MOUNTAINBURG, Ark. – A small congregation in Mountainburg is seeing significant spiritual growth about a year after beginning again as Hillside Fellowship. 

The church, a replant of First Baptist Church Mountainburg, has baptized 28 people since its launch, welcomed new families and developed deeper connections within the community. 

For pastor Martin Jobe and his wife, Brook, the journey to Hillside Fellowship began during a challenging season at First Baptist. 

The Jobes were called to the church in 2022. Jobe said they soon recognized that the congregation faced challenges that made it difficult to move forward in ministry and reach the surrounding community. 

As they began examining the church's health and considering a way forward, a book on church revitalization and replanting by Mark Clifton helped confirm what they were seeing. 

As the couple read through a list of warning signs that could indicate a church needed revitalization or replanting, they recognized their congregation in each one. 

“We were like, ‘Oh, yeah, number one, that's our church. Number two, that's our church,’” Jobe said. 

The couple began praying and seeking God's direction. Jobe later attended a conference in Salina, Kan., focused on rural churches and church replanting. 

As he listened to the teaching, Jobe said the Lord made it clear that something needed to happen. 

A decision to start again 

The situation eventually came to a head after a difficult incident that resulted in a church split. The congregation, which had grown from about 20 people to an average of 30 to 35, dropped to about 12. 

The Jobes questioned whether they had done something wrong. 

But the remaining members began discussing another possibility: closing First Baptist Mountainburg and starting a new church with a new identity. 

The 12 members agreed to pursue a replant. 

They began working with Send Network Arkansas Director Tim Wicker and Arkansas Baptist Church Planting Catalyst Jay Ham and sought a partner church. First Baptist Van Buren agreed to come alongside the congregation. Clear Creek Baptist Association Associational Missions Strategist J.R. Debusk also provided encouragement and coaching to Jobe throughout the journey. 

First Baptist Mountainburg officially closed in June 2025, and Hillside Fellowship launched that August. 

But ministry had already begun. 

The congregation began using the Hillside name for its summer ministry activities. At its first camp as Hillside Fellowship, the church baptized a family that had experienced hurt from the former church and 11 young people. 

Many of the young people had parents who attended other churches, but they had become connected to Hillside and responded to the gospel. 

Reaching the community 

Since the replant, the Jobes have worked intentionally to build relationships in Mountainburg. 

Ham said the church's approach to ministry has been one of the most encouraging aspects of the replant. 

“They just jumped headfirst into that community and trying to love on people there,” Ham said. “They’ve done a fantastic job of engaging their community with the gospel.” 

The church has organized prayer walks and outreach events, including a sports camp. It also hosts Summit Club, a Bible study for children at the local library. 

Designed for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, the ministry combines Bible teaching, games and activities. More recently, Jobe has been teaching the children how to study Scripture by examining what a passage says about God, themselves and how they should respond. 

Hillside also serves local athletes, feeding its volleyball team and visiting teams that travel more than an hour and a half to play at Mountainburg. 

The church is planning an October festival and is taking a personal approach to invitations. Rather than relying primarily on social media, Hillside is giving children and families invitations designed like birthday invitations and encouraging them to invite friends. 

Jobe said the church wants its members to learn that inviting someone to a church event can be as natural as inviting a friend to a birthday party. 

Families reaching families 

The emphasis on relationships has led to several families coming to faith. 

One family began attending Hillside after connecting through a sports camp. The parents had trusted Christ as teenagers but had not been active in church. After becoming involved at Hillside, all three of their children accepted Christ, and the family was baptized. The father was recently ordained as a deacon. 

Another family came to Hillside after a difficult experience at their previous church. The mother and her son both came to faith and were baptized. 

Jobe said one of the most encouraging aspects of the ministry has been seeing fathers take an active role in discipling and baptizing their families. 

That emphasis recently led to one of Jobe's favorite moments since the replant. 

After his parents were baptized, 7-year-old Asher began asking questions about baptism and why they had chosen to follow Christ. His parents later told the Jobes they had led their son to Christ. 

“In my ministry experience, I have never been able to have somebody that I have discipled lead their own child to Christ,” Jobe said. “That was the first time I've ever seen that before.” 

For Jobe, the moment demonstrated the kind of spiritual multiplication he hopes to see throughout Hillside. 

“We're focusing everything on growing individual families,” he said. “And out of growing individual families, we hope to grow the family of God.” 

New life in an old building 

While spiritual growth has been the primary focus, Hillside also has invested time and resources into its facilities. 

The church’s original sanctuary, built in the 1950s, had become worn over the years. Hillside has renovated it with new floors, walls and an expanded stage and has begun work in the basement. The church also has a large fellowship hall, but maintaining both buildings presents a challenge. 

Hillside currently averages about 40 people in worship, while its facilities can accommodate significantly more. The church hopes to grow into the larger facility as it continues renovating the older building to better serve its current needs. 

The story of Hillside’s facilities also helped shape the church’s new identity. 

The Jobes and several church members were discussing names for the new congregation when someone pointed out that the church building sits on a hillside. 

The group already liked the word “fellowship,” reflecting their desire for believers to come together, serve together and love one another. 

“Hillside Fellowship” became the name. 

28 baptisms and counting 

Since beginning ministry as Hillside Fellowship, the church has baptized 28 people. 

Wicker said the number is one indication of the spiritual growth taking place in Mountainburg. 

“The Lord is at work both physically and spiritually in Mountainburg,” Wicker said. 

But the number represents more than a statistic. Each baptism represents a person who has heard the gospel and publicly professed faith in Christ. 

The church's growth also has included the development of new leaders. The recent ordination of two deacons and installation of the church's second elder marked another significant step for the young congregation. 

But Jobe said the journey has not been without challenges. 

The church is caring for aging facilities while also helping people with little previous church experience grow in their faith. 

He asked people to pray that Hillside would remain faithful as it helps new believers grow, develops leaders and reaches families throughout the community. 

Wicker said the church's progress demonstrates the importance of patience in a replant. 

“Replanting can be slow work,” Wicker said. 

As Hillside Fellowship continues to grow, Jobe said the church's goal remains simple: help families follow Christ and equip them to reach others. 

“Every time I start to get discouraged,” Jobe said, “the Lord always just does something and it really, really just makes my day better.”