Becoming Like Christ Across Two Pensacola Campuses
Hillcrest Baptist Church operates from two campuses in different parts of Pensacola, Florida. The Nine Mile Campus sits at 800 East Nine Mile Road, and the Spanish Trail Campus meets at 3960 Spanish Trail. Both campuses carry the same motto, "Becoming Like Christ," and the same focus: worship God, connect with others, serve the world, and invest in someone.
The church is a Southern Baptist congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association, and it affirms the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. A staff of pastors, ministry directors, and volunteers works across both locations, and the church holds accreditation with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
Senior Pastor Jim Locke
Jim Locke has served as senior pastor of Hillcrest since 2005. A Nashville native and honors graduate of Vanderbilt University, Locke completed graduate studies in theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Before moving to Pensacola, he spent ten years as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Forsyth, Missouri, near Branson. He and his wife Judy have been married for nearly forty years and have two adult children and two grandsons.
Executive Leadership
- Doug Kimsal, Executive Pastor
- Brian Barlow, Missions and Evangelism Pastor
- Dan Davis, Campus Pastor of Spanish Trail
- Dustin Scott, NextGen Pastor
- Heath Wilson, Connect and Biblical Soul Care Pastor
- Brad Woods, Worship Pastor of Nine Mile
Sunday Worship and What to Expect
Sundays at Hillcrest center on corporate worship with live music, Scripture reading, and Bible preaching. The Nine Mile Campus gathers for worship at 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM in the Worship Center. The Spanish Trail Campus meets at 9:30 AM in its own Worship Center.
First-time guests are guided by the First Impressions team from a designated parking spot to the right service. Visitors hear the words, "Come as you are and let's become like Christ together." Dress is casual, and the atmosphere leans friendly rather than formal. Separate Bible teaching and worship are offered for preschool and elementary-aged children during the services, or children may sit with their families.
Services are livestreamed from the Nine Mile Campus on YouTube and Facebook, and recordings are archived in the sermon library.
Connect Groups Each Sunday Morning
Connect Groups form the primary way the church builds community. More than forty adult options meet on Sunday mornings alongside a fully graded program for preschoolers through high schoolers. At Nine Mile, groups meet at 8:15, 9:30, and 11:00 AM. At Spanish Trail, groups gather at 8:15 and 11:00 AM. Groups are coed, men's, women's, and intergenerational, and newcomers can visit as many as they wish before completing a Connect Group Information card to join.
Midweek Gatherings on Wednesdays
Both campuses open on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM. At Nine Mile, the evening begins with a fellowship supper in Northwest Hall from 4:45 to 6:00 PM, followed by the Pastor's Bible Study, Hillcrest Choir rehearsal, the Most Excellent Way addiction recovery group, and preschool programs for younger children. Programs for K through 5th grade, middle school, and high school run at the same time. Wednesday mornings at 8:30 AM feature Open Gym Pickleball in the gym.
The Discipleship Pathway
Hillcrest funnels members through three small-group formats that move from friendship to multiplication.
- Connect Groups are the entry point. They meet on Sunday mornings, studying the Bible, building relationships, and serving together, anchored in Acts 2:42-47.
- Growth Groups are seasonal studies organized into equipping, doctrinal, and maturity tracks. Most meet on Wednesday nights, with Spring, Summer, and Fall offerings each year, and most require a book fee.
- Disciple Groups (D-Groups) are gender-specific groups of three to five believers who meet weekly for twelve to eighteen months. They engage Scripture, pray, hold one another accountable, share evangelism, and aim to replicate new groups at the end. Matthew 28:20 and 2 Timothy 2:2 frame the vision.
