Our Story

The story of HighView is a story about the faithfulness of God. HighView’s beginnings can be traced back to the Summer of 2012 when Pastor Chad Williams and Pastor Josh Hildebrandt began discussing plans to plant a Gospel-centered church in the West GA area. That summer, a core team of 5 people met and committed themselves to forming HighView Church. From this small team of people, HighView began.

In September and October of 2012, HighView Church held two preview services in a small community center in Villa Rica Georgia and plans for the launch of weekly gatherings began. In the Fall and Winter months of 2012 HighView met 2 Sundays each month for a worship service in Josh and Bethany Hildebrandt’s living room and approximately 20 people attended, with some of them expressing interest in being a part of HighView Church.

In January of 2013 HighView Church began meeting weekly on Sunday evenings in a small chapel in downtown Villa Rica. The Chapel, had been built in 2005 by Chad Williams’ grandfather, the late Dr. Gene Rainwater, a pastor and church planter who served in pastoral ministry for over 50 years. In March of 2013, HighView Church formally constituted as a church and began accepting members. Later that spring, HighView became a sponsored church plant of the North American Mission Board and established a new relationship with Mt Vernon Baptist Church as a primary supporting church partner. As the summer months began, HighView Church began experiencing rapid growth and quickly outgrew the small chapel, with overflow crowds each week. In June, as growth continued HighView leased a new storefront and began the build out process to facilitate the growing attendance and provide room for future growth. On Sunday December 1st, HighView met for the last time at the Chapel.

On Sunday December 8th 2013, HighView Church held it’s first service at the newly completed storefront facility on 165 Edge Road in Villa Rica. In January of 2014, HighView began meeting on Sunday mornings and the church continued its numeric growth, quickly outgrowing the store front facility. New leaders emerged and new members joined as HighView launched new small groups and ministries through 2014. As the growth continued, HighView began looking at possible expansion plans, when a dialogue began with Cornerstone Baptist Church about working together for the good of the Kingdom in West Ga.

2015 began with a truly momentous event, as after months of conversations Cornerstone Baptist Church, a local church planted in 1985 in the West GA area, dissolved and donated it’s building and 19 acres of land (Current campus) to HighView Church. Most of Cornerstone’s remaining members went through HighView’s membership process and became a part of the HighView family. This generous, Kingdom-focused act enabled HighView to continue its rapid growth and provided much needed children’s educational space. In 2016, HighView Church created a new Students ministry and completed a sanctuary expansion project that enabled an additional 30% more in attendance during Sunday morning services.

In October of 2017, the formation of an expansion and development plan was created and in December this plan was shared with the congregation. The future of HighView is bright, with the church positioned strategically to reach West GA and beyond with the Gospel!