The Stephens

It's been the honor of our lives to serve the Southside Church and the city of Durham. 

Pastor Stephens serves as the Evangelist for the Southside Church of Christ in Durham, North Carolina.  The congregation started as a mission work with approximately fourteen (14) members in October of 1982.  In 1985, by faith, Pastor Stephens became the full-time minister of the Southside congregation. Pastor Stephens is a native of Jacksonville, Florida.  He has been married for 52 years to his beautiful wife, the former Altamease (Skeeter) Ray; they have three adult children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, all of who remain very active in the church. Under the leadership of Bro. Stephens, God blessed the congregation to grow numerically and financially.


Today, there are more than five hundred (500) faithful members involved in several ministries at the Southside congregation of the church of Christ. While meeting at the Old St. Joseph’s building, we purchased 5.33 acres of land on Elmira Avenue. Due to renovation plans for the St. Joseph’s Historical building, the congregation had to find a new meeting place. In 1987, the congregation rented a building on Angier Avenue and broke ground for our new edifice in September 1990. In January of 1991, we met at Shepard Middle School to be closer to our anticipated meeting place. By the grace of the Almighty, we moved into our very first church building in June 1991. An addition was made to the building in 1996 to accommodate our growing congregation. Also, in 2003, by God’s grace, we erected a fully equipped multi-purpose building at a cost of approximately $1.5 million. In 2008, we established a child development center, and today, we are a five-star center.

William Stephens

Minister Emeritus

Several ministries were established by the evangelist to address the needs of the church. The ministries established were Koinonia Group Ministry to emphasize the purpose and importance of caring for and sharing with one another; the Southside Ladies Involvement Ministry (S.L.I.M), directed by our Women’s Counselor, Sis. Ricki Fuller; an Education Department; a Youth Department directed by our Youth Minister, Bro. Chris Turner; and a College Campus Ministry. Some additional ministries added as the congregation grew included: Health, Community Outreach, Tutoring, Substance Abuse, Singles, Single Mothers, Blended Families, Grief Support, Door-Knocking, Food Bank Ministry, Communications, K-4 through 5th grade private school, and much more. Every ministry has been established with the sole purpose of addressing known needs as well as helping to save and encourage souls.
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