Who We Are
Who We Are
Years ago when most of the land North East of Jasper was still farm land, a few ladies in the community of Bestville which was along Town Creek started holding Sunday School for the children in their neighborhood.
Their little Sunday School was held in different homes until their numbers grew too large. Mr. Omie Hicks offered an empty house he owned for them to use for their Sunday School. This house was located near where Kilgore-Green Funeral Home is today. They continued to grow in numbers including folks of all ages until walls in the house had to be knocked out to accommodate those in attendance.
This group had been joined with the congregation from the Poley Baptist Church. They leased what they called a Tabernacle which was a tent with canvas sides. The floor was sawdust and they had crude benches to sit on. A pot-bellied stove was in the center for heat during the winter months. The first Sunday in September of 1928 they met under their new name, Northside Baptist Church.
The newly constituted church purchased a small plot of land to be paid for at a rate of $10.00 a month. Soon they began building a little one room wooden church building. In 1932 during their annual Protracted meeting the floor of their church gave away from the weight of so many people. This did not stop the congregation or the revival meeting. During the baptismal service held at Blackwater Creek in Manchester sixty-three converts were baptized.
Since there were more members the little wooden church building had served its purpose and they dismantled it to build again. Once again they resorted to holding church in a tent for a short time. Over the next thirty years additional property was purchase to meet the needs for growth.
A bus ministry was begun in 1948. The church rented a bus for $8.00 per Sunday for the purpose of transporting people to and from church.
Work continued through the years and by 1961 the people realized that the church needed more land and physical facilities. A plot of five acres of land on the Highway 78 By Pass was purchased for $20,000.00. The first service in the new church was January 5, 1964.
Additional educational space was added to the church in 1983. It was not too long before the building-planning committee asked the church to proceed with plans for building a new sanctuary. The church made a loan for $960,000.00 to fund the building which included an 850 seating capacity sanctuary, new organ and piano, a church office suite, and a new library. The dedication service was held on January 11, 1987.
Northside Baptist Church has had a remarkable ministry and continues to draw men, women, and children to Jesus, both at home and abroad. Looking back we can see that Jesus was always there making all things work for the good to them that love Him.
