Our History
In 1913, members of the First Baptist Church, Thomasville, began work on a mission in the south side area of Thomasville. On June 19, 1913, the Amazon Mission was organized with 24 charter members. Among these charter members were Mr. & Mrs. Solomon Petree, Mr. & Mrs. Allie McKoin, Mr. & Mrs. Willie Byerly, Mr. & Mrs. Thad Byerly, Mr. & Mrs. Earlie Byerly, Adie Hill, Ed Beck, Stokes Basinger, Mr. Sebastina, Mrs. Mudy Beck, and Ada Scarlett. The first teachers of the Amazon Mission were Miss Sallie McCraken, Miss Turner, Mr. R.S. Green, and Mr. L.E. Teague.
Land for the first church building was donated by Mr. Solomon Petree and the first church was the original building of the First Baptist Church—being moved to the forks of Fisher Ferry Street and Bryan Road. Several additions were made to this building over the years.
In 1920, the Amazon Mission, now known as Southside Baptist Church, applied for membership in the Liberty Baptist Association. A committee composed of J.S. Hardaway, S.W. Wall, and J.C. Gillespie, was appointed to examine the eligibility of the church for membership. The committee unanimously recommended that the church be received into full membership. The report was adopted and thus the Southside Baptist Church became a member of the Liberty Baptist Association.
The Reverend G.A. Martin, Reverend Morton, Reverend Chambers, and Reverend C.E. Crissman were the first pastors of Southside. In 1920, Southside held a membership of 27, with an enrollment of 65 in Sunday School. Worship services were held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.
In 1929, the Reverend L.A. Connell served as pastor.
In 1930, Southside acquired an full time pastor, Reverend R.L. West.. Service was then held on every Sunday. Church membership increased to 132. Sunday School had an enrollment of 222. Mrs. R.L. West organized the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU). A parsonage was purchased this same year, valued at $3000; bringing the total value of the church property to $5000.
In 1934, a home was purchased next to the church on Fisher Ferry Street to serve as the parsonage. This same year Southside called Reverend Thomas B. Flowe to be their full time pastor.
In 1952, the old church had been outgrown, and work was started on the new church building.
In 1956, the debt for the new church building was paid. During a very special ceremony the note to the new building was burned.
In 1962, the three story educational wing was started. The old church property and parsonage were exchanged for a six room brick house located on Rosedale Drive. This was to serve as the new church parsonage.
In December of 1982, Reverend Tommy Wagner began his ministry as pastor of Southside. During his ministry the church adopted a Constitution and By-Laws, Church budget, purchased a new bus, and built a shed to house it. A new covered drive-thru at the rear of the church was built and a new church sign was placed in the front yard. In 1998, a church van was purchased and an adjoining shed was built to house it.
In 1999, Reverend Ronald Blakley, became the new pastor of Southside.
2002 brought many changes to our church. We sold our parsonage, replaced the carpet and tile in the Children’s Department and Fellowship Hall. We began construction to completely renovate the Sanctuary. Work on the new Sanctuary was completed in 2003. A new roof was installed to replace the old one in 2007.
In February 2010, Southside Baptist called Reverend Tommy Sizemore, Jr. as its new pastor. Reverend Sizemore is a graduate of Smith High School and Slidell Baptist Seminary and holds an Associate Degree of Theology. He has been in the ministry since 2000 and was ordained in 2005. Before his call to Southside, he served as Youth Pastor in High Point, North Carolina. He, his wife Tammy and daughter, Taylor, are natives of Greensboro, North Carolina.
In July 2012, Southside Baptist, called Jason Craver as it's staffed Youth Director. On April 7, 2013, Jason was licensed into the ministry and became the first staffed Youth Minister in Southside's history. Jason also serves on our Worship Team as worship leader, guitarist, and band leader. Reverend Jason Craver is a graduate of East Davidson High School and John Wesley College. He, his wife Shara, and daughers, Delaney and Presley, are natives of Thomasville and High Point, North Carolina.
Beginning in October 2014, Southside Baptist began a complete remodel the Fellowship Hall, Children's Area, Picnic Shelter, new vehicle shed, and the repurposing of our old bus shed, into a meeting area for our youth ministry, Fusion Student Ministries.
In August 2015, Southside Baptist, called Samantha Allred as it's first Children's Minister. Samantha is a graduate of Trinity High School and Appalachian State University.
We are looking forward to see what God has in store for Southside Baptist Church’s future!