Try
to imagine the rapid heartbeat of the Rev.
J. K. Hair, pastor of Lykesland Baptist Church, as he
stood in Columbia's historic First Baptist Church to
offer a resolution before the S.C. Baptist Convention
in session on that day of December 1923. His resolution
took aim against the "heavy drain upon our resources"
brought about by insurance rates on church properties.
Times were hard, money was scarce. Many churches were
strained between mortgage payments and payments of up
to $600 per year for insurance, if indeed, it could
be secured. Insurance companies did not want the risk
of rural churches that were usually secluded, had no
access to a water supply, and were unoccupied most of
the time.
Rev. Hair urged the General Board to look into the possibility
of starting a mutual insurance association to protect
both church and Convention property. He was concerned
that money needed for ministry and missions was being
used to buy insurance. He saw a way to help without
the Convention having to spend a penny! Rev. Hair, himself,
was making history, and this is how it all began as
a company dedicated to God and His churches.
In
1924 the Messengers voted to approve a study
to determine the practicality of such a move, naming
C. B. Bobo, J. M. Walker, with J. K. Hair to chair the
special committee. This committee came with a report
in 1925, but it was postponed until 1926 when it was
received as information. In the 1927 Convention meeting
at Park Street Baptist Church in Columbia, Messengers
authorized the establishment of such a company with
headquarters in Columbia. It would be a mutual
company as opposed to a stock company, which
means it would be a company consisting of policyholders,
in this case churches, who pay premiums into a pool,
from which claims are paid for losses sustained by a
peril for which they are insured.
Within a month, on January 5, 1928, the committee had
met and approved a petition for incorporation. The name
of the company would be Southern Mutual Church
Insurance Company (SMCI). It would be run by
a board of nine members. In order to get a charter,
a Guaranty Fund was required. Two names are mentioned
as furnishing that fund needed to launch the company:
Rev. J. K. Hair, who mortgaged a house in Greenville,
and Joseph Norwood. On February 9, 1928, there was a
meeting of incorporators. An excerpt from the minutes
of that meeting read,
Southern
Mutual Church Insurance Company met to organize and
adopt by-laws, this 9th day of February, 1928. After
prayer by W. M. Whiteside, the meeting was called
to order...
And
so were the humble beginnings of this company;
born in faith and much prayer. Southside Baptist Church
in Columbia was our first policyholder and is a policyholder
still today. By the end of the first year, the company
had $250,000 coverage in force. There
was a balance in the bank on December 21, 1929 of $309.04.
Today, SMCI has more than $4 billion
property coverage in force, annual written premium more
than $17 million, a policyholders reserve
of more than $15 million, and more
than 8,500 policies across many denominations.
Truly God has been faithful! May He
continue to richly bless this company as its leaders
and employees seek to continue providing savings, service,
and security for His churches.
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