In 1928 a few women in the Bestville community just northeast of Jasper began a Sunday School for the children in their neighborhood.
Before long children from other neighborhoods joined them. Then some adults came. While the kids met in one house, the adults met in another for preaching services.
The congregation of Poley Baptist Church soon joined the group and a plot of land was purchased.
On the first Sunday of September 1928, the newly formed congregation, composed of 15 charter members and their families, met under its new name, Northside Baptist Church. Their first official church building was a small one-room wooden structure.
Seventy-five years later
Fast-forward to Nov. 23, 2003. Now averaging more than 200 in Sunday School and meeting in a modern 850-seat facility, Northside Baptist Church celebrated 75 years of ministry to its members, its community and — through countless missions efforts — the world.
“For three-quarters of a century now,” wrote Pastor David Byrd in a letter of greeting to all who attended the celebration, “our aim and mission has been to enlarge the Kingdom and enable the children of God to grow in their faith and knowledge of Him.”
To mark the occasion, James Davidson, a member of Northside for more than 40 years and chairman of the anniversary committee, reviewed the minutes of every single business meeting since the church’s beginning and compiled a church history.
He noted that unlike some churches, Northside members kept copious records from the start.
Davidson’s research revealed the church has pursued and often achieved its ministry goals in a variety of ways, including ongoing Christian education, bus ministries, assistance to other churches and monetary as well as hands-on support to local, national and international missions.
“Through the years, Northside Baptist Church has surely experienced many ups and downs,” Davidson wrote, “but it 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.”
The special day of celebration, according to Davidson, was “absolutely wonderful. There are a lot of times you can plan something and things fall though and cause problems, and things happen at the last minute that you don’t expect. I promise you there wasn’t one thing that didn’t go just as it was planned.”
Davidson readily gave credit to the many people who helped by honoring commitments they had made during the planning process.
While some helped organize the anniversary service and locate former members and pastors, others signed up to bring food.
“Instead of a dinner on the grounds, we had a breakfast,” Davidson said, “and I had made 138 assignments of food. Without fail, people brought in bacon, fruit, sweet rolls, muffins, breakfast casseroles. We fed almost 500 people.”
Breakfast was followed by a celebratory service featuring special music by Northside’s first youth ensemble — all the members are now married with grown children. Next was a presentation by Frances Hamilton, executive director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, and a message by Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
But one of the biggest highlights of the service, according to both Byrd and Davidson, was a 30-minute slide presentation of church photos dating from 1932 to the present. “I think everybody really enjoyed it,” said Davidson.
Former pastors and staff members, former members and a host of friends joined current Northside members in the celebration.
“We were excited at how many came,” said Byrd. “It was a great homecoming event for a lot of people, and it was a great day for our church.”
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