Past & Present

Belin Memorial United Methodist Church, named for the Reverend James L. Belin, Methodist Minister and benefactor to the entire Waccamaw Neck area, was built in 1925 with materials salvaged from the dismantling of the Oatland Methodist Church near Pawleys Island. Mrs. W.L. Oliver was instrumental in having the building moved piece by piece to the present marshfront site. The work was done during the ministry of the Reverend W.T. Bedenbaugh who lived at Cedar Hill Parsonage. The church sanctuary was first renovated in 1955  during the ministry of Revered J. H. Armburst.

In 1967, an education and administration building was completed during the pastorate of the Reverend Needham Williamson. In 1977, the sanctuary was moved approximately 75 ft. to the center of the Cedar Hill location and more than doubled in size. This ambitious project was completed in the spring of 1978 during the pastorate of the Reverend Wesley Farr.

In 1991, during the ministry of the Reverend W. Robert Morris, the Belin Church family approved plans for the construction of a new sanctuary to be designed to mirror the older structure. The first worship service was held in the new sanctuary on September 6, 1992, by the Reverend Harold P. Lewis, newly appointed pastor of Belin.

On May 2, 1993, a Belin church conference voted to donate the original Belin sanctuary to the Joseph B. Bethea United Methodist Church, located off Highway 501, west of Myrtle Beach. The indebtedness on the new sanctuary was quickly and gracefully paid off, and the church was dedicated on March 29, 1998, by Bishop J. Lawrence McCleskey.

Almost immediately, the Belin family of faith determined to build a state-of-the-art Family Life Center, and it was completed and consecrated on December 12, 1999, under the leadership of  Reverend Lewis.

In the spring of 2012, under the leadership of Sr. Pastor B. Mike Alexander, a monthly contemporary worship service was established in the Family Life Center with music led by our Youth Praise Band. By January of 2015, the contemporary services were renamed "The Harbor" and expanded to two services each week. Belin Memorial United Methodist Church is now a congregation of more than 2,000 members with an ongoing vision for both the present and the future. There is always a place for you at Belin Memorial to love God and love others!