At Highlands College, we believe the local church is the hope of the world. The church has the greatest potential of any organization to impact the world and make an eternal impact.
The Gospel is growing faster than the population in all but 20 of the 193 countries of the world. Sadly, America is one of the 20 countries where the Gospel has been in decline. But there is good news. In the same way Church of the Highlands is changing the way the world does church, Highlands College is changing the way we train future ministry leaders. And it is working.
As Church of the Highlands has grown, so has the Association of Related Churches (ARC), which is planting and assisting life-giving churches all over the world. Grow, another organization born out of Church of the Highlands that provides world-class training and resources to pastors and churches so they can reach their full potential, has also grown exponentially.
In fact, nearly 800 churches have been planted through ARC. Thousands of people make decisions to follow Christ and are baptized in ARC church plants every year. Leaders from more than 9,000 churches are being coached and inspired through Grow.
There is new hope for the local church in America, but there are not enough equipped, dynamic leaders to guide these new churches toward greater growth and impact. Highlands College is committed to helping fill that gap by training and sending out the best future church leaders prepared to make a difference.
Despite our growth and success, we know that the vision God has for Highlands College is bigger than our current capacity. We need to grow, and in order to do that we have to find more funding, develop our facilities, and provide opportunity to more future leaders.
To accomplish this vision, we have a strategic three part plan.
Part 1: Facilities
The bottom line is: we can’t train more leaders if we don’t have more space.
At present, Highlands College can accommodate up to 500 students at our Greystone Campus, which has served us well. There is no more room. Our plan is to relocate the Highlands College campus by 2021 to the expansive Grandview property in a prime location on U.S. Highway 280. This location is perfectly suited for a college campus and relocating there will elevate our visibility within the community.
Thanks to an “only God could do it” kind of opportunity, we will acquire the property 100% debt-free. The Grandview location will give us the capacity to create a true college campus designed to promote community with state-of-the-art learning facilities and a beautiful green space that transforms the property into a walkable campus.
This location will provide the space we need in order to offer the elite hands-on ministry training that sets Highlands College apart. Eventually, student housing will be possible on-site. Having these new facilities will be incredible, but that’s only part of our vision.
Part 2: Funding
In addition, we will seek to fund an endowment that will allow us to provide the opportunity for up to 1,000 students to attend Highlands College on full scholarships.
These scholarships are a vital part of the Highlands College vision because our approach requires students to be fully immersed in the classroom and in the living laboratory of the church. Providing scholarships will accomplish two primary goals— First: It will allow these students to graduate and enter into full-time ministry debt free. Equally important: It will free these students to go all-in and focus on their demanding education and hands-on ministry training commitments while in college.
We are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission by providing dynamic ministry leaders to serve in churches all over the world, and our students are committed to becoming the leaders God has called them to be. To develop the best leaders, we need all of their time for academic and hands-on training. Imagine the eternal, social, and Kingdom impact it would have if we doubled the number of leaders who are educated, equipped, and empowered to lead and be sent out to change the world.
The support for Highlands College throughout its first 16 years has been incredible. Hundreds of holistically trained, dynamic young leaders with world-class training and hands-on ministry experience have been sent into the harvest field to advance the Gospel.
Part 3: Accreditation
The truth is, as great and effective as Highlands College has been so far, we need to grow. Our vision demands it. The strategic plan to become a world-class, biblical training institution doesn’t stop where it is today. Currently a two-year, certificate program, Highlands college now holds applicant status with the Association of Biblical Higher Education Commission on Accreditation. That means that Highlands College has shown the capacity to achieve candidate status within 5 years. Our current ability to train and educate world-class leaders is at an excellent level, but we are committed to being even better. Getting officially recognized as an individual, accredited academic institution would expand our reach to more prospective students, remove barriers, and add an additional level of accountability to our pursuit of academic excellence.
Our Goal
The local church is indeed the hope of the world. Our challenge is to equip leaders to keep that hope alive now and in the future. All of the current trends show the American church declining, and Highlands College endeavors to be an active part of the solution by training the ministry leaders of tomorrow.
Our prayer is that the Eternal Impact Campaign will make it possible for Highlands College to train 1,000 leaders every year and transform the Grandview property into a top rate college campus that produces people who make a difference every day.
We ask that you prayerfully consider partnering with Highlands College through the Eternal Impact Campaign.
Together, we can do more. We can make a difference. We can impact eternity.
