First Bentonville: A Downtown Church Reaching Neighbors and Nations
Tucked into the heart of downtown Bentonville at 200 SW A Street, First Bentonville is a Baptist church whose mission can be summed up in three phrases: Love Your City, Love Your Neighbor, Love Your World. The church gathers three times a week for worship, runs an early childhood learning center on its campus, and sends short-term mission teams from Alaska to Mexico to the Dominican Republic. Its stated conviction is simple: lost and unchurched people matter to a compassionate God, and therefore they matter to the church.
Service Times and What a Sunday Looks Like
First Bentonville meets for worship on Saturdays at 4:00 PM and Sundays at 9:00 AM and 10:45 AM. Services run about 75 minutes each. Visitors are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early to park, check in children, and grab a coffee before things start. A First Impressions team staffs welcome areas to help newcomers find their way. Services feature Christ-centered contemporary worship and engaging, transparent messages from the Bible. Both in-person gatherings are broadcast online, with livestreams available and a full archive of past messages.
Dress is completely casual; the church says some people come dressed up and others dressed down. New families with children can pre-register kids for a smoother first Sunday.
Lead Pastor Chris Dixon
Chris Dixon is the Senior Pastor of First Bentonville. Before moving to Northwest Arkansas, he pastored Liberty Church in Dublin, Georgia, from 2006 to 2021, growing attendance from fewer than 50 to more than 1,300 each Sunday and seeing over a thousand people saved and baptized during his tenure. Dixon was educated at Tennessee Temple University and Liberty University and has been in full-time ministry since 1995. He has preached events across the United States and abroad, and is known for his passion for Christ and the Word of God. He and his wife Amy have three adult children and three grandchildren.
The executive team includes Chris Lee, Administrative Associate Pastor; Randy Cameron, Discipleship Pastor; Bobby McGovern, Communications Pastor; and Craig Whitt, Missions Pastor. Gunnar Dixon serves as Next Generation Pastor, overseeing students and the next generation of leaders.
Mission, Values, and Beliefs
The church's mission is that lost and unchurched people matter to a compassionate God, and therefore they matter to the church. First Bentonville holds that the church should use every available means to reach a city, the nation, and the world, and that its greatest influence comes through serving the community through regular acts of kindness.
Its doctrinal statement affirms classic Baptist convictions: one God eternally existing in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the Bible as the inspired and infallible Word of God, salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, eternal security of the believer, the bodily return of Christ, and the reality of heaven and hell. Baptism is understood as a believer's act of obedience by full immersion after salvation, symbolizing death to sin and resurrection with Christ. The Lord's Supper is observed as a symbolic memorial of Christ's death.
First Kids: From Birth Through Fifth Grade
First Kids is the children's ministry, designed for children from birth through fifth grade. The church partners with parents to help kids become fully devoted followers of Jesus. Programming is built around age-appropriate Bible teaching, live worship music, games, videos, skits, and small groups led by background-checked volunteers.
Children from birth through age 2 enjoy a loving, nurturing environment. Three- to five-year-olds add a large group session with singing, dancing, and weekly reinforcement of the Bible story and memory verse. Elementary kids (K-5th) are organized into grade-level small groups, with K-1st graders and 2nd-5th graders each getting two distinct experiences (rotation in worship, then small groups).
First Kids meets Saturdays at 4:00 PM, Sundays at 9:00 AM and 10:45 AM, and Wednesdays from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM. The Wednesday program is a life-applications track that walks through Bible stories, missions activities, and games. A secure check-in system prints matching parent and child tags with unique codes; a trained security team monitors the area.
Children with special needs are welcomed in the Unlimited Ministry, which provides a safe, loving environment so children and their families can experience the love of Christ. New families are asked to contact Beth Hodde so the team can learn how best to accommodate each child. Unlimited also runs Halftime, a monthly respite night for parents of children with disabilities, held once a month from September through May, with children paired one-on-one with volunteers from 6:30 to 10:00 PM.
Bentonville Students: 6th Through 12th Grade
Bentonville Students exists for friends, teammates, family, and strangers, with a focus on making Jesus' name great among others. The ministry's mission is to teach a love of God's Word and to live on mission for Jesus through neighbor and global engagement.
Students meet Wednesdays from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at The Chapel on the main campus at 200 SW A Street. Programming is led by Gunnar Dixon (Student Pastor) with Student Associates Katie Jo DeShong and Victoria Fredericks, and the ministry maintains an email list and an Instagram presence for updates.
Noah's Ark Learning Center
Noah's Ark Learning Center is a preschool and Mother's Day Out ministry of First Bentonville that began in 1989. Located in downtown Bentonville, the center serves children from 6 months to 6 years old, with a mission to nurture and show Christ's love to children and their families.
The program operates Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, from early September through late May. Car line runs from 7:50 AM to 8:00 AM and 1:50 PM to 2:00 PM. Three- to five-year-olds have preschool options on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, Tuesday/Thursday/Friday, or all five days. Six-month-olds through age 2 have Mother's Day Out on the same schedules, plus an all-five-days option. A Bridge Class is offered for four- and five-year-olds on a five-day week only. Tuition is paid through the church's giving platform. Director Amy Barnett oversees the program; the office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 2:15 PM, with limited hours during the summer.
