Who We Are

Rincon Baptist Church 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.  Currently, we are in the process of considering a merger with the Filipino American Christian Fellowship of Tucson (FACFT) church.  We commit to taking next steps in the Lord's plans for RBC.  Come and be a part of what the Lord is doing!

 

  

History

 

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 Filipino American Christian Fellowship of Tucson (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 Filipino American Christian Fellowship Church of Tucson (FACFT), was called to Pastor Rincon Baptist. He answered that call and assumed responsibilities as Transitional Pastor on May 1, 2022. On July 24 the congregations of Rincon Baptist Church and the 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!