Northside Baptist Church is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, and on April 19, the church has planned a special worship service and lunch.

During the service, Gladys Thornton, a long-time church member, will give a brief history of the church, and share some of her fondest memories about the church and its members.

“One of the stories I think I will tell is about a church member that used to hate to pray in public,” Thornton said.

“He finally overcame the fear,” she said, and Thornton recalled a Sunday the gentleman was asked to pray.

The preacher had forgotten his notes for his sermon, Thornton said, so during the prayer he slipped out to go next door to the parsonage and get them.

Fortunately, the man prayed so long the pastor was able to return while every head was still bowed.

The long-winded church member is deceased, Thornton said, but she hopes his wife will be able to attend the anniversary service so she can hear the story about her husband, she laughed.

Northside Baptist Church’s roots began in the 1940s.

“Dr. D. Swan Haworth came to Vicksburg to be the pastor of First Baptist church. He got together a missions committee with the responsibility to look around Warren County to find possible locations for new Southern Baptist churches. After looking they decided Kings needed one,” Thornton said.

A mission church was originally set up in a house down behind the road that goes behind Anderson Tully, she said, and then it was moved to a tent.

“Eventually, some property was purchased on 61 North, a church was built, and on June 11, 1950, the First Baptist mission church became a full fledged Southern Baptist church,” Thornton said.

Northside Baptist Church remained at this location until 1965.

The membership grew, and a larger church was needed, so the congregation purchased the current location with funding for the facility financed through bonds, Thornton said.

George Cousins was hired to build the church, she said.

“He was a deacon and a member of the church. He was on another job or either took a leave of absence to build this church,” Thornton said.

After the church was completed, Thornton said there were funds still available, and at the suggestion of Brother Cecil Gregory, a parsonage was also built on the property.

“Brother Gregory was wanting to move in here (the new church) by Easter of ’65, so we moved in. There were no pews in here, no steps out front, but we moved in, and it rained, it rained, it rained. The men stood on each side of the hill out there and helped the women up the hill to get inside the church, but we had a wonderful day in spite of the rain. We were so glad to be in here,” Thornton said.

The 50th Anniversary celebration will begin at 10 a.m., and a catered lunch will be served following the worship service. Northside Baptist Church is at 4820 North Washington St. For more information, call 601-218-4268.