University Baptist Church sits on a corner of Kemp and Hanes Road in Beavercreek, just east of Dayton, where it has anchored its ministry to the Miami Valley for nearly six decades. The church grew out of a 1967 prayer meeting of eleven Christians gathered around a kitchen table, and its name - University Baptist Church - comes from its longtime heart for college students near Wright State University, the University of Dayton, Sinclair, Clark State, Cedarville, Wilberforce, and Central State. Today UBC is a multigenerational Southern Baptist congregation that meets in three identical Sunday morning services, broadcasts a worship service with live translation into seven languages at once, and supports missionaries on five continents. A second campus, Gospel Heights, has been meeting in Huber Heights since August 2025 and is on track to become an autonomous church by January 2028.
From Eleven Christians on Hanes Road
The story of University Baptist Church begins on the evening of Wednesday, July 12, 1967. Mr. and Mrs. David Ash hosted eleven Christians at their home for prayer and a conversation about planting a new Southern Baptist mission. By the end of the night the group agreed to meet again for worship and fellowship, and the first Sunday school and morning worship service were held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Estill G. Johnson. On September 20, 1967, Huber Heights First Baptist Church agreed to sponsor the new mission, and the following Sunday they received the new congregation as members.
Four months later attendance had nearly doubled, and the mission was ready to support a full-time pastor. Elwood "Woody" Hensley accepted the call in June 1968 and became UBC's first pastor. Through the Greater Dayton Association of Baptists, the mission received a 20-by-50-foot mobile chapel trailer for $15,000, which was dedicated on November 12, 1968, and used screens and curtains to divide the auditorium from Sunday school classrooms. Within four years the growing church launched a building program under Pastor Jules Soule, completing a $67,000 L-shaped building with a sanctuary that held 180 people.
In June 1974 the congregation adopted a constitution and was constituted as a New Testament church by its mother congregation, with 153 members on the rolls. Growth continued for thirteen years through cooperative support of associational, state, and SBC missions. A 1987 building program never materialized, but in 1993 Pastor Andrew Hollinger struck an unexpected deal: the University Church of God on the corner of Kemp and Hanes traded its building and 8.5 acres of land for UBC's property on Grange Hall Road. UBC later added another three acres, giving the church twelve acres and a building valued at $1.4 million.
In 1997, under Pastor Jim Dickey, the "Century Project" added a fellowship hall and activity center that brought Sunday school space, a gym, and room for the Upward Basketball program (grades 1 to 6) and the AWANA children's ministry. The English as a Second Language ministry began in January 2002. A pastoral transition period followed: Charlie Russell served from 2002 to 2008, Jim Bjornstad as interim in 2009, Casey Cockerham from 2010 to 2017, and Jim Dreisbach as interim starting in October 2017.
Lead Pastor Jason Wing accepted the call in March 2018. Over the next two years membership and weekly attendance grew by more than 250 percent. In 2020 the congregation unanimously adopted an elder-led governance structure alongside its historic congregational rule, installing Harry Steck and Scott Dixon as the first elders alongside the lead pastor. In 2021 the church launched the Make Him Known initiative, pledging $4.5 million over two years for a new worship center and expanded facilities. The congregation exceeded that goal at $5.1 million, broke ground in spring 2022, and partnered with Builders for Christ for volunteer labor. The first service in the new 19,000-square-foot worship center was held on March 23, 2023.
Three Identical Sunday Mornings
UBC holds three identical Sunday morning services at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 a.m. Each runs about 65 minutes and follows a gospel-shaped liturgy that moves from the holiness of the Creator God, through the brokenness of sinful people, to redemption through Jesus, and into a response of worship and mission. Services include congregational singing led by a worship band, corporate prayer, Scripture reading, and a sermon from God's Word.
The main UBC building on Hanes Road is open to the public from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sundays. From 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. it is open only to AWANA families and volunteers, and from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. it opens only for STUMIN student ministry. A parking map is published for first-time visitors, and the Worship Center has a baptismal tub on the front of the stage with heated water.
A livestream of the 9:30 a.m. service is broadcast each Sunday and is available through the UBC app and Church Center. The worship team operates on a gospel-shaped content model, choosing songs that match the liturgy of the day and rotating four small teams so that band members serve one full weekend per month. Auditions are held annually as team members commit to one-year terms.
