Wayne Smith with his wife Rhonda and his oldest daughter Abigail and youngest, Joye The congregation of Brookland United Methodist Church located in West Columbia is welcoming back a native son as its minister.

Wayne Smith grew up in West Columbia, and he and his wife, Rhonda, graduated from Brookland–Cayce High School. In July, the Smiths and their two daughters, Abigail, 7, and Joye,10, returned to their hometown where he will be preaching not far from Mt. Hebron United Methodist, the church in which he grew up. Rhonda, who has been named Teacher of the Year in two different school districts, will be teaching eighth grade at Pine Ridge Middle School.

“We wanted to come home to be near our families,” Smith said. “We grew up here and being close to our lifelong friends as well as our families has a special meaning.”

“Typically in the Methodist churches, ministers change every five to seven years, which can be pretty hard on kids,” Smith said.

“Our girls like being back home, and once they get involved in school and all the activities that go with that, I think they will be fine.”

It was a hectic move for the family, who relocated from Bluffton, SC. As the new minister and his family were unloading the moving truck, there was a flurry of illnesses and several funerals in his first week on the job. But he took it all in stride and said that was just part of the master plan.

“When God has a plan for us, there is nothing humans can do to alter that,” he said. “I was needed, and I was glad to be able to serve.”

And the parishioners are happy to have the new family home as well. One woman remembers the minister as a young boy.

“He grew up with my son, Bryan Stone, and would spend the night with us,” said Gail Poppell, a Brookland member. “Back then we called him ‘Pumpkin.’ He was such a cute kid with such good manners. He’s still cute today, but now he’s got a message that’s just so refreshing to listen to.”

Smith’s messages are usually peppered with humor as well as a conviction to live a life that reflects the love of God and the life of Christ. While his examples let his listeners laugh, they stick with them long after the sermon is finished, and the week is in full swing.

One parishioner in particular liked Smith’s most recent example of how Christians can get sidetracked from following God’s ways.

“One Sunday he told a story about a fox hunt,” the woman said. “He said that it was a hunt like any other hunt with the horses and the dogs and the horns and the costumes, and it should have gone off without a hitch. But on this particular hunt, one of the new members of the hunt club brought a female dog, unbeknownst to the other hunters. All the other hunters used male dogs, you see. So the horns sounded, the hunt began, the fox was released and off they went. It didn’t take long for the hunters to realize this hunt wasn’t going as it normally did so when they saw a farmer on the side of the road they asked him if he had seen a fox and a bunch of dogs.

“Yep,” the farmer replied laughing. “They came by here and that fox was in fifth place.”

While the congregation was laughing, Smith then reminded them that sometimes in life, one little change can deflect a person from living a good and Godly life.

“We all get distracted by various situations,” he said. “But we have to have the faith to get back on track.”

Gene and Vanessa Key are two long time Brookland members and very active in the church. They believe that it’s that homespun humor and the provocative messages that seem to be drawing lapsed members back into the fold.

“It’s good to have someone with a local background return to lead us with his passion, spirituality, and wit,” Gene Key said.

“He’s definitely going to be an asset to the church,” Vanessa Key agreed.

Smith said that the shared vision is to find God’s mission for the church together with the congregation and then to lead the people on the journey to accomplish that mission.

“Every church wants growth, and we’d all like to see that at Brookland,” he said. “But it will take time to build a relationship with the people and for them to build one with us. Trust doesn’t happen over night. There’s no quick fix. Brookland has many wonderful outreach programs for the community, but I think God has an overall plan for us. We just need to listen, find it, and follow it.”

The church is located at 514 Meeting Street and Sunday services at Brookland are 10:30 a.m. and Sunday school is at 9:30. For information call (803) 791-1450.