We thank God for individuals, organizations and local churches who are partnering with EQUIP to train and resource almost 2 million leaders in over 100 nations. Of our most generous partners is Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL. This very young church is impacting the world through partnership with EQUIP.
Chris and Tammy Hodges moved to Birmingham at the end of 2000 with the dream of building a life-giving church focused on the simplicity of the Great Commission and the power of an intimate relationship with a loving God. With the help of the Dream Team—34 people committed to seeing this dream become a reality—Church of the Highlands held its first service on February 4, 2001. That first Sunday, over 350 attended at the Fine Arts Center of Mountain Brook High School.
From the beginning, Church of the Highlands focused on reaching out to the non-churched community, building relationships through small groups meeting throughout the city, and developing leaders at home and around the world. The life-giving approach brought immediate growth and in its first year, the church grew to over 600 in weekly attendance with 371 people committing their lives to Christ.
 In 2006, Church of the Highlands launched its first video campus on the west side of Birmingham, and in 2007, launched video campuses in Auburn and Tuscaloosa. In June of 2007, Church of the Highlands moved into its first permanent building. And today, more than 6500 people attend one of eight weekend services and even more participate in small groups. One of the keys to Highland’s success has been the 900 people that have been trained and serve on the Highlands Dream Team—the volunteer leaders of the church.
In 2001, Pastor Chris joined with five other pastors to create the Association of Related Churches (ARC) to train and resource new church plants. Using the same church planting model as Church of the Highlands, the ARC had planted six churches across the country by the end of 2001. Since then, the ARC has trained over 400 church planters and planted 51 churches across America.
But their vision doesn’t stop there. Church of the Highlands has an intense passion to reach those who have never heard the Good news of Jesus, and calls its world missions efforts, “Points of Passion.” Their international efforts are primarily focused on partnering with EQUIP. Church of the Highlands has six associate trainers from their congregation that train in places like Ukraine, Indonesia, Romania, Switzerland, Ireland, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Pastor Chris also serves on the Board of Directors for EQUIP.
<< Back to Fall E-Newsletter
|
