On Wednesday night, all the churches of Elgin were empty, save one.

That’s because the churchgoing folks of the Kershaw County town were all over at Blaney Baptist. The occasion: the first-ever Elgin Community Revival, a grand event that had been talked about for five years before it finally came to pass.

Thirteen churches participated, bringing white Southern Baptists, black Baptists, United Methodists, AMEs and Pentecostals together each night this week in Blaney’s octagonal sanctuary.

More than 300 people were there on Wednesday. That’s about half the population of the town of Elgin proper.

“I want to thank you all for coming. This is a typical Wednesday-night service at Blaney Baptist Church,” said a smiling Bill Drees, who usually presides over the pulpit at Hillcrest Baptist Church.

The congregation laughed, and the reviving commenced.

For some, the service was livelier than they were used to; for others, it was rather subdued. When the choir of Oak Grove Baptist took to the center aisle and delivered a hand-clapping, foot-stomping, rafter-raising gospel number, some people shifted in their seats and smiled uncomfortably at each other.

But by the time the choir from Fort Clark Baptist Church began a joyful chorus of “Help Me Lift Him Up,” almost everyone was standing and clapping.

“This is something I feel that God really wants to do,” said the Rev. Jack Borders, pastor of Harmony Baptist Church and coordinator of the revival.

“One of the major problems with Christianity right now is that churches do not work in cooperation with each other. . . . In this, we came together as a community of churches, not just a community with churches,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Rev. William Woodard, pastor of Fort Clark Baptist, delivered the sermon. He and four other ministers had drawn winning numbers for the honor.

Woodard told his expanded congregation that it would be good if someone accepted Jesus as their savior on this particular evening. But, he emphasized, revivals are for Christians, too — Christians who need a nudge of inspiration.

“Unless you put some gas in the car, it ain’t going nowhere,” he said.

The service began at 7:30 with a chorus of “Holy, Holy, Holy” and ended about an hour later. About halfway through, ushers passed collection plates, with proceeds going to the town of Elgin’s Benevolence Fund, a community program for the needy. The Wednesday night offering totaled $283.51.

Sonny Smith attends Blaney Baptist Church regularly, and he was delighted to see there were more visitors than visitor parking spaces this week.

“In my 20-odd years here, this is the first time that we’ve had a communitywide revival,” Smith said.

“On Sundays, we all attend our respective churches, and we don’t have the opportunity to meet and greet each other. There’s a lot of good Christian fellowship taking place here,” he said.Caption:

1-2. Co-workers Mary Nelson, above left, and Sallie Wood hug after the Elgin Community Revival Wednesday at Blaney Baptist Church. Left, Jack Borders, pastor of Harmony Baptist, prays with Scott Jacobs, who responded to the altar call. Thirteen churches participated in the revival. Photos by Tim Dominick / The State