A Church Growing Beyond Its Sanctuary
In 1917, a small group of believers began meeting for a Sunday Bible School class on Signal Mountain, just north of Chattanooga. Through decades of faithful service, that Bible school grew into Wayside Presbyterian Church (PCA), whose stone sanctuary opened for worship in 1947 and still seats about 130 people. Members who came before gave sacrificially to build it, even contributing stone from their own property. The church today is in many ways a different congregation than the one that worshipped in that sanctuary nearly eighty years ago. Over the last decade, God has directed new families to Wayside, growing membership from 98 in 2012 to 176 in 2016 to more than 335 today. That growth has pushed the congregation into multiple services and overflow rooms, and led the church to break ground in the summer of 2024 on a new sanctuary project expected to complete in 2026. With more than $5 million of the $6 million goal pledged or given, the expansion is the largest capital undertaking in Wayside's history, a deliberate investment for "generations to come."
Wayside's mission statement is concise and explicit: "To glorify God in making disciples of Jesus Christ by faithfully planting and watering the gospel through the ministry of the Word of God, prayer, sacraments, worship, service, and gospel community." Every part of the church's life, from Sunday School to small groups to summer mission trips, flows from that calling.
What Sundays Look Like
Sunday at Wayside is built around the historic means of grace. Sunday School begins at 9:15 a.m. with classes for every stage of life. Two- and three-year-olds gather in the nursery, elementary students begin together for singing and memory work before dividing by age, sixth through twelfth graders work through "Digging Deeper: A Study in the Westminster Shorter Catechism," the college and career class studies Christian worldview and apologetics, and the adult class works through R.C. Sproul's "Essential Truths of the Christian Faith." An infant nursery is available for babies through one year old.
Morning Worship gathers at 10:30 a.m. in the main sanctuary, with overflow seating in the Fellowship Hall downstairs. An infant nursery serves children from birth through age three, located at the end of the hall to the right of the sanctuary, and a mother's nursing room carries audio of the service so parents can follow along while caring for little ones. The evening service at 6:00 p.m. closes the Lord's Day with singing and the preaching of God's Word. Both services are livestreamed on YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and Sermon Audio for those who cannot attend in person, and a sermon archive going back more than a decade is available through Sermon Audio.
Beliefs Rooted in the Reformation
Wayside is a confessional Presbyterian church in the heritage of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The congregation affirms the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the 1640s, and describes itself as "Biblical, Confessional, Missional." Worship is described as "Word-centered, Christ-exalting, and soul-enriching," with the historic elements of call to worship, prayer, congregational singing, confession of sin, assurance of pardon, the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the Lord's Supper on scheduled Sundays.
The church's teaching follows the historic Reformed tradition. The Bible is the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All people are created in God's image yet are born as sinners, totally unable to save themselves from God's displeasure except by his mercy. Salvation is by God alone, through Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, whose perfect life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who trust in him, and who rose again for our justification, ascended into heaven, and will return bodily to judge the living and the dead. The Holy Spirit indwells God's people, giving them strength and wisdom to follow Christ. The church is the gathered people of God from every nation, race, class, and culture, called to make disciples of all nations through the ordinary means of Word, sacrament, and prayer.
The Pastoral Team
Senior Pastor Dr. Brian H. Cosby, a Signal Mountain native, was called to Wayside in April 2012 after serving churches in Alabama and Georgia. He is an adjunct professor of historical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta and Birmingham Theological Seminary, holds degrees from Samford University, Beeson Divinity School, and the Australian College of Theology, and is a former U.S. Air Force Reserve chaplain. He serves on the board of trustees of Covenant Theological Seminary, the council of the Gospel Reformation Network, and has authored more than a dozen books. He and his wife Ashley have three children and live on a small farm.
Rev. Steve Perkins was called as assistant pastor in April 2026. A native of Arizona with a background in engineering manufacturing, Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bob Jones University and a Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary. A widower with three children and four grandchildren, Steve brings a shepherding heart and a calling to proclaim the unsearchable riches of God's grace.
Dr. Allen Hawkins, associate pastor, joined Wayside in 2018 with his wife Dorcas. He holds a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary and an Ed.D. in Adult Education from the University of Southern Mississippi, and is currently pursuing further education at Reformed Theological Seminary. Music Director Michael Moore, a Bryan College graduate, has led Wayside's music ministry since 2016. Choir Director Larry Mick has been involved with Wayside's choir since 1971 and has directed on and off since 1973. Pastoral Assistant of Visitation Allen Wallace, a retired pastor and former Chattanooga State professor, serves in personal discipleship and visitation.
Pastoral Intern Dillon Bailey, a Kentucky native, joined Wayside in 2025 with his wife Brigitte and three sons, after serving in Michigan. He brings a background in global mission trips, prison ministry, and church planting. Ministry Coordinator Ken Harmon serves as a ruling elder and provides organizational leadership to the various ministries. Children's Coordinator and musician Brittany Patterson teaches women's Bible studies and plays organ and piano. Women's Ministry Coordinator and musician Jodi Hiser holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary and Christian counseling certifications from the Christian Counseling Education Foundation.
