Church of the Highlands - Grants Mill — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Mark Pettus (Lead Pastor, installed Feb 2025); Chris Hodges (Founding Pastor — stepped down from pulpit Feb 2 2025 to focus on Highlands College)

Founded See website

Denomination Non-Denominational

Service Times Sunday morning (see website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.churchofthehighlands.com

Pastor Credentials See website

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Statement of Faith affirms classical Trinity and Christ's deity.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Authority of Scripture affirmed; inerrancy not explicitly stated.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Generic group/Dream Team structure; no distinctive men's discipleship pipeline documented.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

'Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works'; but with heavy Pentecostal/prosperity emphases ('God's Will for Provision' includes financial wholeness).

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Male senior pastor leadership; ARC Women network supports pastors' wives and women in ministry — not clear prohibition on female pastors.

Male senior pastors; denominational egalitarian/complementarian stance not explicit

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Single-campus-dominant megachurch; centralized. Founding pastor Chris Hodges stepped down Feb 2, 2025 after lawsuits and social-media controversies; Mark Pettus (Highlands College president, 20+ years on staff) installed as lead.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Topical, seeker-sensitive — series preaching with emphasis on practical life application; not expository.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Growth-oriented; outreach via campuses and Dream Team volunteer system.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

ARC-style attractional model; no overt DEI/CRT language on beliefs page, but significant Pentecostal 'provision' framing.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Co-founder of Association of Related Churches (ARC) — ARC is a church-planting network, NOT accountability structure (per rubric flag).

WARNING!

Assessment

National directory entry — web-verified pastor, website, and Facebook. Visit website for full theological details.

#megachurch#grants-mill#alabama#multisite#highlands

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Major pastor transition Feb 2025; prior controversies around Hodges social-media likes and lawsuit. ARC = network, not confessional accountability per rubric flag.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source churchofthehighlands.com/about/faith
[2] Live source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Highlands
[3] Live source julieroys.com/founding-pastor-chris-hodges-abruptly-steps…

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.