University Baptist Church sits at 333 West Maple Street in the heart of downtown Fayetteville, just a few blocks east of the University of Arkansas campus and a short walk north of Dickson Street. The church was born in 1953 out of a desire to form a faithful, gospel-centered community in the college town, and it has remained anchored in that original calling ever since. From its campus built into the side of one of Fayetteville's rolling hills, University Baptist Church, known locally as UBC, proclaims Christ from all the Scriptures and seeks to make disciples from all the nations.
The Sunday Gathering in the Main Hall
Worship at UBC is centered on the Word. The Sunday schedule begins at 9:00 AM with Equipping Classes for adults and Sunday School for children, then gathers the whole church together in the Main Hall at 10:30 AM for the corporate worship service, which usually runs until noon. A second service meets at 5:00 PM in the Chapel on alternate Sundays and is set aside as a church-wide prayer gathering, with singing, a devotional from Scripture, and updates about the life of the church.
The morning service blends rich hymns with newer songs, with an emphasis on the congregation singing together. Each week, Scripture is read from both Old and New Testaments, prayers of praise and confession are offered, and an elder leads a pastoral prayer. Preaching is expositional, working through books of the Bible and regularly moving between the Old and New Testaments, with sermons around forty-five minutes long. The Lord's Supper is observed monthly, and baptism is celebrated as part of the gathered congregation. Baptized believers who are part of a faithful gospel-preaching church are welcomed to the table.
Visitors are invited to park in any of the church's lots and look for the friendly parking and greeting team, who will direct them to the Main Hall. The church is also only a short walk from the public parking garage on West Avenue.
Children's Ministry from Nursery through Fourth Grade
UBC's Children's Ministry partners with parents as the primary disciple-makers of their children, providing a loving, safe, Word-centered environment for newborns through fourth graders. Nursery and preschool classes meet during all services on the first floor of Chism and Randall Hall, where parents check in at the station in Randall Hall. Elementary children meet at 9:00 AM on the second floor of the Main Hall for grade-based Sunday School classes that use the Truth78 curriculum, with pickup by 10:15 AM.
During the 10:30 worship service, childcare is available for newborns through preschoolers, with activities, Bible stories, Scripture memory, songs, crafts, snacks, and recreation. All elementary children are also invited to join their families in the Main Hall for corporate worship, with worship sheets provided at ConnectingPoint to help younger children follow along. Many parents choose to keep their children with them throughout the service.
The Children's Ministry welcomes children with special needs into classes and activities with their peers, creating space for belonging and growth. Families with questions can contact Children's Ministry Coordinator Leah Smith or Childcare Coordinator Tammy Lineberger.
Student Ministry for Fifth through Twelfth Grade
UBC's Student Ministry prepares young people for a life serving Christ in the local church through a two-fold approach: making the gospel clear in every lesson and teaching students what it means to live the Christian life. Middle school students (grades 5 to 8) meet for their Sunday morning Equipping Class at 9:00 AM in the second floor of Heritage Hall, then gather again on Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in the same space. High school students (grades 9 to 12) meet at 9:00 AM in Heritage Hall under the heading "Every Spiritual Blessing" and on Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 PM on the second floor of the Fellowship Hall.
Wednesday night teaching has covered topics such as systematic theology, evangelism, cultivating Christian friendships, and how to study the Bible. Stephen Martin, the pastor over Family Ministries, oversees the Student Ministry.
College Ministry at the University of Arkansas
With the University of Arkansas right next door, college ministry is woven into the life of UBC. The Sunday morning gathering in the Main Hall is treated as the central place of discipleship, where students are nourished by preaching, prayer, and song. On Wednesdays at 7:00 PM, students meet at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry on campus to walk through a book of the Bible, beginning in the fall with the gospel of Mark. A Monday morning College Prayer Meeting gathers at 8:30 AM in the Legacy Room at UBC, and several on-campus Bible studies meet at various times and places throughout the week.
