Messaging

SCBaptists are One Family on One Mission through One Cooperative Effort. Our family includes our 2000+ churches. SCBaptist churches choose the trustees for each of our seven Ministry Partners — Anderson University, Baptist Courier, Baptist Foundation of South Carolina, Charleston Southern University, Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministry, North Greenville University, and South Carolina Baptist Ministry of Aging. SCBaptist churches belong to one of our 42 associations. Additionally, our family includes national ministry partners (our six Baptist seminaries, International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Guidestone, and Lifeway) and 1 auxiliary, the South Carolina Woman’s Missionary Union.

A vision statement states “what we hope to see in the future.” SCBaptist’s current vision statement is “We see a day when every life is saturated and transformed by the hope of the Gospel.”

A mission statement describes “why we exist”. It could also described as our purpose. SCBaptist’s current mission statement is “We help each church advance the Great Commission together.”

“Each Church Every Life” is our mission and vision statement condensed into four words. This is also sometimes called our “slogan” or “tagline.”

“Each Church Every Life” graphics can be downloaded in English, Spanish, and additional languages.

EACH CHURCH
We believe each church can advance!  SCBaptists are a family of churches helping each other advance the Great Commission by mobilizing missionaries and developing leaders.

EVERY LIFE
We believe every life counts!  We see a day when every life is saturated and transformed by the hope of the Gospel..  We are relentless in helping the church love every life.

For almost 100 years, South Carolina Baptist Churches have given resources through the Cooperative Program (CP) to fund Great Commission advance. Giving through the CP helps support SCBaptists as we work together with 2000+ churches, 42 associations, seven sponsored institutions, one auxiliary, and our national and international partners to see every life saturated and transformed by the hope of the Gospel. None of this would is possible without the sacrificial, missional, visionary giving of South Carolina Baptists.

Please include a Cooperative Program statement on all print and digital materials as a reminder that ministry is made possible through Cooperative Program giving. For one-page print pieces, please include it on one side. For multi-page documents, please place it on the last page or back cover. For web content, no need to add it to each page—it’s already in the site footer. For social content, please include on the accounts profile.

“This SCBaptist (resource/event) is made possible through the Cooperative Program giving of South Carolina Baptist churches.”

“SCBaptist’s One Family is possible through the Cooperative Program giving of South Carolina Baptist churches.”

1. The Potential of Every Life – We network with all kinds of churches to ensure that every person is seen, heard, and given a chance.
2. The Energy of Innovation – We experiment with new methods that spark breakthroughs and encourage churches to do the same.
3. The Strength of Collaboration – We connect with like-minded partners, share resources, and listen to diverse perspectives.
4. The Lever of Leadership – We build intentional relationships with leaders of leaders to strengthen ongoing movement.

A strategy is described best by “what we do and how we do it. “ We are a family of churches cooperating to advance the Great Commission together. Great Commission advancing churches are led by strong shepherds and staff, serve their communities, share hope with the lost, send missionaries to the world, and start new churches. Our SCBaptist family not only includes churches, but also individuals, missions partners, and Ministry Partners. 

This is visually represented by the Moment/Map/Mountain.

INSERT GRAPHIC

Moment:
“We create environments to steward moments when God calls leaders to move. 
Where is God inviting you to advance?”

Map: 
“We help leaders develop plans to map out their journey.”
“What do you need to get there?”

Mountain: 
“We network leaders to climb their mountain by providing support in the climb and courage in the valley.”
“Who will provide support in the climb and courage in the valley?”

SCBaptist’s communicates our vision, mission, values, and strategy to three primary audiences — pastors and leaders, people in the pew, and the public.

