God placed a burden on the hearts of the Senior Pastor and the people of Longview Heights Baptist Church, Olive Branch, Mississippi, to establish a new church in Hernando. In 2002, a core group of 35 began meeting at Longview Heights with Church Plant Pastor Wade Humphries to lay the foundation for what would become Longview Point Baptist Church. The core group was commissioned at Longview Heights on August 25, 2002.

Why the old hardware store?

One of our core members found out the old Kaptol Hardware building on the historic Hernando square was available. God saw fit for us to begin in this space. Going from a hardware store to a worship center and nursery was no easy chore. Through gifts from Longview Heights and lots of volunteer labor, The Point as we know it began taking shape. Finally, on September 7, 2002, we held our first service with 124 people present. By 2005, we were holding three morning services and seeing around 360 worshipers present. Most of our Connect groups (a.k.a. Sunday School) were held in many locations within walking distance due to the graciousness of our neighbors.

Why our new location?

Well before we outgrew “the old hardware store,” we were given 12 acres of land just off the southeast corner of Byhalia at McIngvale–an ideal place for a church campus. In 2003, we formed a team to start making plans for new facilities. During that process, a generous donation of a Family Life Center was made to us. We completed that facility and held our first services in it November 20, 2005.

The Next Steps

As our parent congregation before us, the Point is committing itself to planting new churches here, in the States, and worldwide. Longview Heights commissioned us on January 18, 2005; we became our own church. Since that time, we have planted 7 churches within the country. Our first church plant, LifePoint Church, was launched in March 2005 in Senatobia, MS. The next church we planted was Riverbend Church in Hernando, MS. We subsequently planted EastPoint Church in Olive Branch, MS, Connection Church in Belle Fourche, SD, Redemption Hill Church in Sioux City, IA, Mercy Hill Church in Olive Branch, MS, and we are working closely with our newest church plant called GracePoint Church in Greenwood, MS.

Going Forward

Our mission is to expand God’s Kingdom and we will seek to live out that mission by planting churches that plant churches and by going out into the harvest through local, national, and international missions.

We have a place for you! If you are looking for a church family where you can plug in and serve, we would love to have you join us. Please contact one of our ministry leaders or church office for more information about The Point.