Mt. Horeb Lutheran Church was established in 1891 – about the time the Town of Chapin was organized. The history of Mt. Horeb Church in many ways parallels that of the town itself. A number of leaders in the town have also been leaders in the church. As the town and the surrounding area has grown, so has the congregation of Mt. Horeb.
The congregation can thank the Rev. W. L. Darr for being shepherding pastor who gathered together the little flock from which Mt. Horeb’s congregation has sprung. The report of the President of the Tennessee Synod to its 1889 convention stated that in the Spring of that year “the pastorate in South Carolina left vacant by the death of Dr. Smeltzer (Bethlehem, St. Thomas, and St. Jacobs) extended a call to Candidate W. L. Darr.”
Brother Darr accepted the call and entered his labors on this field in June 1889. Although he served all three congregations, soon after his arrival in the area he gathered together a fourth which was to become Mt. Horeb. This little congregation first met in Mr. George Lindler’s Funeral Home.
Through the years, the congregation has worshiped in three other buildings since then, including the current sanctuary, which was dedicated in October 1963. In the summer of 1999, the church completed an extensive renovation and addition project to its education building, and the interior of the sanctuary was remodeled in 2013.
The following is a list of the pastors who served Mt. Horeb Lutheran Church since its origins in 1889:
W.L. Darr 1889-1895
Jacob Wike 1896-1899
J. F. Deal 1899-1902
O. B. Shearouse 1903-1906
Enoch Hite 1906-1909
W. James Roof 1911-1914
J. L. Cromer 1914-1919
J. M. Senter 1919-1926
W. A. Craun 1927-1928
H. Smith Petrea 1928-1938
Albert Stemmerman 1938-1942
Henry B. Watson 1942-1945
Luther H. Jeffcoat 1949-1951
John H. Kock Jr. 1951-1961
Everett A. Dasher 1961-1973
Earl H. Loadholdt 1973-1981
E. Armand Shealy 1981-1990
Richard E. Webber 1991-2001
Ralph G. Hill 2002-2022
Ken C. Gillikin 2006-2010
Ginger Litman-Koon 2012-2017
Joanna C. Gragg 2018-2022