Southside Wesleyan Church

Southside Wesleyan Church, affiliated with The Wesleyan Church, is located in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Early history

Originally known as the Antioch Pilgrim Holiness Church, the church was founded when the Pilgrim Holiness Church took charge of a building at 616 East 7th Street on November 15, 1943 as a mission. The first service was on December 2, 1943 with Pastor H.C. Beavers officiating.

During the first week of June, 1945, the church moved from the 7th Street location into a large tent located on Center Street, the church having bought the lot and tent. Several revivals were held in the tent and souls were saved and sanctified, but by the fall of 1945, the weather eventually became too cold to worship in a tent.

On October 17, 1945, the congregation occupied a building at 18th and Lewis Streets (which is today J.R. Miller Boulevard) – a building with two fine Sunday School classrooms. Worship continued in this building for four years, ending on November 1, 1949.

The New Hartford Road years, and a change of name

In July, 1949, the church bought a lot at the corner of 26th Street (now Sunrise Drive) and New Hartford Road for the purpose of building a new church. Work was started after the District gave $1,000 toward the new building. The lot was dedicated to the Lord with several making commitments to see the work through to the end. The congregation planned to move into the new church on November 1, 1949, even though the building process was running behind schedule. A train and truck wreck demolished the front of the building at 18th and Lewis, so the first service in the new building was held in the Sunday School rooms on November 6, 1949.

When the Pilgrim Holiness Church and Wesleyan Methodist Church merged in 1968, the local congregation voted to change the name of the church from Antioch Pilgrim Holiness Church to Southside Wesleyan Church (SWC) at the annual church conference on May 31, 1968.

As the years went on, SWC purchased the two houses directly adjacent to the church property, using one as a fellowship hall and the other to house the children's ministries.

Growth and relocation

In recent years, SWC has experienced much growth, particularly in the church's various ministry programs. The ministries to children and teenagers have been especially strong. Many Sundays and Wednesdays saw the sanctuary, fellowship hall and children’s building filled to - and sometimes "beyond" - capacity.

This growth in these areas of ministry quickly made it obvious to the church's leadership that the three small buildings on New Hartford Road were no longer of sufficient size to meet the needs of a fast-growing congregation. The search commenced in early 2005 for a new site on which to build or a finished site of suitable size; unfortunately, those initial attempts proved fruitless.

In September 2005, the membership of Southeast Baptist Church elected to disband and sell their church building just a few blocks to the southwest of the New Hartford Road property along Veach Road. Southeast's building, which they had purchased in 1997, was a converted restaurant, laundromat and shopping center that had been built in the early 1970s. The SWC board of administration and trustees moved quickly to purchase the property, and took possession of the new facility in October 2005.

New location brings challenges of its own

The new church facility, although very spacious at 11,700 square feet (versus the approximately 6,700 square feet total of the three New Hartford Road buildings), needed considerable renovation to meet the church's needs. Through the hard work of many church members and a group of ladies who participate in SWC's prison ministry at Dismas Charities, the renovation work was carried out quickly. The final service in the New Hartford Road church building was held 56 years to the day after the first, on November 6, 2005. Our first services in the new church building, which took place the next Sunday, November 13, 2005, were actually held before the first phase of renovations was complete.

Ministries

* Nursing home ministry - A group of church members sings and ministers to the residents of a local nursing home each Sunday morning prior to the morning worship service.
* Infinite Life - Teen ministry.
* Junior Jam - Children's ministry.
* Best Years Fellowship - Senior citizens' ministry.

Pastors

* Hugh C. Beavers, 1943-1948
* James A. Rook, 1948-1950
* Harry H. Bolender, 1950-1954
* Wilbur King, 1954-1958
* Floyd M. Singleton, 1958-1964
* Chester F. Todd, 1964-1968
* David Brown, 1968-1969
* Louis Rold (interim), August-November 1969
* W. J. Mercer (interim), November 1969-1970
* Owen S. Miller, 1970-1973
* Ronald E. King, 1973-1976
* David Nowlin, 1976-1978
* Daniel E. Coleman, 1978-1983
* Jimmy Carter, 1983-1984
* Mark A. Mullins, 1984-1988
* Lonnie E. Riley, 1988-1991
* Kenneth W. Gates, 1991-1994
* John E. Fowler, 1995-present