January 2025: Cooperative Program Investment
February 2025: Next-Generation Mission Mobilization
March 2025: Harvest Events
April 2025: Equipping the Called
May 2025: Caring for the Vulnerable
June 2025: Summer Camps
July 2025: Serving Communities
August 2025: Back to School
September 2025: Church Planting
October 2025: Appreciating Pastors and Associations
November 2025: Celebrating Church Revitalization
December 2025: Holding the Rope SCSent Ones

• “SCBaptist” (or “South Carolina Baptist)
  • This should be written as one word, with the “SCB” in capitals and “aptist” in lowercase.
  • Refers to the Convention, the larger family of South Carolina Baptist churches or organizations, or to an individual South Carolina Baptist person. 
    • Ex: “SCBaptist churches must send and support mission workers across the globe.” 
• “SCBaptists” (or South Carolina Baptists)
  • This should be written as one word, with the “SCB” in capitals and “aptists” in lowercase.
  • Refers to a group of South Carolina Baptist people.
    • Ex: “SCBaptists from across the state gathered at IMPACT this week.”
  • Ex: The Convention appeals to the churches to contribute through the Cooperative Program.
• South Carolina Baptist Convention”
  • The formal, complete name of the organization. This term should be used sparingly, replaced by “SCBaptist”
    • Ex: The Convention appeals to the churches to contribute through the Cooperative Program.
  • To minimize confusion, “South Carolina Baptist Convention” should be used sparingly, and only be used when referencing the annual meeting.
• “SCBC”
  • This abbreviation should no longer be used.
    • “SCBaptist” or “SCBaptists” should be used instead.

Below is the proper capitalization, spelling, and use of names for our ministries, events, teams, and ministry partners.

• Advance
• Advance Rally
• African American Engagement
• Anderson University
• BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry)
• BCMGO
• Baptist Foundation of South Carolina
• Baptist Courier
• BlessSC Initiatives
• Book of Reports
• Camp McCall
• Catalysts
• Charleston Southern University
• Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministry
• Convention Annual
• cohort
  
  • A small group of leaders who meet together regularly to offer encouragement and support to advance the Great Commission. Less than 8 people is ideal. Regular means more than once a quarter.
• CONVERGE
• Creative Team
  
  • “SCBaptistCRTV” is used only for internal applications, not for public use.
• DiscipleSC
• Disaster Relief
• FINISH Initiative 
• Heart4Schools
• Hope For Churches
• IMPACT
• KidSalt
• Ministry Priorities
• Ministry Plan
• Neighboring
• NextStep
• North Greenville University
• ONE Night
• Palmetto Collective
  
  • Do not abbreviate as “PC” unless in private, sensitive situations or audiences. 
• “S-Teams”
  
  • Send Team, Serve Team, Share Team, Shepherd Team, Start Team, Strong Team
• SCGO
• SeraphSong
• Singing Churchmen
• South Carolina Baptist Ministry of Aging
  
  • The organization prefers the use of “SCBMA”
• South Carolina Baptist Ministry Assistants Association
  
  • The association prefers the use of “SCBMAA”
• Start Network 
• Team Leader(s)
• SummerSalt
• South Carolina Woman’s Missionary Union
• YM Conclave

• In general, “the annual meeting” is only capitalized when using the full title. 
  • Ex: “We hope you’ll join us for the 2023 Annual Meeting.”
  • Ex: “The annual meeting will be on November 14th and 15th this year.“
• “South Carolina Baptist Convention” should be mentioned in the first usage relating to the Annual Meeting, also known as the “Convention”. 
• If using “Convention” alone in a sentence about the South Carolina Baptist Convention, it should be capitalized. 
• The events that occur around the annual meeting are called “Pre-Convention Collaboratives“
  • The terms “auxiliary”, “auxiliary events”, “ancillary” or “ancillary events” are no longer to be used.

Below is the proper capitalization, spelling, and use of names Convention leadership

• Executive Director-Treasurer
  
  • Use “Executive Director-Treasurer” first, then use “ED-T” in subsequent references. 
  • Always a hyphen between “D” and “T” or “Director” and “Treasurer“

• Associate Executive Director-Treasurer
  
  • Use “Associate Executive Director-Treasurer” first, then use “AED-T” in subsequent references. 
  • Always a hyphen between “D” and “T” or “Director” and “Treasurer“
• Ministry Priorities
  
  • Team Leaders should not be written in all caps.
    
    • Ex: “Send Team Leader” , Incorrect “SEND Team Leader”
  • Ministry Priorities should not use all capital letters for their team.
    
