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About Us
Who We Are
United Christian Fellowship is a member of the Catalina Baptist Association, a network of Southern Baptist churches in southern Arizona. We are a mid-sized church located in Southeast Tucson with a heart for our community, a heart for our city, and a heart for each other. We are also a mission-minded church playing a supporting role in local, national, and global missions. As a church, we tithe 10% of our income to the following missions:
- Arizona Southern Baptist Convention:
Arizona Southern Baptist Cooperative Program
Arizona Missions (Disaster Relief, University Ministries, and Zona Camp)
Arizona Baptist Children's Services
North American Missions (Annie Armstrong)
International Missions (Lottie Moon)
- Interfaith Community Services
- Caring Ministries
- Catalina Baptist Association
- Ripe for the Harvest
- First Nepali Church of Tucson
We are excited about the work the Lord is doing in the life of our church. Come and be a part of what the Lord is doing!
What We Believe
We subscribe to the doctrinal statement of “The Baptist Faith and Message” as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention presented in part as follows:
- The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.
- There is one and only one living and true God who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
- God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving and all wise.
- Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. In His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body, ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission.
- The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ.
- Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
- Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
- A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.
- God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
- Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God since both are created in God’s image. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
- The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
- Every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.
- God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.
History
UNITED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP (UCF)
On July 24 the congregations of Rincon Baptist Church and the Filipino American Christian Fellowship of Tucson (FACFT) voted to merge the two churches with Pastor Gideon Dignadice, the Pastor of FACFT, as the lead Pastor. We are excited for what the future holds as we join together to follow God into all that He has in store for us!
RINCON BAPTIST CHURCH
Rincon Baptist Church was founded on June 1, 1963 by Rev. Leland Hall, Rincon Baptist’s first pastor, who served until June 1964. The church met at Dietz Elementary School.
Rev. W.V. “Doc” Wilson served from August 1964 to November 1973. A church plant began in June 1968 at our current location. The first service was held in the new sanctuary in September 1968.
Rev. Mel Worters served as pastor from April 1974 to September 1977. The church was incorporated February 19, 1975. The east wing of the main building was added during the early part of 1975.
Rev. Ira Irvin served from November 1977 to October 1979. The Fellowship and Educational Building was built in June 1978 and dedicated in November 1979.
Rev. Johan M. Parks served from February 1980 to May 1983. Rev. Haskel Morris served from September 1985 to April 1986. Rev. D.F. Desist served from September 1986 to October 1989.
Rev. Mark Pitts served as pastor from April 1990 until he resigned in November 1997. With 200 active members, the church was now involved as a sponsor to plant a new church on the east side of Tucson through “Partnership Arizona”. Rincon continued to support this new work until the mission could support itself. During this time, the church added a music minister/associate pastor and a youth pastor, and the youth department grew from two members to over thirty-one members. A basketball court and a volleyball court were built; a brick wall was constructed on the south end of the property; a new sign was designed and installed on the south end of the property; air conditioning was added to all buildings; and a new roof for the sanctuary was installed in 1996.
In 1997, Pastor Edward Vernon was called as interim pastor. After two years and many accomplishments, he was called as permanent pastor where he served until 2012. From the time of Pastor Ed’s interim position, the church saw many changes. Rincon grew from a small, struggling church into a thriving entity which led to a large increase in families with children and youth. During this time, the church added a second morning service to accommodate our growing membership. In 1999, an associate pastor, Gordon Vernon, was called and in 2005, a youth director was added to our staff. With the church thriving beyond its current physical capacity, the church began planning for the building of a new, larger sanctuary to accommodate the increasing membership. After five years of planning, ground breaking began in early 2007. In November of 2010, the new Worship Center was dedicated and attendance once again saw a large increase.
Gordon Vernon was called as Senior Pastor in 2012. Under Pastor Gordon’s leadership, two new ministries were added: The FACFT and the First Nepali Church. Both ministries began holding their services on campus. With the growth of membership, many new ministries were added: Road 2 Recovery; Good News Club (an after-school ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship); Food Distribution sponsored by Caring Ministries; and the Native American Mission. Four new staff positions were created and a preschool was opened. Children and youth ministries expanded and community outreach ministries included Thanksgiving baskets for the needy, an annual car show, an annual Trunk or Treat Festival, and donations of blankets/winter caps for to the Native American Mission. Our congregation donated many other items as our different missions groups made their needs known (bikes for the African ministry; household items/clothing for the Native American mission etc.)
