In 1920, while at a tent meeting sponsored by First Christian Church in Hammond, 30 courageous people signed a pledge to establish a new church on the ever-growing south end of Hammond.

In 1922, after meeting in temporary quarters that Wallace School provided and selling concrete blocks for 25 cents apiece, construction was completed and South Side's first permanent home, on the corner of 165th and Van Buren, was dedicated.

By the summer of 1925, the South Siders had outgrown their basement sanctuary and a vacant lot on the corner of 169th and Madison was purchased. Two years later, a small and modest frame building (affectionately referred to as "The Little Brown Church") was erected on that site.

Again South Side outgrew itself, but this time the congregation had The Great Depression to contend with. Short on money but long on determination, the men and women of the church combined their efforts and a larger sanctuary - complete with gravel floor and plank seats - was constructed adjacent to The Little Brown Church.   It took two years, but in 1932 the new building was complete and ready for dedication.

It took a few more years, but the gravel floor was eventually replaced with concrete and those roughly-hewn plank seats gave way to smoothly-finished oak pews. In 1943, the mortgage was symbolically "burned" and South Side cheerfully embarked on endless remodeling and refurbishing projects in order to meet the demands of its ever-growing congregation. In 1950, Calvin and Gail Phillips were called to lead the congregation, and it is worthy of note that the Phillips family continued on at South Side for 34 years.

The Little Brown Church was razed and replaced by an educational building in 1959; that same year South Side's first assistant minister (Jerry Rupert) was called.

In 1964 two morning worship services were begun; in 1966, a major renovation of the church, both inside and out, was completed. Shortly thereafter, it was decided that South Side would soon need to expand its facilities, and several properties surrounding the church were purchased. By 1973, attendance had reached 724 and a new parking lot adjacent to the church was filled to overflow capacity on Sunday mornings.

Then, in the early morning hours of January 13, 1974, a devastating fire (determined to be a result of a wiring problem) destroyed the sanctuary, offices, library, fellowship hall, preschool facilities, and everything housed within those walls. Only the educational wing at the rear of the church building was left standing.

The same morning, however, with the smell of smoke still permeating the air, the congregation met for worship service in the auditorium of Edison School, just a few blocks away. For those who were privileged to be a part of that worship service, it was an experience never to be forgotten. South Siders determined they would not settle for the ashes of ruin and despair. They continued Sunday morning worship services at Edison School until February, then transferred their meeting place to rented quarters on Kennedy Avenue in Hammond. That same year, just five months after the fire, the congregation decided to relocate to an area that would not limit its plans for expansion, and eight acres of land was purchased on the corner of Broadmoor and Tapper in Munster. An architectural firm (Eriksen and Olson) was soon hired, and it was estimated that the new church would cost 1.3 million dollars. In February of 1975, $900,000 in bonds was sold within twelve days; on April 27 ground was broken. In May of 1976, they began sharing church facilities with their original benefactors (their brethren at First Christian Church, located near downtown Hammond on Calumet Avenue) -- and five months later an additional $225,000 in bonds was sold within five days.

And so it was that on April 24, 1977, we dedicated our current beautiful building -- and rededicated ourselves -- to the worship and service of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

South Side Christian Church 1000 Broadmoor Avenue ... Munster, Indiana Click here to contact us

  (040901:107)