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As all Americans adjust to this unprecedented season and challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, we want our residents, their families and others to be reassured that we are taking every precaution to keep our communities safe. Our residents and staff members’ health and safety are most important to us, so we are actively following the guidelines recommended by regulatory agencies such as DHEC, CMS, and the CDC, which are monitored daily. Please visit our community websites for specific details.
SCBMA leadership is preparing for every possible scenario as the pandemic evolves. Part of that effort involves compiling a list of Emergency On-Call Workers who are willing to provide care and services to residents at Bethea or Martha Franks should we find ourselves short of staff.
Help Us
The word “abundant” means “exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, more, a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate.”
South Carolina Baptist Ministries for the Aging (SCBMA) is a Christian resource dedicated to helping South Carolina’s seniors (55+) Live Abundantly by providing Christian retirement communities and assisted living facilities and connecting seniors and their families with resources to meet their needs where they are.
The underpinnings of SCBMA began in 1954 when Dr. Percy Bethea donated 146 acres in Darlington County to be developed as a retirement home for retired pastors, missionaries, ministry families and lay persons who served the Lord. Bethea Baptist Retirement Community was opened in 1968. In 1985 Ms. Martha Franks, a retired Southern Baptist missionary to China, donated an antebellum estate in midtown Laurens, SC for the same purpose. The property included 50 acres with a small lake and developed into what is now known as Martha Franks Retirement Community.
South Carolina Baptist Ministries of Aging continues to strive toward helping seniors thrive.
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Each May, gifts received through the Mother's Day Offering are used exclusively for providing lifelong housing and care for retired pastors, missionaries and lay leaders in our communities who have faithfully served the Lord and have exhausted all funds for basic living expenses in retirement. God has used the generosity of His people to allow these senior adults to remain in our communities and receive the care that they need. Please prayerfully consider continuing this legacy through your gift!
See How You Can help!In 2016, SCBMA launched the Helping Seniors Thrive Society Annual Luncheon. The Helping Seniors Thrive Society’s sole purpose is to help those who need some type of financial assistance each month. Proceeds from Helping Seniors Thrive apply to the specific ministry needs of each community.
Help Seniors Thrive at BetheaHelp Seniors Thrive at Martha FranksMany residents in our communities are retired ministers, missionaries, or their spouses who do not have adequate retirement income to cover their living expenses. For each $10 you donate, we will send an attractive holiday card to the person you designate, letting them know you have donated in their honor for retired seniors who need help.
See how you can help!
Our ministry provides professional services for seniors with compassionate care in the name of Jesus Christ, so all we serve may thrive.