As a result of Pastor Gordon Vernon's retirement in 2017, Pastor Trei Watters was called as Senior Pastor and began serving in November 2017. During that time, our website was updated and we began to discuss improvements to the buildings and grounds. The church continued to grow under Pastor Trei's leadership. With the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of March 2020, the Sunday worship service was held online only. In-person worship was resumed in 2021 and we continue to offer online services with a live stream each Sunday. Pastor Trei stepped down in August of 2021.
In April of 2022, Pastor Joel Reyes, former Pastor of the FACFT, was called to Pastor Rincon Baptist. He answered that call and assumed responsibilities as Transitional Pastor on May 1, 2022 until the merger.
FILIPINO AMERICAN CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP OF TUCSON (FACFT)
On December 17, 2006 the first Bible study was held in a home in Tucson. Those in attendance were three families. They met to discuss having Christian fellowship apart from the usual parties and sporting events. They resolved to conduct a monthly Bible study at Fountain Plaza Apartments where most Filipinos working at Tucson Medical Center were housed.
One member contacted Pastor Joel Padilla from the International Baptist Church in Phoenix to inquire about a Tucson church and the possibility of having a minister help establish a Filipino church in Tucson. The first Bible study with Pastor Joel Padilla took place in August of 2007.
On September 29, 2007, a worship service was held at Fountain Plaza Apartments. Approximately 15 members from the Filipino American Baptist Church of Phoenix came to support the outreach. Another 15 or more participants from Tucson were present. Soon after the first worship service, the group decided to conduct a weekly Bible study on Friday evenings instead of having a monthly Saturday fellowship. The location rotated between the member’s homes. The participants also took turns leading the study.
The pioneers were determined to build an organized Filipino Christian Fellowship of Tucson. The group advertised in Oriental stores and aggressively invited everyone they knew or had contact with to attend. More people came to the Bible studies and worship services in the ensuing months. When Americans who married Filipinos began to join the group, one member suggested the name be changed to the Filipino-American Christian Fellowship of Tucson.
In June of 2008, the group requested Christian Faith Fellowship of Tucson to allow FACFT to hold services in their facilities. Their board generously agreed. The church continued to grow and started having a children’s teaching ministry.
During this time period, an e-mail was received from someone in Alaska requesting information about Filipino Christian ministry work in Tucson. One of the founding members replied to the e-mail detailing the FACFT ministry activities and vision. He also mentioned the group had been praying for a pastor since the ministry was showing signs of rapid growth. Unknown to FACFT members, Pastor Reyes and his wife, Beth, had been stirred by God to move to a warmer climate after serving the Lord for 14 years in Alaska. It was no coincidence that FACFT pioneers held the first Bible study fellowship at nearly the same time these two began feeling the need to move.
In September 2008, Pastor Joel Reyes and his wife, Beth, moved to Tucson and began attending the Bible studies and monthly worship services. The following month, he was asked to lead the Friday evening Bible studies. By November, the group had formally asked him to consider becoming the pastor of FACFT. He readily accepted the call.
On January 2009, Pastor Joel Reyes was officially installed as Pastor and FACFT began weekly services as a Church plant sponsored by Filipino American Baptist Church and supported financially by the Arizona Baptist Convention and Valley Rim Baptist Association. The church soon after also moved their meeting place to Rincon Baptist Church which became their home until January of 2020.
Pastor Joel Reyes announced his retirement from full-time ministry at the end of 2018, but we are still blessed by his leadership as he stays on as one of our Elders.
2019 marked the FACFT 10th year anniversary. That year also brought a new and even more exciting chapter of its ministry. In late summer of 2019, Pastor Gideon Dignadice became our new Lead Pastor after an extensive search. Pastor Gidz (or PGidz), as he is affectionately called, is a young, energetic, and passionate speaker and teacher. He comes from Pasadena, California. He holds a Master’s degree and a wide range of field experience and also as a Professor at a Seminary. In California, he served as Pastor for many years bringing growth and vast outreach to the Filipinos in that area. Now we look forward to continue working with him and FACFT’s increasing outreach of God’s saving grace to Tucson.
As an added blessing, after two years of renovations and waiting, FACFT moved into their new worship facility and held their first worship celebration on February 2, 2020.