Preschool Through High School
Hillcrest Preschool serves children from birth through age five with Bible-based programming at both campuses on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. The Nine Mile Campus runs preschool at 8:15, 9:30, and 11:00 AM, plus Wednesdays at 6:15 PM. Spanish Trail meets Sundays at 9:30 and 11:00 AM and Wednesdays at 6:30 PM. Family Dedication classes take place twice a year at Nine Mile and are integrated into Sunday morning services at Spanish Trail. Heather Ball directs Preschool at Nine Mile; Amy Pappal directs Preschool and Children at Spanish Trail.
Hillcrest Kids serves kindergarten through fifth grade with grade-based small groups, large-group worship in the Clubhouse environment, Vacation Bible School each summer, and Jumpstart, a four-Sunday class for kids asking questions about faith and baptism offered four times a year. Megan Woodham directs Kids at Nine Mile; Pappal leads Kids alongside Preschool at Spanish Trail.
Hillcrest Students gathers middle and high schoolers during the week. At Nine Mile, students meet Sundays at 9:30 AM for worship and Connect Groups in the Student Center, then again Wednesdays at 6:30 PM for worship, large group teaching, and Connect Groups. At Spanish Trail, students attend corporate worship at 9:30 AM and meet for Connect Groups at 11:00 AM, plus Wednesdays at 6:30 PM for games, worship, and teaching in the Student Room. Jeremy Weidlich leads High School at Nine Mile, David McSwain directs Middle School, Derek Brown serves as Student Ministry Associate at Spanish Trail, and Anna DeBruin leads worship as the NextGen Worship Leader.
College, Young Adults, and IMAGE
Young Adults span college students and young professionals through age thirty. The Tuesday evening worship gathering IMAGE meets at 6:00 PM in Heritage Hall at the Nine Mile Campus. College and Nearly/Newlywed Connect Groups, plus Young Professionals groups for men and women, meet on Sundays at Nine Mile, and a College Connect Group meets at Spanish Trail at 11:00 AM. Home Groups extend the discipleship environment into smaller gatherings during the week. Charlie Marlowe directs Young Adults, and the ministry operates under Dustin Scott, the NextGen Pastor.
Men's, Women's, and 55+ Ministries
Hillcrest Men pursues "brothers in Christ" through seasonal worship gatherings, Sunday morning Connect Groups, Growth Groups, D-Groups, and a chapter of Bible Study Fellowship that meets Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Lastinger Building at Nine Mile. BSF offers a free, interdenominational, 30-week Bible study for all ages and levels of Bible knowledge. Terry Palmer directs Men's Ministry.
Hillcrest Women's Ministry hosts MomLIFE on the second Monday of each month, the Lattes & Life fellowship, an annual One Day Conference, a Christmas Dinner, the Fill My Cup missions tea, and Disciple and Growth Groups. Cathy Perry directs the ministry.
Hillcrest 55+, under 55+ Pastor Brian Calhoun, gathers active adults through Sunday morning Connect Groups plus a full calendar of recreation and fellowship. Pickleball runs Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in the gym, and Life in Motion, a senior fitness class focused on balance and flexibility, meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to 10:30 AM in Northwest Hall. About once a month, 55+ Game Day fills the hall with board games, dominoes, and cards, and a no-cost lunch is served. Spring and Christmas banquets anchor the year, and the group organizes day trips, one- and two-night getaways, and longer travel, with recent destinations including Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and Washington, D.C.
Worship Arts at Hillcrest
The Worship Ministry leads congregational singing each Sunday, drawing on a Hillcrest Choir (non-audition, ninth grade and up, rehearsing Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Choir Room), a Vocal Praise Team selected from the choir, the Hillcrest Orchestra (brass, woodwinds, and strings, eleventh grade and up), and the Hillcrest Band (guitars, drums, keys, eleventh grade and up). Brad Woods directs the program at Nine Mile; Matt Tripp leads worship at Spanish Trail. Brian Davis serves as Associate Worship Pastor and oversees information technology. The ministry produces Nights of Praise evenings and the annual Christmas at Hillcrest concert, which features the adult, student, and children's choirs at the Nine Mile Campus.
