NewLife Christian Church has called Bella Vista home since 1974, when nine residents gathered at Riordan Hall with a speaker and musical duo from Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri. Half a century later, the church has grown into a two-campus congregation serving Northwest Arkansas from Riordan Road in Bella Vista and North Mount Pleasant Road in Gravette. Four identical weekend services are offered at each campus, alongside a Tuesday night Celebrate Recovery, more than a hundred Life Groups meeting in homes, kids and student ministries, and a roster of global and local mission partners. The vision is "Hope and a Future," and the mission, "We make disciples who Gather, Grow, Go," shapes every part of the church's life.
Half a Century in Northwest Arkansas
Nine Bella Vista residents gathered for worship on January 13, 1974. That September 29, thirty-four charter members officially established Bella Vista Christian Church, naming their work after the town and a gospel mission.
Don Evans of Joplin, Missouri became the church's first full-time pastor in 1975 and served until 1992. Under his leadership, the congregation moved from Riordan Hall to a 400-seat auditorium on Riordan Road and launched some of the first Vacation Bible School programs in Bella Vista.
Richard Hogan of Council Bluffs, Iowa led the church from 1992 to 2002, building ministry systems and investing in leaders. Lee McClanathan of Rockford, Illinois followed in 2002 and introduced community (life) groups - starting with ten groups that have since grown to more than a hundred - and cast the vision for the church's first Contemporary Worship service.
Ron Carter, who came from ministry in Napa, California, served from 2004 to 2014 and brought a passion for children and families. A children's wing, an atrium lobby, and an enhanced music area were added to the campus. He also launched an era of global missions that has taken teams to Africa, Haiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Cambodia, Austria, Romania, and India.
In 2014, Joe Williams of Kansas City, Missouri became lead pastor. On January 1, 2016, the church changed its name from Bella Vista Christian Church to NewLife Christian Church, reflecting the apostle Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "the old is gone, the new has come." Fifteen acres were purchased off the new bypass in Gravette in 2019, and the Highlands Campus opened in 2023. In September 2024, more than 2,000 people gathered at a local outdoor venue to celebrate the church's 50th anniversary.
Two Campuses, One Church
The original Riordan Campus sits at 103 Riordan Road in Bella Vista. The newer Highlands Campus is at 15301 North Mount Pleasant Road in Gravette. Both locations are part of one church, and Pastor Joe Williams alternates between them so the live preaching touches each campus. If he is not preaching live on a given weekend, he generally is the next one.
Sundays and Thursdays at Both Campuses
Thursday services begin at 6:30 pm at both campuses. Sunday services are held at 8:30 am, 10:00 am, and 11:30 am. For those unable to attend in person, the 10:00 am Sunday service streams online.
The dress is casual. The worship is modern, weaving together instruments and contemporary music with a variety of styles, all aimed at glorifying God. Communion is offered every weekend for any believer who wishes to participate; the bread and the juice are passed as a remembrance of Jesus' death and resurrection. Pastor Joe tailors his messages primarily for students in seventh grade and up, and the teaching is described as practical with real-life application drawn from God's Word.
A Place for Every Age
NewLifeKIDS
During each identical weekend service, NewLifeKIDS provides programming for children from birth through sixth grade. The Early Childhood environment cares for toddlers and preschoolers in safe small groups with participatory, age-appropriate worship. Elementary kids in kindergarten through sixth grade begin in age-appropriate small groups, then gather for worship and teaching before returning to their groups.
Children may also stay with their parents in the main auditorium. A first-time family registration desk helps new guests sign up their children, and online pre-registration is offered. Each week, families receive a randomly assigned pickup number; if the matching tag is lost, identification is required to collect a child. Food allergies can be noted on name stickers at check-in.
5th and 6th Grade Ministry
The 5th and 6th Grade Ministry meets once a month outside of weekend services for events designed to build community and help preteens transition into Student Ministry. Student Pastors are hands-on in this ministry as well.
Buddy Program
For children with special needs, the Buddy Program pairs each child one-on-one with a team member in a typical kids' ministry environment. The buddy joins the child for activities alongside same-aged peers. Pre-registration is required.
Student Ministry
The Student Ministry serves seventh through twelfth graders. Student Pastors lead both middle school and high school groups, and a Student Leadership Team invites teens to apply for leadership roles.
Gather, Grow, Go
The church's mission is to make disciples who Gather, Grow, and Go, and Life Groups are the bullseye for GROW.
Life Groups
Life Groups typically consist of five to six couples or eight to twelve individuals meeting in homes across Northwest Arkansas and Southern Missouri. Groups come in all shapes: married couples, singles, men's, women's, families with children, childless, workplace, young adults, or empty-nesters. Each group sets its own meeting schedule. Weekly studies follow the weekend's message, and study guides are available by the front doors at both campuses as well as in the NewLifeNWA app under "Sermon Notes." Open groups can be browsed online, where visitors can request to join. Those who don't find a match can call the church office at 479-855-1616 or email info@newlifenwa.com.
