About Us
In many ways the Highland Community Church (HCC) story is all about new days. HCC launched (or relaunched) on September 19, 2004. After several months of ministry in the township, Nick Ruffer had led many people to faith in Christ. They and their families and friends, many of whom were unchurched or de-churched, were looking for a place to grow together. Highland Community Church, a church that was planted in 1983 and originally called Victory Baptist Church before changing their name in the mid-90's, had been dormant for a number of years. When Nick sought the counsel of the Director of Missions, Dr. Charles Dill, about starting a new church, the Highland Community Church property was made available to them. Over 200 people gathered for the first worship service of the "new" HCC - at that time, the largest such launch among Michigan Baptists.
The "new" HCC flourished for much of our first decade. Unfortunately, traumatic days awaited. After almost 10 years of growth, the church entered a very difficult season that saw the founding pastor resign and many families move to other churches. The church brought Pastor Tim Steele in as an intentional interim, and 22 months of healing began. God used Pastor Tim to help steady the ship and make us ready again for faithful, fit, and fruitful ministry to our church and to our community. Another "new" day dawned when we called our "new" pastor in 2016.
Our History
Our Pastor:
Rob Freshour has been our pastor since September 2016. He and his bride, Donna, have been married 37 years (2021). Their five children are now adults. Rob and Donna also now enjoy their grandchildren.
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The Freshours came to Michigan in 2002 when Rob joined the staff at our Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Prior to that, they served churches in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. They have also served on mission in several states, in Mexico, and in Southeast Asia.
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Rob loves worshipping Jesus Christ, loving Donna, laughing with family, preaching and teaching the Word, and making disciples. His favorite preachers, teachers, and authors include John Piper, Randy Alcorn, and Timothy Keller. He also reads CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and Ted Dekker.
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To learn more about Rob, connect with him on Facebook or check out his blog at http://freshwordsfromthefrogmeadow.blogspot.com/.
Who We Are
HCC is a faith family. We are deeply devoted to the faith, to articulating and living out biblical truths in a real way in the real world. We are also committed to love one another, to encourage and care for each other very much like healthy family.
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HCC is a local church located in Highland Township that serves families in Highland, Hartland, Holly, Milford, Waterford, White Lake, even Brighton, Fenton, and Howell.
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HCC is affiliated with Great Commission Baptists - a network of some 48,000 churches in the United States and Canada, and with the Motor Cities Metro Baptist Association - a partnership of churches in Southeast Michigan and Ontario that cooperate to make much of Jesus Christ to all nations and to make disciples and start churches among all peoples.