Our History
​
In November 2010, the Lord spoke through scripture with the confirmation of the Holy Ghost, to establish a
church in my hometown, Terre Haute, IN. The scripture God used was, “And I said unto the king, If it please the
king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of
my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.”
(Neh 2:5-6 KJV) I was appointed to be the founding pastor.
Our first service was on November 10th , 2010. Very soon thereafter, Harrison College offered facilities which we
used for 3 ½ years. On April 23 rd , 2014, we purchased a church building where we have been ever since. In June
2023, Brother John Lopez was ordained the second pastor of the church.
Our purpose for starting the church was to have an assembly where we could focus on 1 Experiencing the
presence and power of God (1Cor 2:4-5); 2 Worshipping God in spirit and truth (John 4:23); 3 Doing our part
to fulfill the Great Commission (Mat 28:18-20); and 4 Fellowshipping with believers of like faith and practice
(1John 1:3). Since the church’s founding, we have seen many souls saved and God’s people have been
encouraged.
​
-John Thompson
Our Pastor
John Lopez
Brother John and his wife Destiny were married in 2016 and have two children, Andrew and Judah. Both Brother John and Mrs. Destiny received the Lord as their Savior as teenagers and have been serving the Lord since. During his musical studies at Indiana State University in 2015, Brother John attended a 30 day spiritual boot camp out of Shady Acres Baptist Church in Houston, Texas where the Lord gave him the call to preach. He then served under his Pastor, John Thompson at Eastside Baptist Church, as the assistant to the pastor for 3 years and later the associate pastor for 4 years. In August of 2022, Brother John graduated from Gethsemane Bible Institute with a Bachelor of Theology. He then pursued a Master of Theology, which he was awarded in May of 2023. As of June 2023, Brother John was ordained as the Pastor of Eastside Baptist Church where he plans to continue to serve the Lord and preach the gospel of Christ as well as pursue a doctoral degree in Theology.
Pastor Emeritus
Dr. John L. Thompson
John Thompson was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ on September 6th, 1971, on the Bering Sea between Alaska
and Russia aboard USS King DLG 10, in the US Navy. Little did he know this would be the beginning of a great
epic journey that would last the rest of his life.
He was called by God to preach the gospel a year later and began to prepare for the ministry through education
at two Bible colleges: Faith Baptist Bible College in Iowa and Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO, earning a
Graduate of Theology degree (Th. G.). Upon graduation he became pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Galena, MO.
Later, he became Song Leader and Assistant to Pastor Jack Wood of Shady Acres Baptist Church, Houston, TX.
He also has three more earned degrees: Bachelor of Divinity, (B. Div.) from Temple Baptist Bible College; Master
and Doctor of Ministry degrees (M. Min., D. Min.) from Bethany Theological Seminary.
He served five years as a missionary in Germany and other central European countries. It was there he served as
pastor of an off-base military church (US Army). He also preached at many open-air meetings after the fall of
the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain.
Upon returning to the USA, he became pastor of Good Hope Baptist Church for nearly 12 years and founded a
missions endeavor called Juvenile Evangelism, for the purpose of preaching to young people in Juvenile
Detention Centers. Currently, he continues as Chaplain of Vigo County Juvenile Detention.
With the help of family and friends, Eastside Baptist Church in Terre Haute was established in 2010. In June
2023 his grandson Brother John Lopez was ordained to be the current pastor. Dr. Thompson remains at
Eastside as Pastor Emeritus. He has enjoyed “the grace of life” (1Pet 3:7), with his wife Carol throughout all
these years. The Lord has blessed them with 3 children, 12 grandchildren and to date 9 great-grandchildren.
