Church of the Highlands - Tuscaloosa — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Mark Pettus (Lead Pastor, Church of the Highlands); Chris Hodges (Founding Pastor, stepped down to lead 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)

Trinitarian orthodox — COTH faith statement: 'one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit' coequal and coeternal. Affirms virgin birth, deity, resurrection, ascension, second coming.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Inerrancy AFFIRMED — faith statement: 'The Holy Bible...is inspired, infallible and inerrant' in original writings; final doctrinal authority. Upgrade scripture to green.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not specifically verified for Tuscaloosa campus.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Sola fide AFFIRMED — 'We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ'; 'Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works.' Upgrade soteriology to green.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Church of the Highlands lists 21 all-male campus pastors — complementarian in practice; senior leadership all male.

All 21 campus pastors are male per leadership page — complementarian in practice

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

12 elders, 7 trustees, 5 overseers (external accountability) — transparent governance structure.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Topical/therapeutic ARC-model; not verse-by-verse expository.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

ARC co-founder; extensive church-planting footprint.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Marriage defined as 'a covenant, a sacred bond between one man and one woman.' No DEI/CRT or affirming markers.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

Non-denominational; founder co-founded ARC — planting network, not confessional denomination.

WARNING!

Assessment

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

#megachurch#tuscaloosa#alabama#multisite

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

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/leadership

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.