THE STORY OF SOUTHSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
In 1948, God laid on the hearts of the members of First Baptist Church, Atoka the need for a mission in the southern part of Atoka. Under the guidance of several members of FBC, classes and services began in a private dwelling on the Wapanucka Highway.
In 1951, the Southside Mission and FBC saw the need to hire their first Pastor. Rev. Cad Bingham was called and preached his first sermon at the Southside Mission on the first Sunday in September (September 2nd, 1951). There were 11 people in attendance, with 4 of them being Rev. Bingham and his family. Within six months, the membership of the Southside Mission had grown to 60 people. Because of this growth, the mission church saw the need to relocate. Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Wright, who owned the home that the mission church had been meeting in, donated a piece of land where the church still sits today. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on May 2nd, 1952 and work began on a church building. The Lord continued to bless Southside and through faith, prayer, and evangelism, the membership continued to grow!
On February 9th, 1955, the members of the Southside Mission voted unanimously to petition First Baptist Church, Atoka to declare it an independent church known as Southside Baptist Church. On May 8th, 1955, First Baptist Church, Atoka responded with permission for the independent organization of Southside Baptist Church.
Rev. Bingham continued to serve as the Pastor at Southside Baptist Church until God called him to serve in the same capacity at Bentley Baptist Church. He announced his resignation on July 28th, 1963 and Southside began prayerfully searching for their next Pastor.
On August 6th, 1963, Rev. Monroe McNally was called from Farris Baptist Church to serve as the next Pastor. During Rev. McNally’s time as Pastor, the church saw many changes and additions to the church, both physically and numerically.
In the fall of 1963, the sanctuary was enlarged and remodeled. In March of 1964, the church purchased a house and had it moved NW of the church to be utilized as a parsonage. In March of 1965, construction began on a new wing which contained a kitchen, six classrooms, and a pastor’s study.
Rev. McNally faithfully served as the Pastor at Southside until his death on November 18th, 1991.
Following Rev. McNally’s death, the church voted to call Rev. Lloyd Thompson from Farris Baptist Church on December 22nd, 1991. He accepted the call and began pastoring in January of 1992.
As the Holy Spirit continued to move, the church stepped out in faith and began to make other changes and improvements. In February of 1992, two lots north of the church building were purchased in order to expand the parking lots. As the church membership continued to grow, the church began to realize the need to expand. In July of 1996, work began on a new sanctuary and classroom space. The new sanctuary was dedicated on May 3rd, 1998.
In July of 1998, Rev. Thompson tendered his resignation as Pastor and the search for the next Pastor began. In the interim, Rev. Johnny Morris, who was serving as the Associate Pastor, stepped in.
On November 29th, 1998, the church voted to call Rev. Paul Littleton from Banner Baptist Church in Lindsay, OK as the next Pastor. He and his family moved into the parsonage and began serving on December 27th, 1998. During his time at Southside, the church continued to grow.
Now that the sanctuary project had been completed, the area formerly used for that purpose was remodeled into a kitchen and fellowship hall.
In February of 2004, Rev. Littleton tendered his resignation to answer a call to Faith Baptist Church in Sapulpa, OK. On February 29th, 2004, a Pastor Search Committee was formed to begin the search for the next Pastor.
On July 25th, 2004, the church voted unanimously to call Rev. Steve Havener as the next Pastor of Southside Baptist Church. He and his wife, Sherry, began serving on August 29th 2004. The church continued reach the community and see many people come to know Christ!
Shortly after the Haveners arrived, the church called Daniel Duncan to serve as Youth Minister. During his time at Southside, the youth group saw a great amount of growth. He remained in that role until 2007. In 2007, the church purchased a property to the west of the church. The house on the property was moved and a new parking lot was formed to provide much needed additional parking. During this time, there was also a new wing added to the church with more classrooms and restrooms.
In January of 2008, the church called Paul Flint to join the staff at Southside as Associate Pastor and Youth Pastor. He and his family moved to Southside from Colorado Springs, CO to serve in this new role. During this time, the student ministry continued to grow even more!
Also in 2008, the church purchased a home across the street from the church building to be used as a new parsonage. Later that year a cabin was purchased at Falls Creek to be used for summer Youth Camps. This cabin continues to house our student ministry each summer at Falls Creek!
In June of 2012, Paul Flint announced his resignation as he and his family moved back to Colorado. While the church was sad to see them go, the church was joyful that God brought Jim Lewis along to be our Associate Pastor and to lead our youth and music ministries. He and his family joined Southside in August of 2012.
In May of 2014, the members at Southside realized they had a blessed problem. Because of the large amount of growth that the youth group had experienced, Jim needed someone to help him minister to the students. Matthew McIninch, a young man who had been a part of the church since he was born, was called to serve as Associate Student Minister.
In March of 2019, Jim announced his resignation as he accepted a call to First Baptist Church, Coalgate. The church was sad to see Jim leave, but wished him nothing but the best as he served in a new location.
In August of 2019, Steve announced his resignation as he accepted a call to First Baptist Church, Leedey. The church held a reception on his final Sunday as everyone said their emotional goodbyes. Shortly after, a Pastor Search Committee was formed to begin the search for the next Pastor at Southside. During the search, Scott Ridgway served as the Interim Pastor.
After a few months of searching, the church voted to call Cecil Mackey as the next Pastor in December of 2019. Cecil was a former deacon at Southside who had been serving at Little City Baptist Church as Pastor. The church was excited to have Cecil and his family back at Southside.
In March of 2020, Matthew McIninch began leading worship. He continues to lead worship at Southside each week!
During the Pandemic, the church saw it as a great opportunity to enter a remodel project. The floors were replaced in the fellowship hall and in the hallways. The sanctuary also had new paint and dry wall texturing applied along the wall of the stage. Livestream services continued for a couple of months before the church decided to begin meeting in person again in May.
In May of 2020, Cecil announced his resignation in order to accept the call to return to Little City Baptist Church. The church was saddened, but was also glad to see Cecil following God’s call. A Pastor Search Committee was formed and the search for the next Pastor began. Our Director of Missions, Randy Hurt, served as the Interim Pastor during the search. On July 12th, 2020, the church voted to call Matthew McIninch to be the full time Student and Music Minister.
Following a few months of searching, Chris McDaniel, who had been serving as the Associate Pastor and Student Minister at Harmony Baptist Church, came and preached in view of a call on October 11th, 2020. The church voted to call him as the next Pastor and he, along with his family, came and began serving in that role on November 8th, 2020.
Shortly after that, in addition to the other ministry roles the church had called him to, the church voted to call Matthew McIninch as the next Associate Pastor at Southside. He was ordained on January 10th, 2021.
Since Chris began serving as Pastor, the church has continue to grow and people have continued to come to know Christ! He came in with the mindset of Lives Changed and Souls Saved and that is exactly what God has done!
In the spring of 2023, new sidewalks were poured in the north parking lot and in April of 2024, the church was able to expand the parking lot in order to create more parking spaces.
After much prayer, the church stepped into another remodel project in the spring and summer months of 2024. The church voted to finish covering all of the paneling in the church with dry wall texture and paint, to replace the carpet with carpet squares, and to replace the old pews with chairs. This was done in order to gain additional seating in the sanctuary. After a few months of working, the church was able to finish the project in September of 2024!
It is impossible to mention the names and give recognition to all the loyal and faithful members who have served the Lord here at Southside. We are thankful that God has blessed Southside and pray that He continues to do so in the future!