Visitors with service dogs are asked to register ahead of time through the published service dog policy. Those wishing to be baptized are asked to fill out a baptism form; baptism is by immersion, takes place in front of the congregation, and requires wearing a UBC T-shirt, dark pants, and easily removable shoes, and bringing a towel, a change of clothes, and a written testimony.
Seven Languages on a Sunday
Because of Jesus' heart for the nations, UBC offers live translation into seven languages during each Sunday service: English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Swahili, and Korean. A sticker on the back of every chair in the auditorium points worshipers to a phone app where they can choose a language and follow the sermon in their heart language. UBC members regularly sit next to international neighbors during the service and read or listen alongside them.
For an international student or a refugee new to the Miami Valley, the live translation system is the difference between watching a service and joining one. The Refugee and International Engagement ministry of the church actively trains members to invite their neighbors and to build friendships with people from many nations who now call the Dayton area home.
U!Kids: Birth through Fifth Grade
U!Kids is UBC's children's ministry for infants through fifth grade, with a goal of helping children become wholehearted followers of Jesus who know Him and make Him known. The ministry is built on Lifeway's The Gospel Project for Kids, a Christ-centered chronological curriculum that walks children through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
On Sunday mornings, school-aged U!Kids students sing worship songs with a live worship band and motions team. When families arrive they are greeted by orange U!Kids flags outside the children's entrance. First-time families register at a kiosk, where they receive matching security stickers - one for the child and one for the parent - and a text message alert is used if a parent needs to be reached during the service. Each child is released only when the security tags match.
Every U!Kids volunteer is interviewed, completes a background check through Checkr, reads the U!Kids Ministry Handbook, and is trained on safety protocols. A safety team monitors hallways and classrooms throughout the day. Children should not be checked in with a fever over 99.6 degrees, chills, vomiting or diarrhea in the last 48 hours, sore throat, persistent cough, unexplained rash, or other contagious symptoms.
AWANA meets on Sunday afternoons from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. during the school year for PreK through fifth grade. Children work through Scripture memorization, games, and large-group teaching. The Sewing and Craft Ministry at UBC East prepares handmade items for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes each year, and UBC has set an annual goal of packing 1,250 shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and personal notes for children around the world.
STUMIN and the College Years
STUMIN, the Sunday evening student ministry for grades 6 through 12, runs from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the main auditorium. The hour includes a teaching lesson from God's Word and small group time divided by age and gender. Its aim is to help students know and love God, learn His Word, find a place to belong, and build a godly vision for their future. The STUMIN email list and a text alert system keep families in the loop on retreats and summer mission trips, including an annual STUMIN Chicago trip.
For college students, the ministry that gave UBC its name continues today. UBC was founded in 1967 with a heart for college students, and its location near Wright State University, the University of Dayton, Sinclair Community College, Clark State, Cedarville, Wilberforce, and Central State keeps that focus alive.
During the school year, the College and Young Adult Ministry meets on Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel at UBC Main. The evening typically includes worship, teaching, and small group discussion. The college ministry hosts special events throughout the year and encourages students to serve in UBC ministries where their energy and gifts are needed.
The Young Adult Ministry (YAM) gathers biweekly on Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m. at UBC East, the property at 2991 Kemp Road across the street from the main building. The time together includes food, a worship set, and Bible study. Worship nights, workshops, and fellowship events round out the YAM calendar.
Men, Women, and Senior Adults
UBC's Men's Ministry exists to see men strong in the Lord, embracing the call to fitting authority and sacrificial responsibility so they can lead, love, protect, and provide in the home, church, and society. Older men are encouraged to train up younger men.
The Men's Monthly Meeting is a rally point on the third Saturday of every month, with food, passionate singing, expository preaching, table conversation, and ministry to one another. Men's Micro-Groups gather three or four men at a time. Each meeting looks back at the challenges and triumphs since the last gathering, looks down at the Bible together with prayer, and looks ahead to help one another live on mission. Resources include a men's Bible reading plan, a "Leading and Discipling Men" class held during the summer quarter, the Bible Study Boot Camp audio series, and the annual Sharpen men's conference.
The Women's Ministry exists to equip and empower every woman, of any age or stage, with regular gospel-focused opportunities for biblical teaching and discipleship, spiritual formation, intentional outreach, and community connection. During the school year, UBC women study the Bible together on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings. Recent studies have walked through Hebrews and a Jen Wilkin study of Revelation. A women's mailing list keeps the community connected, and an annual women's conference called Image Bearer brings the wider community together. Director of Women's Ministries Rachel Kimble oversees the work, with Alathea de Almeida serving as Connections Coordinator and Kelcey Flynn as Communications Coordinator.