The ministry's three distinctives are church-centered discipleship, an evangelistic focus on reaching the lost on campus, and a missions-minded approach that helps students see themselves as either faithful senders or faithful goers in the spread of the gospel to the nations.
Women's Ministry
UBC's Women's Ministry gathers women around God's Word through two weekly Bible studies held in Heritage Hall. A fall study walks through ten selected Psalms, with options on Tuesday evenings from 6:45 to 8:30 PM or Wednesday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 AM. Each week includes independent study and small group discussion, wrapped up with expositional teaching on the passage. No prior Bible experience is required.
Two Precept studies also meet on Tuesday mornings beginning in mid-September. Nita Proffitt leads a study of Philippians, and Diana Page leads a study of the Covenants within the Bible. The ministry also hosts two larger events each year, a Christmas Tea and a Women's Retreat, planned and served by a team of UBC women.
Wee Care Christian Preschool
Wee Care is the weekday preschool ministry of University Baptist Church, serving children from twelve weeks old through four years. Classrooms are staffed with qualified teachers who use the state-approved Creative Curriculum and Adventures in Learning, alongside the Truth78 faith-based curriculum, Scripture memory, and prayer. Wee Care participates in Arkansas Better Beginnings, the state's quality rating system, and aims to lay a strong spiritual and educational foundation in every child.
Tuition is divided into nine equal payments from September through May. Class schedules vary by age, with two-day, three-day, and four-day options running from 8:15 AM until either noon or 2:00 PM. Multi-child discounts apply. Registration opens first for UBC families, then for current and former Wee Care families, and finally for the wider community. Tours are welcomed by appointment.
Second Mile Ministries: Loving the Neighbor
Second Mile Ministries is the compassion arm of UBC, reaching out to the broader Northwest Arkansas community with food, clothing, monetary aid, rent and utility assistance, and some medications. Its Community Care program offers one-on-one gospel-centered counseling to encourage spiritual growth, emotional maturity, and financial responsibility, while Missional Outreach works to develop practical skill sets that help people thrive in their jobs, marriages, and lives. The ministry also operates a Bus Ministry that connects UBC's resources with those in need.
Second Mile is housed in Heritage Hall at 315 West Maple Street and is open from 9:00 AM to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Contact is through secondmile@ubcfayetteville.org or (479) 521-4787.
Equipping Classes and the Bible Training Institute
Equipping Classes are the adult education hour at 9:00 AM on Sundays, designed to help members live and think theologically across the whole of the Christian life. Recent and upcoming offerings include Membership Matters, a four-week class on the Statement of Faith, Church Covenant, and philosophy of ministry for those pursuing membership; a study on the Fruit of the Spirit in the Life of the Savior; a practical course called Redeeming the Time; and a multi-track Gospel Way Catechism class.
The Bible Training Institute, or BTI, is UBC's nine-month, church-wide journey through the whole Bible. Pastors lead the studies, walking verse by verse through most books of the Bible. For the fifth year of BTI, the pastors are teaching through Paul's Letter to the Romans on Wednesday mornings from 6:30 to 7:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall, running from late August through the following May. The aim is to equip the saints to study Scripture inductively, with video recordings made available through UBC's YouTube BTI Video Playlist.
LifeGroups and Biblical Counseling
LifeGroups gather in homes across Northwest Arkansas for fellowship, prayer, and discussion around the previous Sunday's sermon. Organized geographically, these groups meet regularly in the fall and spring and seek to live out the one-anothers of Scripture together.
For more personal needs, UBC offers biblical counseling as the personal ministry of God's Word applied in times of trouble. The counseling team speaks the truth in love, helping counselees grow in faith, hope, love, and practical godliness. Men can reach out to Assistant Pastor Scott Bielinski, and women can schedule a meeting with Laura-Lee Alford, the Women's Counseling Coordinator.
