Mission
Our mission at Southside Baptist Church is:
​
-
To magnify Christ through worship and The Word. It’s our great desire to be the church that God wants us to be, to learn to hear His voice and obey His commands, and to always put Him FIRST in everything that we do.
-
To make Christ known to our neighbors and those with whom we come in contact with on a daily basis.
-
To disciple believers so that they can grow in maturity in Christ.
-
To become a mature believer, and then be open to ministry wherever God opens the door.
Vision
It is our vision to have a church where people feel truly welcomed who are hurting, hopeless, and helpless. We want to be a church where they can find love and acceptance no matter what their situation in life, and where they can be discipled and experience the transforming power of God working in their lives.
​
We truly want people to become “seekers” of the true God and learn to become fully devoted followers of Christ. This way they can learn discernment between good and bad and not be deceived by Satan.
​
It is our vision to gather as the body of Christ and glorify God each week in meaningful worship. We want people to truly experience the touch of God each day in their everyday lives.
​
It is our vision for people to grow immensely in Christ through having a daily quiet time with God, tithing their money, time and self on a weekly basis, having a strong prayer life, and take Bible Studies, small groups, seminars and retreats that could help them in their growth. We also want to provide good resources and instruction in order to equip believers with Biblical Truth and sound doctrine.
​
It is our vision that people will seek and discover their spiritual gifts so that they can use them to help others and be used by God in whatever way He chooses to impact our church, community and world around us.
​
It is our vision that the church will always provide the best leaders and workers who have the vision to lead our children and youth to love Jesus and seek a personal relationship with Him. We also want them to grow spiritually, discover their spiritual gifts at an early age, learn how to truly worship God intensely, and become equipped to effectively live out their mission in the world around them. It is our desire that our children and youth would have such a personal relationship with God that it would affect the people who are around them for the good. We want them to be strong enough to withstand all the fiery darts that Satan tries to throw at them to bring them down.
​
It is our vision to have spacious, functional buildings to support our purposes and programs. It is also our desire that we could get to the point of having a seven day a week ministry here with different people walking in their own respective gifts and letting God use them to help transform other lives around them. We want to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in every way so that we can carry on programs and do things the way that He wants us to do them.
​
It is our vision to have a healthy, balanced church in every aspect. We want to be able to have a good influence in our city and surrounding county. We also want to be able to stand strongly against evil and stand just as strong for good. We want to truly be united as one in Christ in every way. That’s the only way that we can make a huge impact in our surrounding town and county.
What We Believe...
We believe that the Bible is the true Word of God, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the deity of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth, the blood atonement, the bodily resurrection, and the personal, visible, bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth.
THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
THE BIBLE
We believe that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. It is the supreme and final authority in faith and practice.
II Peter 1: 20, 21 / II Timothy 3: 16, 17
​
THE TRINITY
We believe in one true and living God revealed in the Scriptures as eternally existent in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28: 19,20/Mark 12:29/John 14:26/II Corinthians 13:14/I John 5:7
​
JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary; that He was true God and true man; that He lived a sinless life upon this earth; that He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind; that He rose bodily from the grave on the third day; that He ascended bodily into Heaven where He continues His ministry at the right hand of God as our Advocate and High Priest; and that He is personally, visibly and imminently returning to this earth to set up His Kingdom.
Matthew 1: 18-25 / John 1: 1,14 / I John 5: 20 / Hebrews 4: 15 / I Corinthians 15: 3,4 / II Corinthians 5: 21 / I Peter 2: 24 / Luke 24: 36 – 48 / Acts 1: 9 – 11 / I John 2: 1-2 / Ephesians 1:20 / Hebrews 4: 14 – 16 / Matthew 25: 31-32 / Revelation 20: 6
​
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Scriptures assign to the Holy Spirit all the attributes of God; that this present era of the church is, in a special way, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit; and that His ministry in the world includes reproving, regeneration, indwelling, guiding and empowering men.
Acts 5: 3-4 / John 16: 7-11 / John 3: 3-5 / I Corinthians 6: 19 / Romans 8:14 / Acts 1:8
​
MAN
We believe that man was created by the direct act of God; that he was made in the image of God; that in his original state he was innocent; that by exercise of his own free will he disobeyed God and, thereby, fell into a state of sin and condemnation; and that his descendants, inheriting a fallen, sinful nature, are under the condemnation of God at the age of accountability, and are in need of a new birth.
Genesis 1: 26-27 / Genesis 2: 16-17 / Genesis 3 / Romans 5: 12-19/ Ephesians 2: 1-3 / John 3: 3
​
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace; that it is received by: repentance, the renouncing and forsaking of one’s sins; and faith, the personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, trusting in His atoning sacrifice at the cross; and that there is no other means of being saved.
Luke 13: 3 / Isaiah 55: 7 / Ephesians 2: 8-9 / John 3: 16 / John 14: 6 / John 1: 12-13 / Acts 4: 12 / John 5: 46-47
ELECTION
We believe that God desires to let all people everywhere to be saved; but since man has the freedom to choose, God saves only those who repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, permitting him to yield to the influence of the truth and the Spirit and live, or to resist them and perish; and that God desires the salvation of all men everywhere.
Romans 8: 29-30 / I Peter 1: 2 / I Timothy 2: 3-4 / Titus 2: 11 / II Peter 3: 9 / Revelation 22: 17
​
SANCTIFICATION
We believe that every believer is sanctified in Christ at conversion; that this sanctification continues during the Christian life as the believer grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus; and that it is completed when the believer stands in the presence of Christ, either at death or at the rapture.
