A Pentecostal Church on Cleveland Heights Boulevard
Southside Assembly of God sits on Cleveland Heights Boulevard in Lakeland, Florida, where it has built its identity around a straightforward motto: Building healthy, thriving relationships with God and others. The congregation belongs to the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal fellowship, and traces its teaching to the denomination's 16 Fundamental Truths alongside its own core beliefs about God, Scripture, salvation, and the return of Christ.
Worship at Southside is described as heartfelt, casual, and Spirit-filled, with the kind of Bible-centered teaching that has long characterized the Pentecostal tradition. Sundays are welcoming to first-time guests, returning believers, and the simply curious, and the church treats those first visits as a chance to help people take a next step in faith.
Sundays at 10:30 AM
The church gathers for one main Sunday morning service at 10:30 AM, and the gathering typically runs about an hour and a half. Inside that hour and a half are worship music, an engaging and biblical message, and children's ministry happening at the same time. Visitors are greeted by a greeting team when they walk in, and Southside emphasizes that guests can come as they are.
For those who cannot make it in person, sermons are posted online and recent messages can be watched or listened to anytime. Services are also livestreamed on YouTube, with the livestream times announced on the watch page.
Southside Kids: Nursery Through 5th Grade
Southside Kids is the church's children's ministry, designed for kids from infancy through fifth grade and meeting during the Sunday morning service. Three age groups are offered: Nursery (infant through 36 months), Preschool (ages 3 through 5), and Elementary (kindergarten through fifth grade).
Every class uses engaging Bible lessons, age-appropriate worship, interactive games, crafts, and small-group moments to help kids learn the basics of the Christian faith. Safety is built into the program with a secure check-in system, background-checked leaders, clean classrooms, and a process that contacts parents if their child needs them. First-time families stop at the Kids Check-In area, register their child, receive a security tag, and are walked to the right classroom.
Southside Youth: Middle and High School
Southside Youth is geared toward middle school and high school students and meets at the same time as the adult service, on Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM. The ministry is set up as a place where students can build friendships, encounter worship, hear teaching that connects with where they are in life, and find a safe environment with caring mentors.
Parents are told that every youth leader has been background-checked and that the goal is a welcoming atmosphere in which students can explore who God is and what following Him looks like. Pre-registration is available for both visitors and regulars.
Wednesday Nights: Royal Rangers and Girls Ministries
Two Wednesday night programs anchor the church's work with kids and students outside of Sunday morning. Both run from 7:00 PM to about 8:00 PM, with check-in opening at 6:45 PM.
Royal Rangers is the church's mentoring and activity-based program for boys in kindergarten through twelfth grade, and it is completely free. The program is divided into four age-based groups (Ranger Kids, Discovery Rangers, Adventure Rangers, and Expedition Rangers), and each Wednesday includes games, Bible-based lessons, small group mentorship, badge and achievement work, and leadership training. Through the year, Rangers also take part in campouts, pinewood derbies, community service projects, outdoor adventures, district events, and merit badge challenges. All leaders are background-checked and trained, and a son can join any week.
Girls Ministries runs alongside Royal Rangers and welcomes girls from preschool through twelfth grade. The Wednesday night format includes games, small group time, creative projects, and biblical teaching that is aimed at the girl's age. Girls are placed in age-appropriate groups such as Rainbows (ages 3 through 5), Daisies (kindergarten), Prims (grades 1 through 2), Stars (grades 3 through 5), and Friends (grades 6 through 12). The program emphasizes positive female mentors, leadership development, and a safe place to grow in confidence and faith. New girls are welcome any Wednesday.
S.A.L.T. (Senior Adult Life Today)
S.A.L.T. is Southside's ministry for adults fifty and older, and the church frames it as a way for older adults to serve both to and through the church. The group offers fellowship opportunities, church and community outreach, and chances to put long-built talents to use for Christ and His church. The simple message is that age is not a hindrance to what God can accomplish through someone who is willing.
Men's Ministry
The men's ministry at Southside is built around helping men grow spiritually, lead with integrity, and serve inside their families and the community. Alongside larger gatherings like a quarterly men's breakfast, the ministry anchors a weekly Friday Morning Prayer & Bible Study at 6:00 AM, held in the Church Library or via Zoom.