Discover NewLife
Discover NewLife is a 90-minute class offered at all campuses for newcomers who want to learn more about the church, get involved, or join. It serves as the next step for those exploring membership.
Baptism
Baptism is by immersion, based on the Greek word "baptizo" - to plunge, dip, or immerse. The church teaches that baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and is a visible response to faith in Christ. Anyone who has professed faith in Jesus is invited to follow His example.
Celebrate Recovery on Tuesday Nights
Celebrate Recovery meets every Tuesday night at the Riordan Campus at 103 Riordan Road. The program is open to anyone - not just members of NewLife - who is working through life's hurts, hang-ups, and habits. The ministry is built around the "8 Recovery Principles" and creates a Christ-centered path to freedom from addictive, compulsive, and dysfunctional behaviors.
The evening begins with dinner at 5:30 pm, followed by Large Group at 6:30 pm, Open Share at 7:30 pm, and Solid Rock at 8:30 pm. Celebration Place, a parallel program for children from birth through fifth grade, runs from 6:15 pm to 8:30 pm. Missy Yerxa serves as Celebrate Recovery Director.
The ministry's mission is to bring hope and healing through Jesus Christ to Bella Vista and the surrounding area.
A Global Reach with Local Roots
Global Mission Partners
NewLife supports mission work around the world through Go Partners. Tommy and Shiny serve as Executive Directors of Mid India Christian Mission. Ron and Pat Morse have served in Southeast Asia for over fifty years with North Burma Christian Mission, supporting evangelism, church planting, leadership training, and nine Bible College campuses. Hannah Tynes, from Coweta, Oklahoma, works with Overland Missions in Zambia, Africa. Matthew and Christine Rule serve with Crossover Global in Lebanon and other unreached areas. Pastor Elisha founded Grace Ministry Church in India, leading one of only two dozen churches in a city of over 2.1 million people.
Local Partners
Locally, NewLife connects with Samaritan Community Center, which runs thrift stores in Rogers and Springdale to fund programs serving the hungry and hurting in Northwest Arkansas. Loving Choices is a pro-life ministry offering free pregnancy services. Food2Families serves over 200 families a week across the region. The Call NWA mobilizes local churches to serve children and youth in foster care. Cookson Hills is a children's home in Northeast Oklahoma. Saving Grace NWA provides safe housing and support for young women aged 18 to 25 aging out of foster care. The NWA Care Portal connects foster families with churches ready to wrap around them in support.
What NewLife Believes
The church's faith statements center on the Bible as the ultimate authority for Christian belief and living, with both Old and New Testaments divinely inspired and without error. God is one, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - co-equal and each fully God.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for sin, and rose again after three days. He is both Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit is the special Helper sent to live in every believer, assuring salvation and enabling a fruitful Christian life.
All people are made in God's image but have sinned and separated themselves from Him. Salvation is a gift of grace received through faith in Jesus Christ alone and never earned by works. The church is the community of all true followers of Jesus, called out to worship, grow, serve, and make disciples.
Jesus is coming again to receive those who have obtained salvation through faith. Heaven is the eternal home of those in Christ; those who reject Him will be separated from Him in Hell. On marriage, the church teaches that God immutably creates each person as male or female and that marriage is the exclusive union of one biological man and one biological woman.
Christlike Values
Christlike truth is speaking God's truth clearly and without compromise from a heart of genuine love. Christlike prayer is a life of consistent, dependent, surrendered conversation with the Father. Christlike unity is the shared life in Christ, expressed through loving one another across differences. Christlike compassion means seeing the needs around us, feeling them deeply, and taking action to help. Christlike generosity is giving sacrificially, unconditionally, and abundantly, just as Jesus did.
Getting Connected
The church office can be reached at 479-855-1616 or info@newlifenwa.com. Giving is offered online, by texting an amount to 855-674-0733, or by mail to 103 Riordan Road, Bella Vista, AR 72715. The NewLifeNWA app is available for iPhone and Android. Sunday services at 10:00 am are livestreamed online. Visitors can pre-register children, sign up for the Buddy Program, browse open Life Groups, register for Discover NewLife, or plan a visit through the church's online forms.
Sermons are available to watch or listen online, and the church publishes a podcast called "Under The Hood" with Pastor Joe and his wife Kirsten, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Vimeo.
Seven elders - Andy Shepherd, Randy Watson, Steve Ames (Elder Chairman), Steve Conway, Chip DiStefano, Lee Anderson, and Jesse Ball - shepherd the congregation alongside Pastor Joe Williams.