Emmanuel Baptist Church was officially organized on March 25, 1926 with twenty-nine charter members. The original name was Eastside Baptist Church, but was changed to Emmanuel Baptist Church in the early 1950's. The members of Emmanuel were a very close-knit family, due in part to two devastating fires (March 19, 1968 and September 24, 1972), which completely destroyed the church buildings. After the second fire, the congregation voted to relocate to the current 260 acre campus. The congregation met in the gymnatorium from November 1973, until the completion of a 26,000 square foot sanctuary on September 12, 1999.

For the past six years, Emmanuel Baptist Church has flourished under the leadership of Pastor Gary Colboch. Though Emmanuel was once known as an independent and fundamentalist church that liked to stand alone within the faith community, Emmanuel now participates with various civic groups, community organizations, collaborative efforts with other local churches. Dr. Colboch was even privileged to serve as the 2007 Chairman of the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce. Because of the bridges that have been built, Emmanuel is now highly respected and viewed as a leading church within our community.

In the last six years Emmanuel has also made some internal changes in order to be more open to newcomers and relevant to our community. These changes include moving our service times, adding staff to accommodate growth, moving to a worship style that blends traditional and contemporary elements, initiating small groups, removing traditional formalities, focusing beyond our walls, and emphasizing prayer. In general these changes have been well received and have had a positive effect on the church as a whole. Attendance has doubled, the budget is being met, the spirit of worship has improved, people are being saved, baptized and added to the church.