In June of 2003, John and Cheryl Reeves—who had just recently planted churches in Clemson, SC and Atlanta, GA—felt a stirring to head to the greater Columbia area to plant a church. John Reeves quickly began recruiting, and soon Salim and Amanda Khalil, Jeremiah Jones, and Duncan Pleming met in an apartment in Lexington, South […]

In the Fall of 2003, just a few months after we first met, in a leap of faith, Rick Parks and Lexington Community Church offered their facilities to us. We moved into the building and began meeting every Sunday. Soon, those six adults meeting in that little apartment became something more: Oasis Church.

Of course, one church plant wasn’t enough. And John Reeves and several of the Oasis leaders were looking toward downtown Columbia for opportunity and favor from God to start another church: RADIUS Church, which met in a coffeeshop name “Jammin’ Java” off Main Street in Columbia.

In August of 2004, it seemed obvious that two separate churches led by the same leaders was a flawed approach. Not to mention Lexington Community Church and Jammin’ Java were both lacking space and potential. Instead, we combined both congregations, took the name “RADIUS,” found an elementary school to meet in, and honed in on […]

After merging, RADIUS Church became known for its “crazy” generosity. We didn’t have a whole lot of resources then, but we tried to serve creatively with what we had. Movies in the Park was the fruit of those efforts: every week of the summer, volunteers set up a huge projector at Finlay Park in Columbia. […]

For about eighteen months, John Reeves would drive to Lexington to preach every morning, and then he would drive back to preach at night in Greenville. RADIUS Lexington was in deserpate need of a new leader and teacher. Soon, Todd Carnes came on the scene. Originally, he had wanted to plant his own church, but […]

For seven years—over 300 Sundays—RADIUS Church met in an elementary school. We’ve always wanted people to know that the Church is not a building. But at somepoint, it became very necessary for growth and impact in the community for us to finally find one. In October of 2010, RADIUS Church found an old Piggly Wiggly […]

In 2013, RADIUS Lexington asked 75 members to “go” and plant a church in Red Bank, South Carolina—20 minutes down the road. This was the first church plant birthed not only from the resources of RADIUS Lexington, but from its members as well. Soon, John Reeves and his family returned from Dubuque, IA where he […]

For five years, Ben and Holly Harrison called RADIUS Church in Lexington home. They brought friends and neighbors near them, and they even began a small group. The only problem was that this church body was close to an hour drive away. Wanting a church where they could serve their “radius” more effectively, the Harrison’s […]

In 2006, John and Cheryl Reeves said goodbye to RADIUS Church in Lexington to continue planting churches in other areas, all the while keeping in touch. A little over seven years later, they returned to the Lexington area to help with the RADIUS White Knoll plant. Then, as Todd and Kerri Carnes wrapped up their […]

In 2017, we were running into a problem at RADIUS Lexington: too few seats. Not a bad problem. It felt like the sort of problem that the Lord was using to prod us to plant another church. So, Ryan Molony, who had only been hired on staff at RADIUS Church the year prior, was tasked […]

Similar to the group in Saluda, RADIUS Irmo began with a Bible Study, and soon became something more. After John Reeves and then Ross Kellis helped support the early stages of growth, Patrick Olson stepped up and stepped away from his job to come on staff at RADIUS Church and lead the congregation in Irmo.

So COVID-19 hit the world in March of 2020. With the pandemic a whole lot changed… For us, we first began having online services, which were in effect until May 30th, 2021. At the same time, outdoor services became the way to go for gathering churches everywhere. Thus the entrance of the “Showmobiles” (portable stages […]

Cheryl Reeves was out for a walk one day when she stopped to talk to one of her neighbors, Thereasa Hodge. Long-story short, Thereasa heard a story Cheryl told about receiving a facility from a dwindling church for free to plant a new church. Being a member of Southside Baptist Church in Columbia, Thereasa invited […]

As we brushed off some of the struggles throughout the pandemic, John Reeves and the Elders at RADIUS Church felt it was time to begin pressing forward and boldly purusuing a renewed mission. Consulting staff, Shepherding Elders, and Partners at RADIUS, they decided to implement a plan: Ux2. Here are the goals: 1) 12 Church […]

To accomplish the Ux2 goals we have, it’s going to take a lot of prayer, a lot of seeking our God, and a lot of plain work. We’re asking—inviting—you to join us in this work. We’re hoping you join us as we take the Gospel to six other areas, and even beyond! We’re longing for […]