A Progressive Baptist Home on Dutton Avenue
On a quiet stretch of Dutton Avenue, a few blocks from Baylor University, University Baptist Church has shaped the spiritual life of Wacoans for decades. Members describe their community with a phrase that doubles as a motto: "UBC seeks to form a community of people into the way of Christ that embraces beauty and lives life to the fullest." Waco is a college town with a long conservative religious history, and UBC has long positioned itself as something different: a progressive, thoroughly Baptist congregation that takes the Nicene Creed seriously, welcomes LGBTQIA+ members, supports women in every form of leadership, hosts an ancient-future Sunday liturgy, and counts songwriters like David Crowder among its alumni. The doors at 1701 Dutton Avenue open on Sunday mornings, but for many in the pews (and many more watching on Facebook) the rhythm of the week begins well before then, with small groups in living rooms, Wednesday youth dinners, and a steady stream of community partnerships that reach into neighborhoods across McLennan County.
Sunday Mornings on Dutton Avenue
The Sunday rhythm at UBC is unhurried. Sunday School opens the building at 9:30 a.m., with classes for every age from the nursery through the oldest adult learners. The Sunday Liturgy begins at 10:45 a.m. and is offered both in person and on Facebook Live for those who cannot be present in the sanctuary.
The worship style is what the staff calls "ancient-future" - a liturgy that draws from ancient Christian practices while making room for contemporary songwriting, visual art, and creative expression. Lead Pastor Andie Pellicer describes the heart of it this way: "At UBC, we seek to be a community formed in the way of Christ, becoming people who love God by loving our neighbors and embodying the care and attention of God in our ordinary lives." The worship arts ministry, led by Worship and Arts Pastor Jamie McGregor, is in many ways the soul of the room.
After the service ends, the community spills into the Backside, the fellowship hall behind the sanctuary that gives the church much of its informal character. "The Backside is located, appropriately, on the back side of our building," the staff writes, "used as a Sunday School class, kitchen, and serving space. In other churches it would be known as the 'Fellowship Hall.'" It is where coffee, doughnuts, and conversation live on Sunday mornings, and where smaller events like book club, craft nights, and the occasional open-mic happen throughout the week.
The Nicene Creed as a Mosaic, Not a Boundary
University Baptist Church calls itself a "place of varied theological belief." The staff writes: "Insofar as beliefs do not diminish anyone's value or dignity, a community of diverse theological belief offers us a helpful mosaic of attempts at answering questions beyond our reach and of describing a God who is beyond our speech. As part of this mosaic, we embrace the Nicene Creed as a collection of basic theological anchors for the story we share - namely that God is coequally beyond, among, and within the ordinary world."
The full text of the Nicene Creed is recited as part of the church's life, and the broader statement of belief is shaped by three commitments. The first is Formation: "At UBC, we seek to be a community formed in the way of Christ, becoming people who love God by loving our neighbors and embodying the care and attention of God in our ordinary lives. We recognize this formation to be a lifelong dynamic process that takes different shapes throughout life." The second is the Embrace of Beauty, rooted in the conviction that "imaginative creative expression is the first act of both God and humanity in the Bible" and that God "is the ground of Beauty itself." The third is to Live Life to the Fullest - an invitation "to integrate the person of Jesus into our ordinary lives" and to ask, "when I look at my life and my interactions, what belongs and what doesn't? Is the loving kindness of Christ present in my ordinary life?"
For the Sake of Clarity
UBC is unusually direct about the things many churches leave to implication. A statement the church titles "for the sake of clarity" reads, in part:
- "UBC unequivocally supports the queer community, completely affirming them in their identity and their calls to service and ministry. Queer folks can serve in all capacities, engage in communion, and be married at UBC."
- "UBC unequivocally supports women in ministry. Women can serve in all capacities here, including preaching, and any form of leadership."
- "At UBC we encourage you to be yourself. You will not be marginalized because of your past, your questions, your look, or your political, social, or theological views."
Underneath those commitments sits the church's teaching about sacred and secular. "The division between what is sacred and what is secular is a false one," UBC says. "We believe 'all truth is God's truth,' we can encounter God in creation, art, culture, and the ordinary, everyday." That conviction shapes everything from how members think about their jobs to how UBC chooses what to sing on a Sunday morning. "In the church there is no 'Varsity' and 'Junior Varsity' careers," the staff writes. "Every person within the body of Christ has an equally important role to play."
