Our Story

Seven Lakes Baptist Church was started by Ken Hankins and a close-knit core group in 1988. It all began while Ken was working as Pastor of Big Oak Church and Athletic Director for their Christian School, just beyond Eagle Springs, NC. At the time he was living in the community of Seven Lakes North.  Every day, as he commuted to Big Oak Church, God began planting seeds in Ken’s heart about starting a church in his home community. 

It wasn’t long before Pastor Hankins and his wife Mary began to meet on a weekly basis with Mike and Gay Martin along with several other key families to pray in the basement of Gay’s parents, Roy and Virginia Williams.

On September 11, 1988, Seven Lakes Baptist Church had its first official service, held in the cafeteria of West End Elementary School.  Nearly one hundred people showed up for that first service.  Although most were well wishers and friends, Seven Lakes Baptist Church was under way.

Though our beginnings were small, God blessed us. In 2001 we opened our permanent sanctuary and four short years later we built the Hankins Family Life Center (HFLC). The church has continued to grow, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us next!

Want to hear more about what has done at SLBC? For our 30th anniversary we sat down with Mary Hankins (founding pastor Hankins's wife) and some other founding members to hear their stories and memories of those early years.