The Senior Adult Ministry (SAM) helps senior adults become wholehearted followers of Jesus who know Him and make Him known, and connects generations in the church body. SAM hosts a variety of fellowship and ministry events throughout the year, some pairing seniors with other demographics and some designed just for them.
Groups for Growth and Care
UBC's Groups Ministries are designed to meet people where they are and support their walk with the Lord.
Growth Groups are gatherings of ten to thirty people that meet weekly to discuss sermons, encourage one another, and serve one another. Care Groups are designed for individuals experiencing seasons of suffering, struggle, or hurt and offer additional support in a particular stage of life. UBC Connect is a group for anyone who wants to get more involved at UBC, digging into the identity of the church, the gospel, and what membership means.
Sunday morning adult classes run during each of the three services at UBC Main. U!Kids Sunday School classes meet during each of the three Sunday services for children from infants through fifth grade, with registration recommended so the child-to-teacher ratio can be kept small.
From Beavercreek to the Nations
UBC supports more than twenty missionaries and missionary families serving on five continents. In North America, Clint Mahan serves with AIA at Lincoln University in Missouri, the Nattiers recently returned from the Hospital of Hope in Togo, the Ortegas church plant at Wright State University, the Pucketts serve with YouthHOPE, and the Strohs serve with Pittsburgh Metro Cru. In Central and South America, the Cabildos serve with Ambassadors Football in Mexico, Natasha Dobson teaches at Las Palmas Christian School in the Dominican Republic, the McCutcheons provide biblical counseling to missionaries in Latin America, and Fabian Santillan pastors in Clodomira, Argentina, among the Quichua people. In Europe, Cole Wrigglesworth serves with the Greater Europe Mission LAUNCH program in Vlorë, Albania. In Africa, the Bahuns serve at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Windhoek, Namibia, and E.S. serves in a restricted area with Pioneers. In Asia, several families serve in undisclosed countries in education, church planting, and Bible translation, with the V Family in Western Asia and the Weavers serving with TEAM in the Philippines.
UBC members on mission include Kari Atkinson with TEAM as a member care provider, Bill Babione as Director of AIA Global, Quinn Bezenah with AIA Soccer, Tim and Casey Cole with AIA, Sarah Evans with AIA Basketball, and Matt Oberlin as Director of Global Football Ministry for AIA.
UBC also sends short-term teams. A long-running medical team partners with ABWE each year in Paraguay. Past trips have gone to Argentina, Uganda, and Chicago for STUMIN. The 2027 calendar includes Paraguay (February 25 through March 7), Uganda (June), and Argentina (August). Mission trip giving is set up as a separate online fund so supporters can designate toward a specific trip or team member.
Two UBC members, E and A, are now in cross-cultural missionary training and are headed toward a future overseas assignment. Mission and Mercy Ministry Update newsletters are published monthly, with prayer focuses, mission highlights, mercy highlights, profiles of core team members, and a calendar of upcoming opportunities.
Mercy Ministry in the Miami Valley
The Mercy Ministry exists to display the love of Jesus to the hurting in the community, meeting tangible needs for the homeless, orphans, widows, and the poor. Mercy is organized into nine active teams.
Pro-Life Ministry offers tangible support for pregnancy resource initiatives, including a winter coat drive October 11 for sizes 6 to 9 months through 5T. Called to Care is a wraparound care model for foster and adoptive families with a monthly support group meeting on the fourth Tuesday. Nursing Home Ministry brings Sunday afternoon messages and Wednesday visitations to Beavercreek Post Acute and Centerville Health and Rehab. The Fix-It Team handles hands-on repairs for single mothers, refugees, widows, and others. The Sewing and Craft Ministry creates handmade items for partner ministries at UBC East and prepares items for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
First Responder Ministry delivers homemade baked goods to first responders on a biweekly Monday morning rotation. Refugee and International Engagement demonstrates Biblical hospitality to refugees, immigrants, and visitors through International Family Nights and other gatherings. ESL Ministry meets Tuesday evenings from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. during the school year for adults learning English. Relief Efforts provide essential support and resources for communities affected by natural disasters.