I Corinthians 1: 30 / Hebrews 10: 10 / II Peter 3: 18 / Philippians 3: 12-15 / I Corinthians 13: 10 / Hebrews 12: 23 / I John 3: 2
​
SECURITY
We believe that God has given to the believer Scriptural grounds for knowing positively that he is saved; that God has promised and provided to keep His children even in times of failure, when they fall out of fellowship with Him; that God has assured His followers that as believers they are secure in Christ and shall never perish; but that God has, also, clearly warned the Christian against the possibility of making ship-wreck of his personal faith in Christ, and thereby, becoming an apostate.
I John / John 10: 28-29 / Romans 8: 35-39 / Philippians 1: 6 / I Timothy 1: 18-19 / John 15: 1-7 / Colossians 1: 21-23 / Hebrews 3: 14 / Hebrews 6: 1-6 / II Peter 2: 20-21
​
BAPTISM
We believe that God has given His Church the ordinances of Baptism, which is to be administered only to believers, by immersion and in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the Lord’s Supper, which is to be open to all born-again believers present.
Matthew 28: 19-20 / Romans 6: 3-4 / I Corinthians 11: 23-26 / John 13: 1-17
​
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
We believe that the Christian is to live a righteous, pure and holy life; that he is called to be a witness for Christ; that he is to be faithful in attending his church; and that he is to support his church by his tithes and offerings.
Romans 12: 1-2 / II Corinthians 6: 14-18 / II Corinthians 5: 17-20 / Acts 1: 8 / Hebrews 10: 25 / Malachi 3: 10 / Matthew 23: 23 / I Corinthians 16: 1-2 / Titus 2: 11-12
​
JUDGMENT
We believe that all men will stand before God in judgment – the righteous before the Judgment Seat of Christ, when Jesus returns for His Bride, the Church, just prior to the period of tribulation and the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth; and the unrighteous before the Great White Throne Judgment at the close of the Millennial Kingdom; and that the wicked will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Hebrews 9: 27 / John 5: 29 / I Thessalonians 4: 13-18 / II Corinthians 5: 10 / Revelation 20: 1-15 / Matthew 25: 46
​
​
​
The question is... What do you believe in?
​
​
Church
History
Established March 1949​
​
The church was first established as a Mission Sunday School sponsored by Ariton Baptist Church. At the time there was not a church on the south side of Ozark, and the Director of Missions for Dale Association, Bro. McKnight, felt that a church would prosper on that side of town.
​
The first meeting of the Sunday School was in March of 1949, at the home of Mr. Julian Godwin. There were 58 people who were present for the first meeting. During the next few months, there were 25 more people that were baptized into the new mission under Ariton Baptist Church.
​
On July 31, 1949, a constitutional service was held, where statements were given concerning why it was necessary that a church should be established on the south side of Ozark. After a discussion, the council approved a motion for perfecting the organization of a new Baptist Church.
​
A motion was made and adopted to accept the letters of 37 people who were considered to be the charter members of Southside Baptist Church. There were also officers elected to carry on the business of the church.
​
When the church was first started, services were only held on the 2nd Sunday afternoon and night of each month. The first official service after the Constitutional Service, was held on August 14, 1949.
​
Since the people had been meeting in houses since the church’s conception, a building committee was formed to start making plans for a real church building to meet in.
​
The very first building was made of blocks, and was 38 x 58 feet, with a total land area of 2.6 acres. It was dedicated on July 30, 1950. For several years after this, the church just had services on a part-time basis. Finally they voted to begin having full-time services on October 2, 1960. They hired a pastor to preach, and the church began to grow.
​
On January 1, 1961, the church approved the addition of a 10 foot wide addition to the church across the back of the existing structure. The addition would contain two bathrooms, two dressing rooms, and a baptismal pool in the center. The cost for this was $2,385.15.
​
Soon after the addition was complete, the church held a revival. Those who came for salvation were the first to be baptized in the new inside baptistry. It was first used on July 3, 1961.
​
The church continued to grow over the years and new Sunday School classes were added. On March 11, 1962, the church had 91 members present out of an enrollment of 105. After the church became full-time, it started to grow steadily. On August 22, 1965, the first service was held in a new auditorium that had been built. This auditorium seated about 250. The church also purchased more land on the side of and behind the existing buildings. The old auditorium was divided into Sunday School rooms and a fellowship hall was constructed onto the end of the old building. The church also purchased a pastorium during this time. Also in the early seventies, the church purchased a manual typewriter and manual mimeograph machine so that a church bulletin could be printed.
​
In 1975, the church had grown to the point that a part-time secretary was hired, and also a part-time Minister of Music and Youth. The secretary was hired in June, and the Minister of Music and Youth in November. A church newsletter was also mailed twice a month to the members of the church.
​
Over the years, the church has experienced much growth. A third auditorium was built in the middle 1980’s which would seat between 500 and 600 people. There has also been several more Sunday School rooms and a Family Life Center built to handle the growth.
​
Southside has come a long way from the little 38 x 58 foot building that was first built on the property.
​
​
​
List of Pastors
​
-
Rev. W. H. Waters
-
Rev. Orr
-
Rev. Paul Cutchens
-
Rev. W. H. Waters
-
Rev. Arthur Emfinger
-
Rev. Wallace Green
-
Rev. Earl Brogden
-
Rev. Segars (Interim)
-
Rev. William Snellgrove
-
Dr. E. A. McGriff
-
Rev. Ronald L. Finch
-
Rev. John Payne (Interim)
-
Rev. W. L. Sheffield
-
Rev. Andy Baril (Interim)
-
Rev. Roger Stone
-
Rev. Randy Taylor
-
Rev. Nathan Sims (Interim)
-
Rev Danny Bynum