Our History

Founding Pastor, Eddie Cox, was approached with the idea of planting a contemporary, innovative church in the Powdersville area of Anderson County. Eddie immediately answered God’s call and began forming a core group of people that would lead the church. During this season of visioning, Eddie challenged the core to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

The first Sunday morning service was held on Easter Sunday, March 30, 1997 at Powdersville Middle School. One hundred and seven people attended. For the next year the congregation grew at a steady rate as people accepted Christ, marriages were put back together and lives were changed.

The church purchased 58 acres of land at 315 Roe Road. In October of 2002, the church broke ground for construction on a new 1500 seat facility at the Roe Road location.

In January 2004, Marathon purchased an additional 26 acres of land that backed up the existing 58 acres. On Sunday, February 8, 2004, the first services were held at the new location. Over 5,000 people came out to worship.

After seeking God’s will, Reggie and Ginger Smith, along with a core group of 25 members of Marathon, launched the Marathon Greenville campus on Rutherford Rd. With the support of the Powdersville campus, a leased warehouse was transformed into the new church. The first service was held on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006.

In October 2008, a new Student Facility, “The Garage”, was opened. The Garage consists of a 350 seat worship center along with numerous classrooms and conference rooms. The recreation area is equipped with a snack bar, game tables, as well as a basketball and volleyball court.

After 4 years of consecutive growth, our Greenville Campus was running low on space. An opportunity to purchase an existing building and land became available and Marathon Greenville moved into its new location on Reid School Road on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010. By 2012 our daughter church was fully self-sufficient and rebranded under the name Velocity Church.

On October 2, 2011, Marathon Pickens was launched. A core group of about 50 people, along with Lead Pastor Bryan Holder and his family, began meeting in Pickens Middle School.

Marathon Pickens purchased the old East Pickens Baptist Church located near the mill in downtown. Services were held in the Fellowship Building while renovations began on the old sanctuary. During this time, the church added additional worship services to accommodate the growth. Renovations were completed in the Summer of 2014. By the spring of 2015, Marathon's Pickens Campus was fully self-sufficient. This daughter church was rebranded as The Mill Church.