The history of Silsbee Church of Christ brings together the stories of Highway 92 North Church of Christ and Southside Church of Christ. Each congregation has its own places, people and memories. Their merger opens a new chapter in which both histories belong.
The account below follows what can presently be documented in newspapers, religious periodicals and the congregation’s own information. It is a growing history, with room for members’ memories, photographs, bulletins and corrections.
Southside appears by name in The Silsbee Bee on December 28, 1961, in a funeral notice naming Guy McDonald as the officiating minister. That establishes the congregation’s presence by that date, although it does not tell us when Southside began. The Silsbee Bee, December 28, 1961, page 1
A later memorial provides an important glimpse of its beginnings. Writing in the August 1965 Preceptor, Stanley J. Lovett credited Guy McDonald with helping establish the work at Southside in Silsbee. McDonald was also associated with congregations in Beaumont, including Pinecrest. The memorial preserves his contribution without identifying a sole founder, a founding year or all the members who took part. Preceptor, August 1965, page 2
The early record shows Southside participating in a wider network of gospel preaching. A September 1962 periodical included Southside among congregations visited by John Iverson during his late-summer meeting schedule. A February 1963 notice reported that Ray Votaw was seeking support to work with Southside. That notice records a proposed arrangement, not proof that a particular term of service began. Preceptor, September 1962, page 9, Preceptor, February 1963, page 10
Other notices preserve familiar features of congregational life. The Bee reported a wedding at Southside in February 1966, with Oliver Murray of Lufkin officiating. A religious news column recorded a visit by Malcolm King in March 1968. Later that year, Southside invited the community to a July 8–14 gospel meeting with Murray. These were visiting preachers; the notices should not be read as a roster of Southside’s resident ministers. The Silsbee Bee, February 24, 1966, page 6, Preceptor, April 1968, page 89, The Silsbee Bee, July 4, 1968, page 2
By June 1969, a Bee announcement explicitly placed Southside on Highway 96 South. It advertised a June 15–22 meeting with John Iverson of Houston and identified Joe Moore as the local minister. A public expression of thanks in May 1981 also acknowledged Southside’s members for their support during a family’s bereavement, a small but meaningful record of care beyond scheduled services. The Silsbee Bee, June 12, 1969, page 6, The Silsbee Bee, May 21, 1981, page 8
Later records list Southside at 830 Highway 96 South. The congregation continued to advertise gospel meetings into the next century, including a 2007 invitation featuring Jack Smith of Bellaire. The surviving notices document teaching and worship across decades, while the building’s acquisition date and the congregation’s complete leadership history remain to be filled in. Church directory, December 13, 2006, page 85, The Silsbee Bee, January 31, 2007, page 17
Highway 92 North’s documented story includes an earlier home on North Fifth Street. In August 1963, The Silsbee Bee announced Jerry T. Jolly as the minister of the congregation there. The following August, it reported that J. David Taylor had succeeded him at 605 North Fifth Street and would continue the congregation’s radio program. A November 1965 advertisement named Barry Jones as minister and listed Bible classes, worship and broadcasting on KKAS. These reports show both a local gathering place and an effort to reach listeners beyond the building. The Silsbee Bee, August 15, 1963, page 6, The Silsbee Bee, August 6, 1964, page 1, The Pine Needle, November 18, 1965, page 5
The move toward Highway 92 is documented especially clearly on May 2, 1974. The Bee reported construction for the North Fifth Street congregation at FM 92 and Mormon Church Road. Its former property, at North Fifth Street and Roosevelt Drive, had been sold. Minister Dan Gibson and elders E. C. McDonald and T. C. Freeman were named in the account. Plans called for an auditorium seating 390 and twelve classrooms, with completion expected that fall. The article connects the two locations, but the actual completion and first-service dates still need confirmation. The Silsbee Bee, May 2, 1974, page 1
Later newspaper notices describe the congregation at Highway 92 North. In March 1984, the Bee announced a Bible-study series at the church a mile north of Silsbee and named Bill Cofer as its minister. The Silsbee Bee, March 8, 1984, page 4
David Dean Collier Sr., also known as Dave Collier, appears in a May 1997 profile as the preacher at Highway 92 North and a familiar presence in Silsbee’s schools and community. He was also known to sports listeners through KKAS/KWDX. The profile reported that he had received Rural Minister of the Year honors at the Texas Conference of Churches’ annual meeting that winter. The available accounts do not agree closely enough to establish his complete ministry dates. Cross Plains Review, May 8, 1997
On July 3, 2013, the Bee reported the congregation’s welcome of Tony Pulliam as evangelist and preacher. Tony and Mary Pulliam had served there previously before moving to Vidor in 2008. The announcement also described Bible classes and a weekday Life Enrichment class. The Silsbee Bee, July 3, 2013
Gospel-meeting advertisements in April 2018 identified the Highway 92 congregation with 8494 Mormon Church Road and the website silsbeechurch.com. In February 2021, a Bee feature on Charles and Wanda Shaver recalled the place of Sunday and Wednesday church gatherings in their family life. Charles also described his service as an elder for a number of years at the Northside Church of Christ on Mormon Church Road. These records add personal experience to the history of a building and its address. The Silsbee Bee, April 18, 2018, The Silsbee Bee, February 10, 2021, page 1
The wider local record reaches farther back. A December 1, 1938 Bee notice advertised Church of Christ worship in Silsbee. A July 1939 community survey described an active congregation that had recently built a church. Notices in 1941 and 1954 advertised gospel preaching, with the latter also announcing a singing school. These are valuable pieces of Silsbee’s religious history, but the records reviewed so far do not establish exactly how that earlier congregation connects to the two histories above. They should not be used to assign either congregation an unverified founding date. The Silsbee Bee, December 1, 1938, page 1, July 13, 1939, page 33, November 20, 1941, page 1, September 30, 1954, page 12
Today, we have come together again as Silsbee Church of Christ, united in our desire to glorify God, follow His Word, and serve Him as one church family.
Highway 92 North and Southside have now merged under the name Silsbee Church of Christ. Randy recalls that members began worshiping together around March. That recollection is a starting point for recording this new chapter; the year, exact first joint service and formal merger date still await confirmation.
The new name does not erase either congregation’s past. It brings both into a shared future, with an opportunity to preserve the stories of those who taught, preached, welcomed visitors and cared for one another.
“Loving God, Loving People,” the phrase already used on the church’s website, is a fitting expression of that hope. The history is still being gathered, and the next chapter is being lived together. Church website
This is an archive-based draft for congregational review. Several newspaper details were recovered from indexed archival text and still need checking against original scans or church records. The 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1968 Preceptor references were checked against page images. The merger and new name come from Randy’s direct confirmation. No claim is made that the minister references above form a complete list.
Founding dates, early meeting places, the Highway 92 building’s first service, and the precise merger chronology remain open questions. Photographs, old bulletins, anniversary booklets and memories from both former congregations can help complete the story.