Volunteers also serve on Safety, S.E.A.L., and breakfast teams, and the ministry exists to help men become better leaders, husbands, fathers, and friends in Christ.
Women's Ministry (WMs)
The women's ministry at Southside is known simply as WMs and is rooted in the Mark 12: 29-31 call to love God first and to love neighbors as ourselves. WMs meet for special events a few times a year, and the ministry runs several ongoing groups:
- Scripture Sisters is a Bible study that meets the first and third Thursday at 10:30 AM in the Family Life Center. Women can join at any time, with light refreshments and coffee provided.
- Anna's Angels is the widows ministry. Ladies gather the second Friday of each month at 1:00 PM, rotating between homes, restaurants, and the church, with details posted at the lobby table.
- Hearts and Hands organizes meal trains for people in the congregation who are going through a difficult time, such as a new arrival, an illness, bereavement, or recovery, and the team helps set up, serve, and clean up after funeral meals in the Family Life Center.
- 100 Sisters is a group of women who each give about a dollar a week (or $52 for the year) to fund women's ministry activities and missionary outreach.
En Sus Manos: Latino and Hispanic Ministry
En Sus Manos is the Spanish-language ministry at Southside. The name, drawn from Psalm 31:15, expresses the simple idea that those who place their lives in God's hands eventually see His hand in everything. The ministry exists to praise God, deepen disciples in Christ, and reach others for the Kingdom, and it provides a way for the area's Spanish-speaking community to worship, grow, and connect in their own language.
Feed the Need: A Community Food Pantry
Feed the Need is Southside's community food pantry, set up to help individuals and families in the Lakeland area who could use a little extra help with groceries. Food is provided free of charge and is open to anyone in the community, whether or not they attend the church.
Distributions take place on designated Saturdays at the church and run on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Households are asked to fill out a short application, which can be completed online, downloaded and printed, or filled out in person at the pantry, to help volunteers prepare and speed up visits.
Other Ways to Get Connected
Beyond the regular ministries, Southside offers several on-ramps for newcomers and members:
- Child Dedication - Because the church baptizes believers rather than infants, families are invited to dedicate their children in a service, with the pastors and church publicly committing to walk alongside the family to provide biblical wisdom, protection, and guidance.
- Water Baptism - Believers who want to be baptized can apply online, after which they receive an email invitation to the next baptism class. The church teaches baptism as a public declaration of God's grace and a step of obedience to Jesus's Great Commission.
- Young Adults - A ministry track for the next stage after youth group.
- Internships - College students can apply to serve in Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, Worship Ministry, or Media & Production, with hands-on experience, one-on-one mentorship, and a track that can be tailored around a student's major and goals.
- Volunteer Teams - Open teams include Children's Ministries, Youth Ministries, Worship Ministry, Men's Ministries, Women's Ministries, S.A.L.T., En Sus Manos, Prayer Team, Sound & Media, the G.A.P. Team (ushers, greeters, hosts), and Security.
Core Beliefs
Southside teaches from a Pentecostal foundation rooted in the Assemblies of God 16 Fundamental Truths. Its own core beliefs include:
- God - One God eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy.
- Revelation - God has made Himself known through His Son Jesus Christ, through Scripture, and through creation.
- Mankind - Men and women were created in God's image, with Adam and Eve originally created without sin as caretakers of creation.
- The Fall - Humanity's disobedience fractured creation and broke fellowship with Him.
- Salvation - Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose again, offering eternal life by grace to all who follow Christ by faith.
- The Church - The visible body of Christ, sent to glorify God and proclaim the gospel.
- Resurrection - Jesus is returning to judge the living and the dead and to bring in the fullness of God's kingdom.
Giving and Prayer
Members and visitors can give to Southside online, by texting any dollar amount to the church's text-to-give number, by check mailed to the church's Lakeland address, or by filling out an envelope during the Sunday service. A prayer request form is available online for anyone who would like the church to stand with them in prayer.
Plan a Visit
The best way to experience Southside is to come on a Sunday morning at 10:30 AM. Visitors are invited to fill out a Plan Your Visit form ahead of time so the church can be prepared. Dress is casual, the parking lot is on-site at 4750 Cleveland Heights Boulevard in Lakeland, and a greeting team is ready to help families get to the right classrooms, connect with ministries, and find their next step.