Our Story

Southside Baptist Church was founded on July 8, 1988. The first service was held in the rented I.O.O.F. Lodge building on West Loop 287 with an attendance of 22 people.  As we grew, so did the need for more space. The decision was made that we would move to a larger facility. In September of 1988 the move was made to an empty warehouse on Hwy. 94, just outside Loop 287. Southside members and others volunteered their time and talents to remodel the inside structure to make it as church-like as possible. 

Three months later, due to tremendous growth, a third move was necessary. Once again God blessed His people and we relocated to the disbanded Bethel Nazarene Church building. The first service was held there on December 4, 1988 with 85 people attending that day. 

In the spring of 1989, 6.7 acres of land at 1615 Tulane Drive was purchased. Plans for the construction of a new 10,500 square foot facility with a cost of $275,000 were put into action. What a giant step of faith for a growing church! With God’s faithfulness and the faithfulness of the people of Southside, the vision became reality. In August of 1990, God’s people saw the completion of the sanctuary and the fellowship hall we now have. The first Sunday in the new auditorium 130 people attended. 

 In 1996, God once again provided when the  land next to our church was put on the selling block, and the members of Southside, united in vision for growth, gave sacrificially and purchased the property for $80,000 without adding to the existing debt. In the fall of 1997, more space was added to the back of the existing building to accommodate the continued growth, again without adding to the current debt. Each time, God has prompted His people to give to the need in order to provide adequate space for the education of the people of Southside. 

In 2001, we built our current education building, adding a total of 14,400 square feet of office and education space to the church plant. Initially only the first floor was completed. A few years later in 2005, the second floor was finished to give the church adequate space for educating people in the Word of God.
During this time, we also adopted the Sambla people group of Burkina Faso in Africa and continue to work with them today.

 Southside called Pastor Randy Brown as Senior Pastor in December of 2015. In May of 2017, we united with Templo Bautista es Jesus el Senor and called Ricardo Coss as Spanish Ministry Pastor. God has proven faithful to his people since Southside was established in 1988, and we trust Him to continue the work He has started here until its completion.