OUR HISTORY
Highland Hills’ Beginnings: Est. 1953
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In 1953, five couples in Shirley Hills and North Highland neighborhoods founded Highland Hills Baptist Church to provide a place of spiritual enrichment for the community.
Meeting initially at the Little Theater Building, Dr. Lewis Batts preached to 179 charter members on charter Sunday April 12, 1953. Several months later, Luke Smith became the first pastor and the church acquired property on Briarcliff Road for future development, eventually completing its chapel by May 1955 and hosting its inaugural service on Mother's Day.
Grounded in Love
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Highland Hills experienced rapid growth, prompting the initiation of phase two construction in 1957, which included an education building completed within a year.
Dr. Maurice Trimmer succeeded Luke Smith as pastor in 1960, overseeing the completion of phases one and two and the beginning of phase three—the construction of a sanctuary. The new sanctuary was dedicated on September 8, 1967.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the church continued to expand under Rev. James C. Bruner's leadership, reaching nearly 1,000 members by the 1980s. During these years, more staff members were added, including the first full-time Minister of Music and full-time Minister of Education and Youth. In the mid-1980s, Lyn Hicks became the Minister of Music, and Gerald Carper was called as Church Organist. Following Dr. Bruner's resignation in 1987, Dr. C. Welton Gaddy served as pastor until 1990.
Growing in Grace
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In the 1990s, Highland Hills shifted towards a moderate Baptist stance, embracing women as ordained leaders and adopting an ecumenical worship style.
Dr. David J. Hailey became pastor in 1990, while Rev. Cass DuCharme joined as Minister of Music in 1992. Ruth DuCharme and Carol Brown were added to the staff in 1994 as Minister to Children and Director of Preschool Ministries. Dr. Hailey resigned in 1996, and Dr. James C. Dant took over as pastor in 1997.
Reaching Towards the Future
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Under Jim Dant’s leadership, Highland Hills embraced a more liturgical worship style and experienced significant growth.
In 2000, the church amended its bylaws to allow all members (not just men) over 21 to serve as deacons, electing Mary Brown as the first woman deacon. Ruth DuCharme was ordained to ministry in 2002, with Cass DuCharme assuming additional responsibilities as Associate Pastor for Music and Youth. After Dr. Dant's 16-year tenure, Dr. Jake Hall took over as pastor in 2013, focusing on community projects. Ruth and Cass DuCharme resigned as Associate Pastors in June of 2021 and Jake Hall resigned in September of 2021, leading to a period of interim leadership.
HHBC Today
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After a diligent search, in May of 2023, the people of Highland Hills felt a leading by God to call Rev. Caitlin Childers Brown and Rev. Ethan Brown as pastors of HHBC.
Caitlin and Ethan both serve as Pastor, each utilizing their gifts in different areas of ministry. Caitlin is the Pastor and Minister of Service & Community, and Ethan serves as the Pastor and Minister of Care & Discipleship. The combined gifts of these two ministers provides a holistic model of ministry, which is leading Highland Hills to become the church that God desires us to be.
For over seven decades, Highland Hills has been grounded in God’s love and growing in God’s grace. From those first five couples to our faithful members today, Highland Hills has had a vision of reaching out to the community and building faithful followers of Christ. We believe that, with God’s leadership, HHBC will play an even greater role in the advancement of God’s kingdom in the years to come.