Missions on the Acts 1:8 Road Map
Hillcrest frames its missions work around Acts 1:8: Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Brian Barlow, Missions and Evangelism Pastor, leads the work.
Jerusalem is the everyday relationships of church members, including neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends, with evangelism training and faith-sharing resources available. Judea and Samaria are partnerships with the Florida Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board for church planting across North America; Hillcrest partners with church plants such as City View in Atlanta, Cross Community in Savannah, Your Church in Las Vegas, and The Living Stone in Broomfield, Colorado. The ends of the earth are partnerships with the International Mission Board and other evangelical agencies, including the Arab Center for Consulting and Training Services, Gideons International, Moody Missions in El Salvador, and Word of Life teams in Argentina and Ecuador. Local ministry partners include One More Child, Waterfront Rescue Mission, Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen, Health and Hope Clinic, Habitat for Humanity, and several others across Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties.
Biblical Soul Care
Hillcrest runs an ACBC-certified counseling ministry under Connect and Biblical Soul Care Pastor Heath Wilson. Counselors address anxiety, depression, addiction, abuse, grief, relationship struggles, OCD, and post-traumatic stress through the lens of Scripture. Counseling is offered free of charge with a refundable $40 deposit. Two weekly support ministries anchor the program: Most Excellent Way, a Bible study for those in life-dominating sins and addictions that meets Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at Nine Mile, and New Journey, a widows' care ministry. GriefShare groups run in the fall and spring as Growth Groups. The Biblical Soul Care Training Center also helps members pursue ACBC certification (an average of two years and roughly $1,400 in total cost, fully funded for Hillcrest members in good standing).
Disaster Relief on the Gulf Coast
Under Pastor of Disaster Response Dale Simmons, Hillcrest partners with Florida Baptist Disaster Relief to provide feeding, cleanup, and spiritual care after storms along the Gulf Coast. The church offers a five-month hurricane preparedness outline covering basic supplies, shelter and clothing, communication, home hardening, and important documents, and it accepts volunteers through the Florida Baptist DR pipeline.
Recreation: Gym, Park, and Upward Leagues
The Nine Mile Campus is home to a full-size gym with a two-court volleyball setup, an indoor walking track, and locker rooms, plus a Fitness Center with treadmills, ellipticals, stationary cycles, and weight machines for ages sixteen and up. Hillcrest Park adds softball fields, a Little League field, a playground, concessions, picnic tables, a covered seating area, and restrooms. Leagues run year-round: Upward Soccer (K3 through 5th grade), Upward Pickleball (6th through 12th grade), baseball, softball and teeball (ages three to thirteen), co-ed adult volleyball, Legends Basketball for adult men thirty and older (with a devotion and prayer time before tip-off), and 55+ Pickleball. Recreation Director Ken Parnell oversees the program.
Bible Reading, Prayer, and Spiritual Gifts
The church publishes an annual Bible Reading Plan, downloadable by book of the Bible or by topical tracks such as "Bible in a Year." Readers are encouraged to journal using the HEAR method (Highlight, Explain, Apply, Respond). Prayer is a central rhythm; visitors and members can submit prayer requests online. A Spiritual Gifts assessment is available to help members identify how to serve.
Beliefs
Hillcrest affirms the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Core convictions include the full inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, one true God in three persons, creation of humanity as male and female, the fall of humanity, salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, the church as expressed through autonomous local congregations, baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as the two ordinances, and the physical return of Christ. Of the Bible, Hillcrest says plainly: "We believe the Bible to be God's word to man. It is perfect and free of any mistakes."
Membership, Baptism, and Giving
Baptism is by immersion and reserved for those who have repented and placed their faith in Christ. Hillcrest teaches that baptism is an outward display of an inward conversion rather than a prerequisite for salvation. Membership follows a similar path. Giving is available online, by mail to the Nine Mile address, or via the offering plates at the close of each Sunday service.