What to Expect When You Visit Highland
We want to welcome you to Highland in the name of Jesus! Because we are a large church, it can sometimes be difficult to know what to expect and even where to go when you arrive. Perhaps these tips will be helpful.
There are several glass entry doors on both the north and south sides of our building. Enter through any of these doors and the hallways will lead you toward the central fellowship area known as the "Atrium."
Gina Lewis serves as our Hospitality Minister. She welcomes new members, assisting them in finding their ministry niche at Highland. She also communicates church news to the entire family via the Highland Email Connection. You can subscribe to the email connection under the RESOURCES tab. Simply click on STAY CONNECTED and follow the prompts.
At Highland, our desire is that everyone be engaged in meaningful ministry. This is a vital part of our Christian journey together. Each of us has been given spiritual gifts to be used in furthering the good news about Jesus.
Our minister of Congregational Care is Beth Reeves. She provides compassionate care to our families experiencing crisis and loss. Through visitation, Beth assists families who are homebound, in the hospital, or needing special care. Working alongside Beth during funerals are teams which provide care on the day of a service.
Highland's Community Ministry serves to oversee and coordinate all of our outreach efforts in and around the city of Abilene.
Joe Almanza joined the Highland staff in 2004 and serves as our Community Minister; he is assisted by his wife Becky Almanza.
For the previous 20+ years, Bill Nash served as Highland's Special Needs Minister and Minister of Care. Bill is still serving in a part-time capacity as he uses his gifts to reach out to those in need in Abilene.
There is no more exciting adventure than the lifelong pursuit of following Jesus. Adult communities of classes and small groups provide a place to become and a place to belong, a place to experience the life-changing power of the Word of God in the context of meaningful relationships.
The mission of the Adult Faith Ministry is to provide places where together with God, we will:
Form Christlike Lives
Grow a Community of the Spirit
Equip God’s Mission in the World
• Sunday Morning Bible Classes
• Wednesday Night Meetings
• Weekday and Evening Bible Studies
• Small Group Ministry
• MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)
Our vision is that young men and women would choose to commit their lives to becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, that is for Christ to be formed in them (Gal. 4.19).
This is seen in an active, vibrant, personal devotional life, personal holiness, involvement in a faith community, service to others, and reaching out to those who have not chosen to follow God in Christ.
We are committed to encouraging through example and instruction, the disciplines necessary for a vibrant, personal devotional life.
For Christians, the pattern and fulfillment of God’s work of spiritual formation converge in a single figure—Jesus Christ. Jesus is the human being fully alive, fully open to God’s work in the world. Christians are placed daily before the greatest of all choices: to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ through the gracious assistance of God the Holy Spirit or to be conformed to the image of the world (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 6:10-13)
Spiritual formation in the Christian tradition then is a lifelong process through which our new humanity, hidden with Jesus Christ in God, becomes more visible and effective through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual formation at its best has been understood to be at once fully divine and fully human—that is, initiated by God and manifest in both vital communities of faith and in the lives of individual disciples. We see this theme carried through the history of the church, from Paul’s introduction of formation in Jesus Christ as the central work of Christian life (Gal.
Highland's Worship Ministry is led by Mike Cope, who has served as our preaching minister for over 16 years. Visit his blog at www.preachermike.com.
Find out more about our current sermon series, "First Love," or listen to other sermon podcasts.
"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
I Corinthians 9:25
Our purpose is to join God as he calls all children to him through Jesus.