Skidaway Island UMC History
Approximately eight acres of land were purchased on July 15th, 1979 for the potential church. On September 11th, 1983, 35 people attended the first service in Unit 44 at The Settlement. The church was officially chartered on February 26th, 1984. On November 11th, 1984, a trailer was furnished by the Board of Missions and 38 people attended the first service in the trailer. Dr. Ralph Bailey, founding pastor, preached at Skidaway for five years. Groundbreaking occurred on November 15th, 1987. In June of 1988, Rev. Jim Giddens was appointed as the pastor, and on July 17th, 1988, 128 people attended the first service in the new chapel. Groundbreaking for Bailey Hall, the church office, and Sunday school rooms happened on February 28th, 1992. Membership at this time was 274. The memorial Garden was consecrated on September 19th, 1993. On January 10th, 1999, groundbreaking took place for the sanctuary and additions to the education building. Additional classrooms, office space, choir room, and storage area were completed in November 1999. The dedication of the sanctuary was held on April 9th, 2000. As of March 2017, the membership stands at 1424.
Groundbreaking for Sanctuary
Timeline of Events
1979 Our current 7.9 acres of land was purchased on Skidaway Island.
1983 An organizational meeting with those interested in forming a
new church was held with Dr. Ralph Bailey, who was to be the
first pastor of the church.
1984 In February, 35 charter members joined the newly established
congregation and in November, the first worship service was
held in a modular chapel.
1987 Ground was broken for the construction of a new 140 seat chapel.
1988 Rev. Jim Giddens was appointed to be the first full time pastor.
1993 Construction was completed on the current Fellowship Hall
and the Memorial Garden.
1995 Sunday attendance outgrew the Chapel so Bailey Hall was
renovated to allow for worship.
1999 Membership reached 750 and ground was broken for the
current Sanctuary and Education building.
2007 Membership continued to increase, a prayer labyrinth was
constructed and a church in India, “Skidaway East,” was developed.
2009 A fire damaged Bailey Hall and the Education wing.
2018 SIUMC's 35th year. Rev. Jim Giddens celebrated 30 years of ministry at
SIUMC and his retirement. Rev. Hale Bishop joined SIUMC as
Senior Pastor.
Construction of Bailey Hall