Church of the Highlands is a
non-denominational
A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination.
The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
multi-site megachurch
A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...
based in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
. It is the
largest congregation in Alabama with an average of 60,000 attendees every week as of 2024. The senior pastor is currently Mark Pettus.
History
The church was founded on February 4, 2001, by Chris Hodges and a core group of 34 people. In 2007, it opened its main building, with a 2,400-seat auditorium. The church has opened numerous campuses in the
Birmingham area.
In November 2018,
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
listed Church of the Highlands as the tenth largest megachurch in the United States with about 22,184 weekly visitors.
In the "Outreach 100" listing for 2022, Church of the Highlands was ranked second with attendance of more than 60,000 each week; it was ranked first in the previous listing in 2018. As of February 5, 2022, Church of the Highlands listed 25
campuses
A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls.
By extension, a corp ...
in Alabama and Georgia. Its most recent purpose-built campus is the Woodlawn Campus near Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport. It opened on September 11, 2022.
In 2023, the church opened "The Lodge at Grants Mill" on its main campus in Irondale, Alabama. The lodge functions as a place where pastors can rest according to Hodges. It is part of Hodges's effort to host pastors needing to be "refreshed, rejuvenated and refocused on their calling" during a time when "pastoral burnout is at an all-time high."
According to a 2024 church census, it claimed a weekly attendance of 60,000 people.
Affiliations
Church of the Highlands is affiliated with the
Association of Related Churches (ARC). Its pastoral staff are among the founding members of ARC.
Highlands College was founded by Church of the Highlands staff.
Students of the college serve on various teams at the church. Highlands College states that they offer, "a unique approach to higher education through a holistic training experience," and focus on four areas of instruction: academic instruction, ministry training, character formation, and spiritual development. In 2023, the college was granted initial accreditation by the Association for Biblical Higher Education Commission on Accreditation.
See also
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List of the largest evangelical churches
This list of the largest evangelical megachurches contains evangelical Christian megachurches by weekly attendance. Large churches from other denominations, like Catholicism, are not included as they are not deemed to belong to the megachurch phe ...
*
List of the largest evangelical church auditoriums
This is a list of the largest evangelical church auditoriums. The list is based on the human seating capacity of the evangelical church auditoriums.
Characteristics
The building of an Evangelical Christian megachurch has a main auditorium for ...
*
Worship service (evangelicalism)
A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Sunday morning and Sunday evening servi ...
References
External links
Official WebsiteAssociation of Related Churches
{{Portal, Evangelical Christianity}
Churches in Birmingham, Alabama
Evangelical churches in Alabama
Evangelical megachurches in the United States
Christian organizations established in 2001
2001 establishments in Alabama
Megachurches in Alabama
Non-denominational Evangelical multisite churches in the United States
Association of Related Churches