Church of the Highlands is a non-denominational,
Christian multi-site megachurch
A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...
headquartered in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
. It was the
largest congregation in Alabama and the second largest church in the United States as of 2018 , with an average of 43,030 attendees every week. The senior pastor is Chris Hodges.
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. According to a 2018 church census, it claimed a weekly attendance of 43,030 people and 17
campuses in different cities.
[ Lifeway research]
2018 Largest Churches in America
outreachmagazine.com, USA, retrieved January 16, 2021
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 4 areas of instruction: academic instruction, ministry training, character formation, and spiritual development. Students who attend Highlands College have the option to receive a degree through the college's affiliation with
Southeastern University
Southeastern University is a private Christian university in Lakeland, Florida. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama, as Southeastern Bible Institute, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became a liberal arts college in 1970. It i ...
(SEU).
See also
*
List of the largest evangelical churches
This list of the largest evangelical megachurches contains only evangelical Christian megachurches related to the following currents: Baptist, Pentecostalism, the evangelical charismatic movement, neo-charismatic movement and Nondenominational Chr ...
*
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 service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sa ...
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