The church hosts the Beavercreek Prayer Walk on the first Saturday of each month and sponsors a community meal at One Bistro in Xenia. Recent outreach events have also included joint evangelism days with Gospel Heights in Huber Heights.
Gospel Heights: A Church Plant in Huber Heights
Gospel Heights Church is UBC's church plant in Huber Heights. In August 2025 the new campus held its soft launch in the Huber Heights Chamber of Commerce building at 6428 Chambersburg Road with a planting team, followed by Kickoff Sunday on August 31. During the campus phase, Gospel Heights is one church with UBC meeting in two locations: it shares one Elder Body, one Deacon Body, and one Member Body, with members designated to each campus.
Bryson Jackson, an Elder on UBC's staff since 2023, serves as the planting pastor of Gospel Heights. He and his wife Skyler previously served UBC in groups, classes, community life, and the tech team. Bryson preaches at Gospel Heights, and Jason Wing preaches at Beavercreek, with shared sermon texts across both campuses. The work has received endorsement from Send Network of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The campus-to-plant model is set to transition Gospel Heights into an autonomous church by January 2028. At that point members committed to the new work will transfer their memberships together and form new elder, deacon, and member bodies, while retaining UBC's doctrine, polity, and vision with a unique Huber Heights flavor. UBC and Gospel Heights share a vision for a Make Him Known Network of churches across the Miami Valley.
What We Believe
UBC's Statement of Faith begins with the Bible as the inspired and infallible Word of God, the sole and final source of all the church believes, with the Body of Elders as the final interpretive authority on the Bible's meaning and application. The church affirms the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message as a key summary of its beliefs.
UBC believes in one true God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father reigns with providential care over His universe; the Son is the eternal Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, who died and rose again and now reigns at the right hand of God as the one Mediator between God and humanity; the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, convicts of sin, regenerates, baptizes believers into the body of Christ, and seals them for final redemption.
Salvation is wholly by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Justification is the believer's pardon and the imputation of Christ's righteousness, received by faith apart from works. Sanctification is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit, and the church believes that those who are truly saved will persevere in faith to the end. Christian baptism is by immersion of believers, and the Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience and a means of grace.
UBC holds a complementarian view of the church offices: the offices of pastor, elder, and overseer are reserved for men as qualified by Scripture, while both men and women are gifted for service in the church. The statement on marriage, gender, and sexuality defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman and affirms the dignity of every person made in the image of God. The church also affirms the sanctity of human life from conception through natural death.
Pastoral Leadership and Governance
UBC is elder-led and congregationally ruled. Lead Pastor Jason Wing has been at the church since March 2018 and is supported by an Elder Body that includes Jim Corbin (Executive Pastor of Staff), Bill Letcher (Pastor of Prayer and Care), Dan Turner (Pastor of Biblical Formation and Community Life), Bryson Jackson (Campus Planting Pastor), Rich Porter, John Heading, Glen Duerr, and Tim West.
The staff also includes Phil Wing (Director of Worship and Media Arts), Jarrin Bradshaw (Director of Communications), Bobbie Schell (Director of Children's Ministries), Rob Slouffman (Director of Student Ministries), Rachel Kimble (Director of Women's Ministries), Francisco Jimenez Peña (Director of Missions and Mercy Ministries), and Brian Tanedo (Director of Connections).
Getting Connected
Visitors are invited to fill out a Connection Card online. UBC 101 is a one-time class that introduces newcomers to the church's mission, beliefs, and structure. Membership follows a conversation with a staff member, baptism by immersion for those not already baptized by immersion, and a congregational vote. A "Next Steps" path includes baptism, UBC 101, membership, and serving.
Giving is available three ways: in person during Sunday services (cash or check in the seat-back envelopes), online through Church Center for one-time or recurring gifts, and through a bank's bill pay service using the church's mailing address. A tithe of 10 percent is taught as the biblical standard.
The UBC app (Church Center) provides sermons, podcasts, an events calendar, registrations, a directory, and online giving. Sermons are available on demand through the UBC app, the YouTube channel, and as the UBC Beavercreek Sermons podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The Talking Points podcast features conversations on church planting, men's ministry, and stories from the mission field.
Service dog owners are asked to register their service dog ahead of their visit. UBC Beavercreek is at 2223 Hanes Road, Beavercreek, Ohio 45432, with the church office reachable at 937-426-3966. Gospel Heights, the church plant, meets at 6428 Chambersburg Road, Huber Heights, Ohio 45424.