Life Groups, D-Groups, and Interest Groups
Small groups are the primary way First Bentonville says people grow in Christ and community. The church runs three kinds.
Life Groups meet during the week and are designed for practical application of God's Word and biblical community. They are organized by age and stage of life. Saturday meets at 5:15 PM (adults 40-60). Sunday 9:00 AM groups include adults 20-35, 35-50, 50-60, and 55-70. Sunday 10:45 AM groups include adults 30-50, 50-60, 55-65, 55-75, ladies 40+, and two adults 65+ groups, plus a ladies 70+ group. Most meet on the Lower Level of the main campus, with two meeting in the Love Your City Building on Main Street.
D-Groups (Discipleship Groups) are the church's most intensive small-group experience: groups of 4-5 men or women meeting weekly for 52 weeks for personal, practical, and powerful discipleship. Members read, study, and memorize scripture, pray together, and hold each other accountable. A couples D-Group track is also offered for groups of 4-6 couples.
Interest Groups are casual gatherings around shared hobbies, with no agenda or long-term commitment. Active groups include a young adults 20s community, gravel cycling, pickleball, golf, bowling, and mountain biking.
Men's, Women's, and 55+ Ministries
Men's Ministry exists to encourage and equip men to evangelize the lost, develop godly character through a deeper relationship with Jesus, and serve others. D-Groups form the core of men's discipleship, and special gatherings are held for fathers and sons.
Women's Ministry provides regular Bible studies, prayer gatherings, and fellowship events. The First Ladies Bible Study meets throughout the school year on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 AM and Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM, moving through a rotation of studies. Women are welcome to jump in at any point.
55+ Adults builds long-lasting relationships through day trips and fellowship events. Within this ministry, Women of Grace offers a nurturing community for widows, providing a place of solace, strength, and sisterhood.
Family Ministry Classes
The Family Ministry addresses modern family life through seasonal classes and events focused on marriage, parenting, finances, and healthy relationships. Offerings include marriage conferences, counseling and classes, and family events. Examples include Vertical Marriage (Saturday evenings), Prodigal Parenting (Wednesday evenings), Keys To Freedom (a women's study on Wednesday evenings), End Times (Wednesday evenings), and Financial Coaching by appointment.
Love Your City: Outreach in Bentonville
The Love Your City ministry engages Bentonville through regular acts of kindness. Activities include First Kids Stop on First Fridays from April through November, the Saturday Market, Tailgate Sunday in February, Food Truck Sundays in summer and fall, Love Your City Weekends in May and August, a Fall Carnival in October, teacher appreciation events, feeding athletic teams, Toyland in November, the Lighting of the Square in November, and Joyville in December. The ministry's passion is to care for, connect with, and communicate the love of Jesus throughout the community.
Love Your Neighbor and Love Your World: Missions
Love Your Neighbor trains church members to engage their own neighborhoods through missional groups, neighborhood outreach, and Matthew Parties (hosting unchurched friends and neighbors for dinner).
Love Your World sends short-term mission teams around the world, with partnerships that include:
- Alaska Baptist Convention
- Connect Global Network
- Northern Lights Missions (Tok, Alaska)
- New Missions (Haiti and Dominican Republic)
- Brazos De Dios (Guanajuato, Mexico)
- Revitalize Ministries (Europe)
The church strengthens these partners through prayer, finances, and short-term teams. Mission Trip Interest Forms are available for those who want to go.
The 15:5 Life and Abiding Journey
The 15:5 Life is the church's discipleship pathway, named for John 15:5: I am the vine, you are the branches. The aim is for members to bear much fruit by abiding in Christ. As part of the 15:5 Life, the church asks its people to set a daily 3:05 PM alarm to pray together for reaching the lost, making disciples, cultivating spiritual gifts, and funding missions.
The Abiding Journey is the corresponding set of discipleship classes, including Foundations 1 (core truths on which to build your life), Rooted (four habits of healthy spiritual growth), D-Groups (intensive practical discipleship), Discover Your Calling (purpose and gifts), God's Global Mission, and Foundations 2 (doctrinal truths). Classes are offered in October and other seasons throughout the year.
Serve and Volunteer
Volunteer teams include First Impressions (greeting and parking), First Kids, Safety Team, Media, Students, Worship, Love Your City, and Unlimited. The church encourages a serve-one, sit-one rhythm so volunteers can be fully present when serving and fully present when attending. Most teams run on a rotation cycle, and many require background checks and training.
Giving
Generosity is central to the church's mission. Tithes and offerings can be given online, in person at a generosity box in the commons, by mail to the church office at 220 S Main Street, Bentonville, AR 72712, through the church app, or by texting GIVEFBCB to 833.362.7249. In-person gifts can also be brought to the office Monday-Thursday 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM and Fridays 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM.
Next Steps for Visitors
First Bentonville welcomes newcomers at every stage. Starting Point is the entry class for those wanting to learn about the church, what it means to follow Jesus, and how to get involved. Baptism sign-ups are available for those who have made a decision to follow Christ. Those ready to commit can partner formally with the church through the Partner With Us process. Prayer requests can be submitted online for the prayer ministry to be available.
For more information or to plan a visit, the church office can be reached at (479) 273-3379 or firstinfo@fbcbentonville.org, or at 200 SW A Street, Bentonville, AR 72712.