Our pastor, John Thompson, was born and raised in Terre Haute. While sailing between Alaska and Russia on the Bering Sea during his years in the U.S. Navy, he received Jesus Christ as his Lord & Savior. He has been serving Christ in the ministry since 1975 in pastoral positions and missionary-evangelism.  After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, he was able to walk through the open door into East Germany as a missionary. It was then that he preached in open-air meetings in many major cities of East Germany.  He has an earned Doctoral degree in Ministry (D.Min.).  Brother John has been the Chaplain of Vigo County Juvenile Detention for many years.  God led him to start Eastside Baptist Church in 2010.