Music and Arts in the Blood
Few churches anywhere can claim a music legacy like UBC's. The story belongs first to David Crowder, who was one of the founding pastors and who led the way in creating a culture of artistic freedom and in-house songwriting. David Crowder* Band served UBC by playing music and writing songs until 2011, ending in January 2012. Dave has continued to record and tour as Crowder.
After the band, Mark, Mike, Jack, and Bwack from David Crowder* Band formed The Digital Age, releasing two EPs and two full-length albums. In mid-2011, Tye Barrett began his tenure as Worship and Arts Pastor and, with his band The Gladsome Light, gifted the church with original songs, including "Wayward Ones," still sung while taking communion. Jameson McGregor took over as Worship and Arts Pastor in January 2015.
Beyond these named acts, UBC has hosted a remarkable roster of musicians over the years, including Dutton, Griffin Kelp, Jillian Edwards, Haley Barnes, and Lomelda, along with so many others. The church recorded Vol. 1 in 2018, a collection that captures the in-house aesthetic. McGregor's own sensibility runs through the current musical life of the congregation - he cites Leonard Cohen, David Bazan, mewithoutYou, Manchester Orchestra, Julien Baker, and Frightened Rabbit among the albums he turns to, and his regular newsletter contribution shares poems rather than announcements.
Children at UBC
"We love kids!" is the greeting, followed quickly by the conviction that "children are a part of the larger church body" and "every bit as important as other demographics at UBC." Kids Pastor Nicole Dizdar runs the program with an eye toward teaching children "how to love God, embrace beauty, and live life to the fullest."
Sunday mornings begin at the front doors: visitors head right and look for the peppermint jar. The ubcKids check-in desk sits just to the left through the French doors. After a few details, families receive matching ID stickers, volunteers walk them to their rooms, and parents head to the sanctuary with a sticker of their own. After the service, coffee and the occasional doughnut await in the Backside.
Children are divided into spaces by age: a nursery for 0-to-3-year-olds, a Sprout Room covering pre-K through first grade, an elementary classroom for grades 2 through 5, and a Branch Room for older kids. Families are asked to bring diapers, wipes, pacifiers, bottles, a change of clothes, and a sippy cup, and to label everything; volunteers also welcome any notes about allergies, intolerances, or other care details.
Each summer, families are invited into camp life through Passport Kids Camp at Lake Brownwood, and UBC helps fund attendance through scholarships, a bake sale, and supply drives for snacks, water bottles, and first-aid supplies. On Move Up Day each August, kids graduate into their next classroom, sixth-graders are launched into the youth ministry at the Sixth Grade Splash (pizza, popsicles, and swimming), and kindergarten-bound children are commissioned and prayed over during the Sunday liturgy.
Youth on Wednesday Nights
UBC Youth is open to students in sixth through twelfth grade and gathers every Wednesday night from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The evening always includes dinner - typically a meal prepared by a volunteer household and adapted for dietary restrictions - followed by a lesson, time together, and small groups broken out by grade and led by the youth pastor with adult volunteers. Youth Pastor Greer Rutt describes the goal plainly: "UBC Youth works to ensure that students experience the love and welcome of Jesus in safe, creative, and lasting ways. We believe that everyone we encounter carries the Image of God within them, and every student will be cared for, included, and respected for the individual they are."
The youth ministry also runs regular middle school and high school hangouts, an annual retreat, and special evenings such as movie nights and pool parties. To participate as a volunteer, prospective helpers fill out an interest form and complete a background check arranged through the church.
MiCasa's, Book Club, and the Wider Group Life
UBC's small group ministry is built around MiCasa groups, named for the Spanish phrase "mi casa es su casa." They meet throughout the week, usually in homes, are intergenerational, and are designed as a place to know other UBC'ers at a deeper level. Groups change from semester to semester, with limited space in the smaller ones. Lead Pastor Andie Pellicer frames the experience with care: "I have found solace in people who understand what it feels like to be a progressive follower of Christ in Central Texas. I have offered vulnerability and it has been received, but never expected."
Two other ongoing communities gather on the margins of the calendar. The College Community Group meets once a month and hosts a fall retreat in October, drawing students who want to know each other outside the rhythm of Sunday service. UBCYP - which the church describes tongue-in-cheek as a group "for 'young' 'professionals,' or, that vague category of people who have graduated college and are now working, in grad school, wondering if they should have gone to college in the first place" - hosts monthly gatherings beginning in September. A book club meets most months to discuss a title chosen together, and Pub Group and Ladies' Nights round out the social calendar.
