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."
On Sunday mornings, we begin with a 80-minute time of worship, praise and prayer. Everyone is gathered in our worship center except for children 2 years old and younger -- they generally go into our nursery area, which is staffed by several adults, along with high school and middle school age students.
During our worship time, we will sing both contemporary Christian songs and traditional hymns. Our singing will be a cappella, or without musical instruments, as this is our tradition. We encourage everyone to sing and participate in offering praise to God in worship. There will be a worship leader at the front as well as a other gifted singers who specialize in creating beautiful four-part harmony. The purpose of our singing time together is to lift our hearts and hands and voices to God in praise and thanksgiving and to acknowledge Him as our Father and Lord.
We will have one of our spiritual leaders (we refer to them as shepherds, or elders) pray for our church members who are sick, grieving over the loss of a loved one, or otherwise in spiritual crisis. One of our staff ministers will share some newsworthy items about events that are happening at Highland. The purpose of this time is to remind each other that we are a family of believers who care about each other's well-being and to lift up those who are hurting to the throne of God.
We will have a time of communion together every Sunday morning during worship. We will pass two emblems -- bread and cup -- and anyone is welcome to partake. This is a special time each week for our church family, and the purpose of this time is to remind each other of Christ's sacrifice, death, and resurrection. Our communion time is also a time for us to express our love to each other and encourage each other to be faithful in our commitments to Christ.
There will also be a 20 minute sermon reflecting on God's Word, its meaning and importance for us today as we live our Christian lives together. Most of the time our preacher, Mike Cope, will deliver the sermon, but sometimes we have our associate preacher Jerry Taylor or another guest preacher.
During our worship time, there may be one or more baptisms. This is one of the most special events that can happen at Highland! When a person decides to follow Jesus, confess him to be God's Son, and turn away from their previous way of life, we encourage them to be baptized as an expression of their life-changing decision. Baptism involves being immersed underwater in a special pool we have in our worship center. We provide special clothing and towels for these events. Baptism is a centuries-old action that is an outward demonstration that someone has changed their heart and their way of life. Baptism symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The Bible says that when we are baptized, we "participate" in his death, and when we are raised up, we are "clothed with Christ", a "new creation", and we "walk in newness of life." Through baptism, we give our lives over to God and commit to do our best to live our lives in concert with Jesus' example in the New Testament.
At the conclusion of our worship time, everyone is invited to attend a Bible class. We offer classes for all ages. Our His Kids Ministry (Children's) has classes for kids from birth through 5th grade. Our Youth & Family Ministry has classes for 6th through 12th grade. There is a special class for university students, and several classes for adults of all ages. These classes provide a way for us to get to know each other better while studying God's Word together. They also allow for opportunities to pray for and serve others who may be in crisis.
We also meet together on Wednesday nights for a weekly "Oasis" from 7-8pm at the building. This is another opportunity for fellowship, worship, prayer, and study. Sometimes we all meet together in the auditorium, and sometimes we break into smaller classes. To see our current Wednesday night schedule, click here.