The year was 1953 and Northside wasn’t even, well, Northside. In fact, the church was originally founded as Trinity Methodist Church and joined the Alabama-West Florida Conference. Located in Prichard, Alabama, attendees met under the shelter of a large outdoor tent for several months, while construction on a physical building began on West Turner Road.
On June 2, 1965, then Senior Pastor David J. Jones and the membership voted unanimously to withdraw from the Methodist Conference. Now free to operate independently, Pastor Jones and his members began the formation of a non-denominational church dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus to the local community. Northside would serve the Prichard, Alabama area faithfully for over eleven years.
But God wasn’t finished. In 1976, Northside moved to its current location on University Blvd. in West Mobile. The church’s new sanctuary was dedicated later that October. Founding Pastor David Jones and his wife Von retired in 1987, leaving Northside under the leadership of interim Pastor Ed Phillips and his wife Annabelle for several months. In December, Pastor Jim Hill and his wife Peggy took the reins and Northside grew in numbers and prospered in ministry venues for several years. In 1992, Pastor Hill and his wife departed and then Student Pastor Ricky Watt was promoted to the position of senior pastor. Along with his lovely wife Lori, Pastor Watt served Northside faithfully for almost eighteen months before God called him to a church in Cleveland, TN.
In 1994, after the departure of Pastor Watt, Northside sought to hire a part-time interim pastor to fill the pulpit, while they searched for a full time candidate. Pastor Ronnie Pearce, who was serving as the chaplain at Searcy Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Alabama, was installed and wound up serving as pastor for six years. During this time, Northside was blessed with the musical talents of local pianist Mike Keeling, who formed the church’s first official music ministry. Pastor Pearce and his wife Brenda became key components in the stabilization and continuance of Northside’s ministry.
In 1998, Pastor Pearce decided to return to his role as full time chaplain for the Mobile Sheriff’s Department and the search for a full time pastor began. In March of 2000, Pastor Stan Givens, who attended Northside during his childhood under Pastor Jones, came on staff as our full time senior pastor. Stan, his wife Annette and their three children Joshua, Caleb and Mary, served God in the Birmingham area for many years before moving to Mobile. They continue to bless us tremendously.
