United Methodist directories and maintained an annual comprehensive scrapbook stored in the church library. Linda Watford is the new historian for Wesley UMC.
In 2007, the Council of Ministries merged with the Administrative Board to form the unified Church Council; committee members oversee many church programs, and approve activities throughout the year.
The Mission Outreach Committee raises money for local and global missions by their popular annual events including the Wesley Pumpkin Patch, Barbeque Dinner, and Taste of Wesley.
The United Methodist Women sponsor the Food Fair each fall before Thanksgiving, and have a service project each year; this year the UMW will be working with the SC for Darfur group to raise awareness for the genocide in Darfur.
The United Methodist Men are another strong group at Wesley, and meet for fellowship and service projects.
Wesley members participate in the Hartsville Christmas in April program, renovating homes for elderly or disabled residents of Hartsville; our church affectionately calls it “Christmas in April, June and July” as our projects tend to go above and beyond one weekend, with a home really getting a facelift after the Wesley family of workers is completed!
Driving Directions 
From ColumbiaTake I-20 E. towards Florence. Get off on Hwy. 15 N. (Exit 116) to Bishopville. Follow Hwy. 15 to Hartsville. You will enter Hartsville on 5th Street. Turn right onto Carolina Avenue and turn left at the next stoplight onto Fourth Street. The church will be on your left. From Florence Take Hwy. 52 N. toward Darlington. In Darlington, take Hwy. 52 by-pass. Exit onto Hwy. 151 toward Hartsville. Exit at Hwy. 151 Business, which becomes 4th Street in Hartsville. Go through three traffic lights and the church will be on your left immediately after the third stoplight (Carolina Avenue) From Society Hill (North of Hartsville)Take Hwy. 15 S. into Hartsville. Turn left onto College Avenue. The church is located at the corner of College Avenue and Fourth Street (the administrative offices are on the Fourth Street side, which can be found by taking a right at the stop-sign). Our Staff The Reverend Fran Elrod, Pastor  Rev. Fran Elrod, a native of Columbia, SC and a lifelong United Methodist, has served in the S.C. United Methodist Conference churches as clergy and staff for nearly twenty years. Fran holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College in Columbia, SC where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and is a member of the Order of the Purple Seal. She also has her Master of Divinity degree from Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, SC. Fran enjoys serving the local church and community with a passion for mission and ministry with all age levels. She also serves as a leader on several boards and agencies that represent the ministries to which she is most committed. Fran enjoys mentoring, teaching, preaching, as well as spending time with her family, outdoors and kayaking. Contact Rev. Elrod at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 843-332-1196
Marsha Bryant, Church Administrator  As Administrative Assistant for Wesley UMC since 1994, Marsha welcomes church members and visitors and provides administrative support services for the Wesley staff and church family. Marsha is originally from Charlotte, NC. and has two daughters.
Contact Marsha Bryant at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (843) 332-1196 Dr. James Beaumier, Director of Music  Dr. James Beaumier has been at Wesley since 1989. He directs the Chancel Choir, Handbell Choir and Women’s Ensemble. He has music degrees from University of Washington (BA/BME), Western Washington University (Masters) and University of Southern California (DMA). He is Department Chair, Director of Choirs and the annual Musical Director at Hartsville High School where he has been since 2001. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and an International Baccalaureate Teacher at Hartsville High School. He also taught at Coker College from 1989 to 2004 achieving the rank of Associate Professor. Dr. Beaumier also conducts the Hartsville Civic Chorale, a local community choir that annually performs major choral works with an orchestra.
Contact Jim Beaumier at (843) 332-1196
Dennis Schaeffer, Organist  Dennis Schaeffer is our wonderful organist and sings in the Chancel Choir at Wesley. He and his wife, Cynthia, hail from New Jersey, where he is a former postmaster. Not only is he a musician he's a wonderful singer...as is his lovely wife!
Jamie B. Gandy  Jamie has over 22 years in the Facilities Management field. Jamie has a proven track record for staff development, team leadership and building/project management. Jamie has also been a member of Wesley his entire life.
Website Compatibility Web BrowsersPlease review the list below for the supported browsers and versions: Internet Explorer 8 or greater (some higher versions will only operate in Compatibility View Only) Firefox 3.6 or greater Safari 4.0.4 or greater (limited support) DisplaysThis website is best viewed in 1280 x 768 display resolution or higher Privacy Policy Privacy Policy Strategic Management — Concepts & Cases Wesley UMC was featured in a 2007 case study published in Dr. Fred David’s best-selling textbook, Strategic Management—Concepts & Cases, 12th Edition. The case focuses on important strategic planning issues both specific to Wesley and generally affecting any small church that strives to remain a relevant, vibrant, and central to its surrounding community. For students: Wesley does not routinely provide detailed financial updates to the information provided in the case study. The SC Conference of the United Methodist Church does, however, publish financial and other statistical data for Wesley and all other United Methodist Churches in South Carolina. You can access this great wealth of information by following the link below: http://www.umcsc.org/data/stats2007.php The GCFA # for Wesley is 280325. Remember, you can also search within the Hartsville Conference for other area UMC's. For other information, please feel free to contact the case author at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 2011 Annual Conference Report We had the honor to represent you at the 224th South Carolina Annual Conference. From June 8 – 12, 2011, the Florence Civic Center was transformed into a place of worship, deliberation, celebration, fellowship, and Christian witness as we conducted the business of South Carolina’s United Methodists. Each day began with prayer and communion and ended with an evening service. Additionally, a memorial service for clergy and clergy spouses; a service for our retiring clergy; and a service to license local pastors were observed. Our worship culminated on Sunday morning with a service of ordination and the fixing of appointments. We are delighted to report Rev. Fran Elrod’s appointment to Wesley for another year. We encourage you to visit the S.C. Conference website, www.umcsc.org to review the conference reports in detail. Our decision making process was often time consuming, but always thoughtful and inclusive. Here are some highlights: - A resolution recognizing the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission as the official agency for sending volunteer mission teams from the conference.
- A resolution clarifying the relationship of the United Methodist Relief Center to the SC Annual Conference.
- A resolution calling for Immigration Reform.
- A resolution to support the Global Aids Fund.
- Changes in provision of pharmacy co-payments for the clergy and staff health insurance.
- A task force created to study the number and alignment of districts and report to the 2012 Annual Conference.
- A new, streamlined, structure established for the Connectional Ministries arm of the conference.
- Laity and clergy delegates elected to attend the 2012 General and Jurisdictional Conferences.
Awards were given to recognize the ministries and accomplishments of many individuals and churches across the state. Three SC clergy presented development training on the Principles, Passions, and Practices of Leadership. Photos and videos of these presentations are available at the conference website. Conference was a joyful time for renewing friendships, meeting new brothers and sisters in Christ, and hearing about inspiring United Methodist ministry across the state. We will be glad to answer any questions or provide more detail. Thank you for the opportunity for this experience. Jean Watkins and Carol Hall Stackhouse |
