(Columbia, SC) – A local church pastor and business owner continues to invest in North Columbia and work to change lives in the community. On Saturday, October 2, 2022, Bishop Dr. David E. Tompkins, Sr. and his congregation at the Living Word of Deliverance Temple Worship Center officially moved to 1323 Winyah Drive just off Interstate 20 and Monticello Road during their “New Location and Dedication Service.”
Living Word of Deliverance Temple Worship Center (Living Word) was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina, in April of 1999. In 2012, Bishop Tompkins relocated to Columbia, South Carolina, and began working alongside his brother, the late Willie A. Tompkins, at Bostick-Tompkins’ Funeral Home. As the manager, Tompkins began overseeing the daily operations in their Columbia location (2930 Colonial Drive) and later extended the business into Sumter (353 Manning Avenue). When he moved back to Columbia in 2012, Bishop Tompkins planted his ministry in the heart of downtown Columbia at 1823 Gregg Street. Still, in 2018, just six years after relocating to the Midlands, Living Word outgrew its Gregg Street home, and the church moved to a larger facility at 1722-F Broad River Road.
Bishop Tompkins states, “At Living Word, we acknowledge that if we are to be His hands, we must first possess His heart. We make ourselves available to receive everyone God allows to come our way, and we are committed to showing people the same love Jesus first showed us,” says Tompkins. Tompkins believes that this ‘open door’ policy and simplicity of acceptance appealed to the growing transient population along Broad River Road. “I believe we were able to make a positive impact where we were, but we had some growing pains in terms of parking and space. And then, God presented us with an awesome opportunity to purchase a church and surrounding property in North Columbia,” adds Tompkins. Less than six months ago, Bishop Tompkins and the Living Word congregation purchased the former Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, built in 1947. Located in the Denny Terrace neighborhood off of Monticello Road, the church is in an often overlooked area between I-20 and Columbia International University.
Elder James Tillman of Panthersford Presbyterian Church in Red Spring, North Carolina, presided over Sunday afternoon’s “New Location and Dedication Service”. The speaker for this august occasion was Rev. Dr. Anthony McCallum, Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church College Place. In a fiery sermon entitled “Do You Look Like Your Picture,” McCallum brought several hundred worshippers to their feet. But it was the Rev. Albert Thompson, an Associate Pastor at Bethlehem College Place and a 35-year employee at Bostick Tompkins Funeral Home (affectionately known to most of Columbia as “Al”), who eloquently captured the moment by declaring, “God has blessed Bishop David E. Tompkins, Sr. and Living Word so that this church can become to this community what the Bostick Tompkins Funeral Home has become to this city . . . a place of ministry, love, and service.”