The Session, or board of elders, includes Brian Cosby as moderator, Rick Jahn as clerk, Allen Hawkins, David Moss, Larry Mick, Aaron Gould, Ken Harmon, Nate Henderson, Aaron Patterson, John Uthlaut, and Jerry Best. The Diaconate is chaired by Brent Bowman with Matt Hamilton as clerk.
Wayside Kids: A Gospel-Centered Children's Ministry
Wayside Kids exists to come alongside parents, providing a biblically based, Christ-centered environment for children from infancy through fifth grade. The ministry is built on the conviction that parents have the unique privilege and responsibility of bringing up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, and the congregation's role is to support that calling through teaching, prayer, and resources. The church actively encourages families to worship together both in the home and in Lord's Day corporate worship.
An infant nursery serves babies through age three during Sunday worship services. Monthly children's Bible studies, gathering on the first Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m., are divided into a younger elementary group (ages four through second grade) and an older elementary group (third through fifth grade). A Family Worship Guide issued each week helps parents follow along at home, with Scripture readings, Bible memory verses, and a hymn of the month. A formal Child Protection Policy guides every interaction between adults and children at the church.
Youth Ministry
Wayside's youth ministry partners with parents to assist in raising students in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, while helping young people cultivate lasting, Christ-shaped friendships. Separate girls' and guys' studies gather on the first Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m., currently working through the book of Joshua. The Youth Friday Night Fellowship, meeting on the third Friday of each month at 6:00 p.m., brings students together for dinner, a devotional, and an activity designed to foster spiritual friendships and support. Jonnie Jacobs and Daniel Hogue coordinate the ministry.
Men's, Women's, and Small Groups
Men's Ministry at Wayside is built around regular Bible engagement and prayer. A men's prayer meeting gathers each Wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m., followed by a men's Bible study at 8:00 a.m. On the first Wednesday evening of each month, the men join the wider congregation at 6:30 p.m. for a monthly Bible study. Discipleship groups also meet at various times throughout the week, and the men gather periodically for retreats and special events.
Women's Ministry exists to equip women to live out biblical womanhood within the gospel community of the church and to cultivate God-given gifts in multi-generational discipleship, encouragement, hospitality, and service. A women's Bible study meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month in the upstairs overflow room, following the 6:00 p.m. monthly prayer meeting, with childcare available. The current study is the book of James.
Small groups meet on the second and fourth weeks of each month in homes and at the church, gathering for study, prayer, and fellowship, and are open to anyone. Current groups include a study led by Brian Cosby on Mondays, Allen Hawkins on Tuesdays, Randy Thomas, Matt Hamilton, and Ken Harmon on Wednesdays, and Rick Jahn and Aaron Patterson on Thursdays. Most groups are mixed in age and number between ten and twenty people.
Global Missions and Ministries of Mercy
Wayside's mission extends well beyond Signal Mountain. The church supports approximately fifteen to twenty missionaries and missions agencies and holds an annual Missions Conference each spring, where members hear from missionaries, pray for the work, and discern where they might serve. The most recent summer mission trip took a team to Cherokee, North Carolina, to serve alongside a pastor planting a church there, with visits to a local nursing home, afternoon Vacation Bible School, and small projects at local homes. Faith-promise giving invites members to give above and beyond their regular tithes and offerings specifically for missions.
The deacons lead Wayside's Ministries of Mercy, which serve both the church family and the wider community: benevolence to help those in financial need, assistance with counseling services, making and delivering meals in partnership with Signal Mountain Social Services, serving at the Signal Mountain Clothes House, visiting the lonely in their homes and at the senior care facility on Signal Mountain, calling on widows, promoting justice and reconciliation, and supporting adoption through Choices Chattanooga. Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes are filled each fall to send gifts to children in need around the world.
Signal Mountain Christian School
Wayside supports Signal Mountain Christian School, a Pre-K through fifth-grade Christian elementary school located at 808 Key Hulse on Signal Mountain, with the motto "Educating for Life." The school exists to assist Christian parents in educating their children to understand God's Word and His world, leading them to faith in Jesus Christ, helping them acquire a Christian worldview, develop Christian character, and become equipped to impact the world for Christ. Qualified teachers who care for and pray for each student model joyful faith as they address the spiritual, academic, and personal development of every child.
An Annual Reformation Heritage Conference
Each year, Wayside sets aside a weekend to focus on Reformed heritage, stemming from the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. World-class scholars in Reformation history present a series of lectures for everyday Christians, encouraging a love for the Scriptures, fostering appreciation for those who have gone before, and cultivating a joy for God through Christ. Past conferences have featured some of the most recognizable names in the Reformed world, including Kevin DeYoung, Sinclair Ferguson, Ligonier Duncan, Derek Thomas, Scott Swain, Burk Parsons, Carl Trueman, Joel Beeke, and others. The conference draws attendees from across the region and has become a signature event in Wayside's ministry and witness.