The Membership Journey
Those interested in joining UBC begin with Membership Matters, a four-week Equipping Class taught by the elders that covers the church's Statement of Faith, Church Covenant, and philosophy of ministry. After completing the class, prospective members fill out a member profile and are matched with an elder for an informal interview covering their story, the gospel, and how God is growing them in the faith. The elders then recommend candidates to the congregation, which votes to receive them at a members' meeting.
The church's covenant commits members to work for the unity of the Spirit, gather regularly, promote a faithful gospel witness, lovingly guard one another from sin, study God's Word together, lead those under their care in the nurture of the Lord, contribute cheerfully to the ministry of the church, and join another gospel-preaching church should they ever leave UBC.
What We Believe
UBC describes itself as a historically Christian, evangelical, and Baptist church. All who join affirm the church's Statement of Faith, which walks through nineteen articles covering the Scriptures, the one true God in three persons, divine providence, humanity, the fall, the way of salvation, the freeness of salvation, God's purpose of grace, regeneration, repentance and faith, justification, sanctification, the perseverance of the saints, the visible church, baptism and the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Day, civil government, the righteous and the wicked, and the resurrection and the world to come.
Baptism is practiced by immersion of professing believers and is treated as a prerequisite to church membership and the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is observed monthly as a commemoration of Christ's death and a renewal of communion with him and with one another. The church teaches that the office of pastor is limited to qualified men according to Scripture, while recognizing that both men and women are gifted for service in the church.
Leadership and Governance
Leadership at UBC is a gift from God, with the congregation as the final authority in matters of membership, doctrine, and leadership. A plurality of male elders, meeting the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, shepherd the congregation through the Word and prayer and oversee the church's affairs. The current elders are Scott Bielinski, Wes Burgess, Sam Dawson, Christian Dennett, Michael Gaddy, Mike G., Sam Knecht, Stephen Martin, Jeremy Mueller, Dan Paul, Cole Penick, Nick Roark, and Brad Wheeler.
Deacons are set apart to handle specific practical and logistical needs of the church, with areas of service including parking, ordinances, member care, the bookstall, children's ministry, transportation, building and grounds, sound, greeting, safety, and ushering. The pastoral staff includes Lead Pastor Brad Wheeler, Associate Pastor Nick Roark, Assistant Pastor of Education and Leadership Development Scott Bielinski, Pastor over Family Ministries and LifeGroups Stephen Martin, and Pastoral Assistant Anthony Aviles.
Missions: Engaging the World with the Gospel
UBC supports mission work aimed at planting healthy local churches, increasing the worship of God through the praise of his glory in the hearts of his people. Global partners include missionaries in Uganda, South Africa, South Asia, England, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Colombia, and the Czech Republic. Domestic partners include Immanuel Baptist Church in Springdale, Ozark Baptist Church in Bentonville, Risen Christ Fellowship in Philadelphia, Silent Grove Baptist Church in Springdale, and a church planting resident in Jacksonville, Alabama.
Local outreach partners include the Baptist Collegiate Ministry in Fayetteville, Lightbearers, Compassion House in Springdale, Concilium Inc., Loving Choices, The Call, Second Mile, and the Washington Madison Baptist Association. Partner organizations include 9Marks, the Biblical Counseling Coalition, the SBC Cooperative Program, Global Serve International, and The Pillar Network.
The Pastoral Residency
UBC's Pastoral Residency is a nine-month training program running from August through May that equips men to be God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-dependent pastors. Residents gain experience in pastoral leadership, ecclesiology, church polity, preaching and teaching, counseling, and the administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper, blending theory and practice through reading, writing, observing, and weekly meetings with pastors. Applications are reviewed by mid-March for the cohort that begins in late August.
The church also points members to TELL, a missions-focused training track, and to the Bible Training Institute and Equipped to Counsel as additional avenues for being formed and sent for ministry. Every training initiative at UBC reflects the conviction that the local church is the most important place where Christians are formed and from which they are sent.