Church History

If you come to Southside today you will find a beautiful sanctuary that was built to seat approximately four hundred people and it is the people that make Southside such a remarkable place of worship. The church facility itself is quite remarkable, especially for a mostly rural area. However, when you step through the doors and experience the love of God as it is expressed through the people, you realize that Southside, while modern in many ways, still retains the "old fashioned" charm that has drawn so many people to Christ through its ministry over the years.

Southside is a forward moving church that draws strength and direction from a past that, though filled with ups and downs, is as solid as the bedrock upon which the building stands.

The church has a remarkable history that dates back to 1925 when fourteen people, mainly mill workers, joined together in prayer and dedicated themselves to God's service and the Lord began to bless their efforts. They soon became the founding members of Southside Baptist Church and acquired at least part of the property upon which the church now stands.

Not long after chartering the church a small one room plank-board building was erected which was heated with a pot-bellied stove. An outdoor Baptismal Pool was built and many people in the surrounding community were baptized there until and indoor Baptistery was built in the 1950's.

By 1930 Southside had grown to over one hundred and Sunday School rooms had been added to the building. In the fifties, God continued to bless the work and the church was bricked and an Educational Building was built along with a fellowship building which is still referred to as the "Hut" by many of the members.

During the sixties the church grew to over four hundred members and a new sanctuary was completed and dedicated to God's work. Sadly, this sanctuary was destroyed by fire due to a lightning strike. Undaunted, the church rebuilt and dedicated the new sanctuary in the early seventies which still stands today. The entire facility has recently been completely renovated and stands ready for God's use for years to come.

If you were to look only at the progress of the church facilities through the years you would surely see God's hand at work. But while this was taking place; the church also ordained men into the ministry, took a prominent role in the South Fork Baptist Association, sent thousands of dollars to support missions around the world through the Southern Baptist Convention, helped begin a new work for the Lord which is now Oak Grove Baptist Church, and is currently assisting Resurrection Baptist Church, a Hispanic congregation, which meets in the old sanctuary of the church. These are only a few among the many opportunities of service which God has brought our way.

Southside now moves into the future with a younger generation that stands ready to continue the work that the Lord placed in the hearts of fourteen godly men and women in 1925 and has been faithfully carried out by so many through the years. Reaching people in the twenty-first century is filled with new challenges and new opportunities and the church is prepared to meet those as the Lord continues to send young laborers into the field of service in this community and beyond.

We don't look forward, and we don't look back, we look to the Lord as He provides the opportunities and the resources needed to accomplish His will in our lives. We invite you to come and visit Southside and experience the new move of God that is taking place here. A fresh wind is blowing through the congregation that can only be attributed to the presence of the Lord.

What Do We Believe?

We believe that the Bible is the inspired and error-free Word of God, our guide for faith and life. II Timothy 3:16-17

We believe that Jesus is God the Son and took on Himself a human body when He was born of the Virgin Mary. John 1:1-14

He died on the cross in our place so that our sins against God might be forgiven if we place our trust in Him alone for our forgiveness. The result of trusting Jesus as our life’s leader is eternal spiritual life with God. John 3:16

This gift of eternal life cannot be earned or deserved in any way. It is given to us by God’s grace through faith in His Son. Ephesians 2:8-9