North Side Christian Church, 2526 NW 122nd, Oklahoma City, will celebrate its 40th anniversary this coming Sunday, Nov. 11.

North Side played a key role in my first full-time ministry. When I graduated from Midwest Christian College in 1975, I became the founding campus minister of the Fellowship of Christian University Students, a campus ministry at Oklahoma State University. North Side was one of our “charter” supporting churches, and some North Side college students were among the members of our first FOCUS student group.

At the time, I did not know that North Side was such a new congregation. Apparently it was founded in 1967. I moved to Oklahoma as a teenager in 1970, and launched the FOCUS ministry five years later. I am curious now to know more about how North Side came into existence. An intentional church plant? A church split? I wonder.

I do remember that in those days, North Side was a young, enthusiastic and growing congregation. Bill Park was the minister at Northside for many of those early years. Bill will be the guest speaker at the 40th anniversary celebration this Sunday.