The Building on Dutton Avenue
The UBC building is unusually flexible for a church of its size, and the church rents much of it out to the wider Waco community. The Sanctuary holds up to 900 guests and is equipped with audio-visual gear; it has hosted weddings, receptions, sorority initiations, and other large events. Renting the Sanctuary includes access to every other room in the building except the pastoral offices.
The Backside is the next-largest space, with room for about 200 guests. It works equally well for karaoke, dance parties, banquet meals, and small-group gatherings, with access to the kitchen and its own audio-visual setup. Four classrooms - the Bloom Room, the Sprout Room, the Nurture Room, and the Branch Room - accommodate smaller events, and three meeting rooms - the Red Room, the Rock n Roll Room, and the Piano Room - are available for board meetings, study groups, and similar gatherings.
Partnerships Across McLennan County
UBC's ministry outside its walls is rooted in long-term community partnerships rather than one-off service days. The church actively supports four local organizations:
- Pack of Hope (McLennan County). Through food drives and by sharing building space when needed, UBC helps provide weekend meals for children facing food insecurity.
- Arrow Child & Family Ministries. Each year the church supports children in foster care through school-supply drives and Christmas gift collections.
- Cesar Chavez Middle School. UBC maintains a hygiene closet for students and shows appreciation for teachers and staff through breakfasts and other small acts of support throughout the school year.
- McLennan County Diaper Collective. The church hosts the collective's distribution efforts in its own space and runs twice-yearly diaper drives around Mother's Day and Father's Day; the community typically struggles most with sizes 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Two annual traditions knit the wider community together. The All Church Retreat heads to Meridian State Park with GTG Outdoors, with options for campers and glampers alike, and Passport Kids Camp takes a small group of elementary-aged children to Lake Brownwood each summer.
Pastors and Staff
The pastoral team is intentionally lean for a church of this size. Lead Pastor Andie Pellicer holds a B.A. in Christian Studies from Grand Canyon University and an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary. Worship and Arts Pastor Jamie McGregor holds a B.A. in Religion (Biblical Studies and Biblical Languages) from Carson-Newman College, an M.Div. in Theology from George W. Truett Theological Seminary, and an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Tarleton State University. Kids Pastor Nicole Dizdar holds a B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education from Baylor University and is completing an M.Ed. in School Counseling through Texas A&M International University.
The team also includes Community Pastor Toph Whisnant, Youth Pastor Greer Rutt, and Office Administrator Abbey Mackey. A Leadership Team and a Finance Team round out the support structure, and a Staff Support Team handles internal needs.
Practices, Times, and the Week-to-Week Rhythm
The weekly rhythm is fairly stable. Sunday begins with Sunday School at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Sunday Liturgy at 10:45 a.m. in the sanctuary and on Facebook. The youth ministry meets Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Office hours run Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with Friday by appointment. The sermon archive is carried in two forms: as a written and audio podcast under "UBC Waco Podcast," and as weekly written reflections from each pastor inside the UBC Waco newsletter. Communion is open to all who wish to participate.
Giving and the Embrace Beauty Fund
UBC runs on the generosity of its members and friends. Donations can be made online through Church Center (with payments processed through Stripe), by mail to 1701 Dutton Avenue, or by placing cash or a check in the church's secure lockbox or mail slot. The Embrace Beauty Fund is a recurring giving campaign that supports the general operating budget and underwrites UBC's ongoing work. Members can also direct their giving to specific ministry areas through Church Center's memo line or giving categories.
A Church Without Walls
What holds UBC together is a particular kind of theological imagination - one that refuses to draw a line between the sacred and the secular, between art and worship, between church and neighborhood, between doubt and belief. "We believe questions are an essential part of the faith journey," the staff writes, "and we encourage those questions however they form. Acknowledging that they may be difficult, and maybe left unanswered, there is grace and growth in the asking." In a town where religious identity is often settled early, UBC has built a congregation that keeps the questions open and invites people to bring the whole of their lives through the door. Members leave Sunday morning carrying coffee and matchbox-size ID stickers for their children, a poem in their pocket from the week's newsletter, and an invitation to come back during the week - to a small group in someone's home, a youth dinner, a campus outreach, or a Wednesday night conversation about following Christ in a university town. The sanctuary that holds 900 guests on Sunday morning empties out by noon, but the work of the community only widens.