# Church of the Highlands

Church of the Highlands is a non-denominational evangelical Christian multi-site megachurch based in Birmingham, Alabama. It is the largest congregation in Alabama with an average of 60,000 attendees every week as of 2023. 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 August 2013, former megachurch pastor Dino Rizzo joined the church's pastoral team as an associate pastor. This comes after 14 months of restoration following Rizzo's resignation as lead pastor of The Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA due to an inappropriate affair.
In November 2018, CBS News 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 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 September 2021 report by the church, the estimated construction cost of The Lodge was $4.5 million. The Lodge garnered some controversy with former staff and others questioning whether The Lodge will take in clergy accused of sexual misconduct. Hodges said they will not let clergy accused of sexual misconduct stay at The Lodge but take in clergy suffering from burnout.
According to a 2023 church census, it claimed a weekly attendance of 60,000 people.
In June 2024, Robert Morris – a Texas megachurch pastor and an overseer and occasional guest pastor for Church of the Highlands – admitted to an inappropriate sexual relationship with a child for years. Upon learning about the allegations against Morris, Church of the Highlands trustees and overseers initiated a due diligence process. Morris resigned as an overseer for Church of the Highlands.

## 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.