In February 2007, the people who regularly attend the Southport Baptist Church sat down to discuss where the thought the church was at. We gave ourselves an honest assessment of the things we thought we were doing right, those we weren't and where we thought we could do better. Was Southport Baptist Church connecting with the local community in Southport, in 2007?

You can download the 20/20 vision statement here.

The church started small ... very small.

On Thursday 7th July 1949, seven people met for the first time in the Bauer Street home of Mr and Mrs Green. The group agreed that it would be on the basis of prayer alone that the fellowship would grow and their reliance was on the work of the Holy Spirit.

Six months after that first meeting, the Southport Baptist Fellowship was established, and met in the old Scout Hall. Geoff Green was the first secretary, but soon resigned from his teaching position become the first minister of Southport Baptist Church. The church has always been about the community. During those first few years, many home visits were made, and the children's ministry thrived. Over 50 kids plus their parents attended the first anniversary service. Even back then, the church made the most of the perfect Queensland weather and held many of it's services down on the Esplanade.

In 1951, a small block of land with a fence and hut was purchased in Little Norman Street and the church was formally constituted on 14th January 1951.

In 1966, a new church was planted at Labrador.

In the mid seventies, the building at Norman Street was physically moved to it's current location on the corner of Eugaree Street and Nerang Streets. The building was extended in the early eighties to incorporate a full size basketball court to cater for the large numbers of youth in the area. Nowadays, the church services take place in the old basketball court area..

Click here to read more about the history of the church.

Today, the church meets on the corner of Eugaree Street and Southport-Nerang Road in Southport. The official membership is around 50, but has a morning attendance of around 125 and an evening attendance of approximately 50. We cover the whole demographic range, from young babies, to those who would rather keep us guessing their age! We run two Sunday services at 9:30am and 6pm.

There are many mid-week meetings which cater for everybody, young and old.

Our senior pastor, Ken O'Rourke, joined us in August 2007. Together, we are on a journey to become a biblically functioning church - with relevant teaching, heartfelt worship, genuine friendships and compassionate care. We hope to have the kind of Christianity that can influence and encourage the entire community, one life at a time. We plane to be big enough to enjoy impacting celebrations each week and at the same time be small enough to build positive relationships through our small groups. There is a sense of excitement and anticipation at what God is going to do within individuals and the church as a whole.