    • Ex: Correct – “Share Team”, Incorrect – “SHARE Team”
  • Ministry Priorities should use the Convention “S” words (Send, Share, Strong, Start, Serve, Shepherd) as little as possible for purposes outside of SCBaptist’s staff use. These words are great for internal use and categorization but can confuse external audiences. Standard language should be utilized instead for external audiences.
    
    • Ex: “Evangelism” vs. “Share“, “Missions” vs. “Send“, “Church Planting” vs. “Start“

Bible Version
SCBaptist has designated the CSB as their preferred Biblical translation. If citing another version, include the version in the Scripture reference. Otherwise, CSB will be assumed. See Proper Usage of Biblical and Theological Terms for more details.

• Ex: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

Books of the Bible
Spell out the books of the Bible. Do not abbreviate them. 

Proper Capitalization
Below is the proper capitalization for major religious terms SCBaptist uses:

• almighty God
• Alpha and Omega
• antichrist (general spirit)
• Antichrist (the person)
• apostle Paul, the
• apostles, the
• baptism
• beatitude, a
• Beatitudes, the
• Beloved Apostle, the
• Bible
• biblical
• body of Christ
• Book, the (Bible)
• book of Genesis
• Book of Truth
• Bridegroom, the
• bride of Christ (the church)
• Christlike
• Church, the (universal)
• church, the (local)
• church (building)
• church (service)
• Communion (Lord’s Supper)
• crucifixion
• demon
• a devil
• Devil, the (Satan)
• divine
• earth (dirt, ground, in reference to all below the sky)
• Earth (the planet)
• Enemy, the (Satan)
• the enemy (satanic forces)
• eternal life
• eternity
• Evil One (Satan)
• the faith (Christianity)
• false prophet(s)
• God Almighty (as opposed to almighty God)
• godliness
• godly
• God’s word (statement/promise)
• God’s Word (the Bible)
• Good News, the
• Gospel, the
• Gospel of Matthew
• Gospels, the (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
• Great Commission, the
• Great Physician, the
• hallelujah
• Heaven (abode of the redeemed)
• heaven(s) (in reference to the space above the ground, the skies)
• Heavenly Father
• Hell
• Kingdom, the
• Kingdom of God
• Kingdom of Heaven
• Last Supper, the
• law (as opposed to grace)
• Law, the (Pentateuch)
• living Word, the (Bible)
• Lord, the
• lordship of Christ
• Lord’s Prayer, the
• Lord’s Supper, the
• Messiah, the (Christ)
• nativity, the
• new heaven and new earth
• non-Christian
• original sin
• Paul’s epistles
• Promised Land (Canaan or heaven)
• Prophets, the (books of OT)
• prophets, the (people)
• psalm, a
• Psalm 119
• psalmist, the
• Psalms, the (OT book)
• resurrection, the
• Satan
• scriptural
• Scripture(s) (Bible; n. and adj.)
• second coming, the
• Sermon on the Mount
• Son of God
• Spirit, the (Holy Spirit)
• Sunday School
• Sunday School teacher
• unchristian
• ungodly
• Vacation Bible School
• voice of God
• Way, the (Christ)
• way, the truth, and the life
• Word, the (Bible or Christ)
• word of God (his statement or promise)
• Word of God (the Bible)
• Word of Truth, the

Academic Titles
In general, spell out academic titles. Only use abbreviations following a full name. Academic titles are also not capitalized but abbreviations are. Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, etc.

Ex: Dr. Tim Franklin, who has a doctorate in psychology.
Ex: Dr. Selah Rose, Ph.D.
Ex: Philip Jones holds a master’s of divinity and a bachelor’s of theology 

Abbreviations
Any abbreviation should be spelled out in the first use. After that, it is acceptable to abbreviate it.

• Ex: “We are asking that your churches pray for Unreached People Groups (UPGs) across the world. One UPG is located in East Asia…”
• Ex: “The South Carolina Baptist Convention hosts the IMPACT conference each year. SCBaptist’s purpose in the event is to…“

Contractions
Generally, avoid contractions. They can be used in more informal writing, though. It is typically a judgment call based on the audience.

