WHITE OAK – Two years after the Seventh District of the A.M.E. church purchased the former White Oak Conference Center from the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the church is working to restore the facility to its glory days, according to A.M.E.’s Presiding Elder Charles Young, who is overseeing the project.
The church purchased the property for about $2 million in May 2022. Young says the new owners of the 218-acre former convention center plan to invest another $10 million or so in the property and buildings over the next couple of years.
“It’s been sitting here empty and unused for about four years, so there’s been some deterioration during that time,” Young said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Young says the work will be tackled in two phases.
“Phase I, which we are doing now, includes replacing things like the HVAC, a tremendous undertaking; replacing other things like roofing and plumbing; upgrading the lighting and, of course, we’ll be doing general cleanup of the buildings and property and painting,” Young says. “We’re currently working on the kitchen and dining hall. We are also taking steps in this phase to bring the buildings up to code and install security and audio/video systems. We want to finish all of Phase I by mid-June.”
A grand opening service is planned for Aug. 3 or 4 to introduce the newly renovated campus, renamed The Vision Center, to the community, other churches, businesses and industry in the area.
“It will, basically, be used for the same things it was used for by the Baptist Conference – retreats, meetings, conferences, camps and training.
Phase II will commence about a year after phase I is completed, and will include repairing and updating the four 100-bed lodges on the grounds and the classrooms as well as the entrance to the lake,” Young says. “We have a beautiful lake that will offer wonderful lake recreation and fishing.”
In addition, the roads and grounds need work as well as three houses on the property that will be used for management staff.
“It’s a big job,” Young says. ”The Seventh District has planned for years to have a Christ-centered ministry such as The Vision Center for its 20,000 members. However, we want it to not only serve our church, but to serve this community and other communities, churches, businesses and schools as well,” Young said. “We bought it with this broader use in mind.”
For now Young says he spends the better part of most weeks at the Center overseeing the work and making sure the project stays on task.
“We’re looking forward to the completion of the work. We think the Center will be well used by many different groups in the community and will be an asset to the county. We’re looking forward to that.”
For information about reserving the Center, contact Young at [email protected]
