Our History

 

The Early Years, Dr. Walter Johnson, Pastor

Having prayed for weeks, a faith-filled group of believers met at the home of Miss Maxine Chism on February 18, 1953, to seek the Lord’s will in establishing a new church body.  Each individual knew that such a move would take courage and sacrifice as they would be leaving a large, long-established church to start from nothing.

On March 15, 1953, University Baptist Church was formally organized. There were 178 charter members. The church first met in a rented building at 108 N. West Street. Dr. Walter Johnson, who had resigned his position at First Baptist, was called to be the first pastor. He served from March 1953 to January 1965.

Local architect Paul Young drafted plans for the original church building, a 50’ x 100’ two-story building to include a worship area with baptistry, a kitchen, office space, Pastor’s study and Sunday School rooms. The ground-breaking ceremony was held on Sunday, July 26, 1953. Exactly four months later, on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1953, the congregation was able to move into the new building and use it while the work was being completed. They celebrated with a joyful meal of thanksgiving to God. That building is now known as Heritage Center.

By 1962, a larger place of worship was needed. The church again engaged architect Paul Young to design a contemporary Worship Center. The building featured a vaulted ceiling, supported by large wooden arches, and provided 107’ x 52’ of space. At the top of the baptistry wall, a carving of a dove was hand-carved by chairman of the building committee and charter member, Dale Bradford, who also created its sunburst base. The new sanctuary was opened in 1963.

In 1964, Dr. Johnson resigned to take a position as Professor of Religion at Bluefield College in Bluefield, Kentucky. He later retired to Bryan, Texas, and went to be with Christ in 1980.

 

The Church Grows and Matures under H.D. McCarty, Pastor

An energetic 32 year old H.D. McCarty became pastor of the church in June 1965. He served as pastor until he retired in January, 2004. Under his leadership, UBC expanded its ministry and facilities greatly.

The UBC Collegiate Ministry became nationally known as one of the finest programs for winning and training young adults to serve Christ. Pastor McCarty was honored in the fall of 1969 by being named, “Chaplain of the Razorbacks.”

The New Creations, a singing group of college students, was formed in 1968 by Minister of Music Don Wright. The group toured nationally and internationally, recorded a record album and inspired thousands with their joyous songs of the Christian faith. The New Creations was an important ministry of UBC for thirty years.

Expanded Facilities

In 1968 a balcony was constructed in the Worship Center. An east wing was added in 1970 and a west wing was added in the mid-1970s to expand the seating capacity again.

Chism Hall was completed in 1970 at a cost of $110,000, a facility devoted to children and named for Miss Maxine Chism, who was a dedicated teacher and whose entire estate was given to UBC at her death. This provided the major funding for the construction of the building.

A Missionary-in-Residence program was initiated in 1975 where foreign missionaries spend their furlough in a residence provided by the church. The use of an automobile is also provided. A large number of Southern Baptist missionaries have participated in this program.

Prayer Ministry

UBC’s prayer ministry began in the mid-1970s. For many years, members were scheduled to pray around the clock for our church, its members, and Christians around the world. We are currently working to reinvigorate this important ministry.

Arkansas Institute of Theology

In 1976 the church began the Arkansas Institute of Theology (AIT) which sought to give Biblical instruction to students, laymen and vocational church workers on the bachelors and masters degree levels. The former Calvary Baptist Church was purchased in 1979 for the J. Sidlow Baxter Library, offices for the Arkansas Institute of Theology, additional Sunday School space and added parking. The building also housed the Christian Counseling Center established in 1978 by Dr. George Eby. Over 100 students were enrolled in the Arkansas Institute of Theology by the Spring of 1980. AIT closed in 1991 and, for a few years, became the Fayetteville branch of Ouachita Baptist University.

Fellowship Hall was constructed in 1976 and was totally paid for by cash gifts.

Wee Care Christian School

The Wee Care School was created in 1977. The school serves pre-school students.

Second Mile Ministry

The organization of the Second Mile benevolent ministry in 1984 is another important aspect of UBC. It began with an old desk, a shared room with a phone line, a closet for food and six workers. By the end of the 1980s Second Mile occupied an entire house, had two phone lines, three food freezers and ample food storage space.

Randall Hall was dedicated in 1986 with 21,000 square feet of space at a cost of $1.6 million. The first and second floors were equipped for children. Spacious rooms and an administrative suite were augmented with the unique Maxine Chism Children’s Library. Maxine Chism gave years of service to our children. The third floor contains adult Sunday School space, a conference room with kitchenette, and an office suite. Randall Hall is named for Ruth Randall, a life-long member. She retired after 38 years of service as a foreign missionary in Brazil.

Pearson House was built in 1992 under the direction of UBC layman Ken Evans on donated property and furnished by church members. The home was dedicated as a place of rest for missionaries on furlough. This lovely home is a testimony to the commitment of UBC to missions and is named for missionary Faye Pearson, former UBC member and missionary to Taiwan.

Student Activity Center, now known as “The Zone”, was built in 1992. This facility is dedicated to the ministry to young people and houses a gymnasium, offices, classrooms and an assembly room.

The UBC Sanctuary was opened in March of 1997 and was dedicated on April 27, 1997 with special guest speaker Governor Mike Huckabee. It is a four-story 75,000 square foot facility constructed for the purpose of worship and music as well as senior adult education. It includes an entire floor designated for children.

The UBC website was created in the late 1990s. It currently offers lots of information about the church including our staff members with contact information, an updated church calendar of events, the pastor’s blog and access to the weekly sermon.

Pastor McCarty retired from UBC in January, 2004 after nearly 39 years of service to UBC. From June, 2005 – November, 2006, Ken Coffee, from Texas, served as our intentional interim pastor.

The “Adoption” of the Kuvi people group in India was undertaken by UBC on August 21, 2005. The goal of the adoption is to establish an ongoing church to minister to the Kuvi people. Efforts there include regular and frequent prayer for the group and its needs, and traveling to the Kuvis with small teams for ministry. This project is envisioned to last 3-5 years.

 

The Third Phase of UBC History with Mike Lumpkin, Pastor

Mike Lumpkin was called as our new pastor on October 29, 2006. He had previously served as the pastor of Union Avenue Baptist Church located in Memphis, Tennessee.

Mike set several goals for UBC when he began his ministry. The first goal was to establish expository preaching as the primary form of preaching in the pulpit.  The second goal was to renew our passion and strategy for reaching university students. The third goal was to develop a strategy to help initiate and support the work of missions, primarily among our adopted Kuvi people in India.

During the first year of his tenure, Mike helped lead the church to adopt a new passion statement:  Glorifying God by Treasuring Christ above all things and Reaching others that they may find lasting joy in Him.  This, coupled with the ongoing work of establishing a biblical view of church membership, has laid a foundation for church health.

Deacon Family Ministry Plan was created in the spring of 2008. Each deacon is responsible for staying in regular monthly contact with the families assigned to him for the purposes of prayer, encouragement and support.

We trust that as long as we remain, God will be glorified in the gospel through the joy-filled proclamation of God’s word to all who will hear!