Book Titles
Use quotations around the title of a book.

• Ex: In “Desiring God,” John Piper…
• Ex: This study will focus on content from “Future Grace” by John Piper. 

Days
Capitalize the names of months in all uses. The full name of the day is preferred, but if abbreviations are needed for a specific application, they should be used as Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., and Sun. respectively. 

• Ex: “Monday, January 2016 was a cold month.“
• Ex: “Mon., Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month.“

Months
Capitalize the names of days in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Use numerals for the day of the month.

• Ex: “January 2016 was a cold month.”
• Ex: “Jan. 2 was the coldest day of the month.“
• Ex: Ex: “7/7/2015“

Times
Use lowercase a.m. and p.m., with periods. Always use figures, with a space between the time and the a.m. or p.m. If the time is an exact hour, there is no need to add “:00”

• Ex: The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will end at 4 p.m.”

Numerals
Spell out numbers one through nine. Use figures for 10 and higher.

• Ex: There were three students.
• Ex: There were 14 ministers present.

Quotations
Put quotes inside of quotation marks. Any ending punctuation should also fall inside of the quotation marks.

• Ex: Senator Jones said, “I will work with both parties to reach an agreement.”
• Ex: As the author spoke, he called on the audience to “recall a time when they felt truly happy.” 

Sentence Spacing
It used to be commonplace to put two spaces after a sentence. This relates back to the typewriter and to the spacing of fonts. It is now preferred to put only one space between sentences as the computer automatically spaces for you.

• Correct –  “The dog ran. The cat jumped.“
• Incorrect – “The dog ran. The cat jumped.“

See the Associated Press FAQ page for other questions.

People-First Language 
SCBaptists see the potential of every life, and our written content should characterize that by humanizing people. Each South Carolinian is made in the image of God. To exemplify that, we choose to first recognize the humanity in a person by using descriptions rather than labels. 

• “a person with a drug addiction” instead of “addict” 
• “a person with alcoholism” instead of “alcoholic” 
• “children in foster care” instead of “foster children” 

Disability 
Refer to a disability only when it’s relevant to the content. When possible, it is preferred to ask an individual how they would like to be described rather than assuming.  

• Preferred Language
  • Blind or low vision 
  • Condition 
  • Deaf/Deaf Person 
  • Down syndrome 
  • Hard of hearing 
  • Neurotypical or neurodiverse 
  • Special Needs community 
  • “Needs aid in/with ___”
• Language to Avoid
  • Deformed/deformity 
  • Afflicted with/stricken with/suffers from (avoid descriptions that connote pity) 
  • Cripple 
  • Disorder 
  • Handicap or handicapped (when describing a person) 
  • Hearing impaired or impairment 
  • High-functioning or low-functioning 
  • SPED (as a shorthand for special education) 
  • Low-functioning or High-functioning (about how “normal” capabilities may be by societal standards) 
  • Abnormal  

Gender and Sexuality 
Reference gender and sexuality only when it’s necessary to the content. Ultimately, language should be respectful and people-first. 

• Preferred Language
  • a person experiencing gender dysphoria 
  • a person struggling with same-sex attraction 
  • LGBT or LGBTQ (when referring to the community at large, not an individual) 
• Language to Avoid
  • homosexual person 
  • gay or lesbian person

Race and Ethnicity 

Refer to race and ethnicity only when it’s relevant and important to the content. It is often an unnecessarily added identifier. 

• Preferred Language
  • African American or Black 
  • Asian American 
  • Caucasian, White, or Anglo 
  • Hispanic 
  • Latino or Latina 
  • Multi-ethnic or Multiracial 
  • Native American 
  • People of color (when describing people of races other than white in the United States) 
• Language to Avoid
  • Brown 
  • Indian (when referring to Native Americans) 
  • Spanish (unless referring to those native to/from Spain) 
  • Ghetto or ghettos 
  • Orient or oriental 
  • POC 

**If you don’t know or are unsure, it’s always better to ask than assume!

NOTE: These best practices are derived from content written by the Editorial Specialist and Creative Director, with feedback and direction from the Executive Director-Treasurer