Our Story

Our story

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21

In the fall of 2002, God began to call some of His people in Middle Tennessee to plant Rolling Hills Community Church. The first weeks of our story were set in the Alara Farms apartment clubhouse one night a week. A group of about 15 people would come together to study God’s Word and to begin to draft a vision for a church that would serve God and Middle Tennessee well. Over the next three months, we watched as God brought more and more people into His calling and mission for our new church – to be a people of God, reaching out, growing up, and giving all. 

In January of 2003, Rolling Hills Community Church was officially launched! Our Sunday morning services took place at the Marriott Hotel in Cool Springs. 

In the spring of 2004, our church moved from Marriott’s ballroom to Carmike’s Thoroughbred Theater in Cool Springs. For five years we set up at 6:30am, held two services, and hosted 10 theaters full of Kids Ministry and filled a coffee shop for Student Ministry. All that time, we never had a contract with Carmike, and God blessed and grew His church each and every week.

By the fall of 2007, it became clear that we were outgrowing the movie theater, and that God was calling us to a new chapter in the journey. We did not know where He planned to be our new church home, but we felt called to take up an offering as we waited for Him to show us the way forward. On a Sunday in October, this young church, with an average age of 28 years old, gave over one million dollars. 

After we stepped out in faith, God revealed an amazing place for us. The WareHouse had over 146,000 square feet, sitting on a dozen acres of prime real estate in the middle of our Franklin community. With three tenants making payments to offset the cost of purchase, God made a way for us to make a financially-practical purchase of this incredible new church home. On October 11, 2009, we celebrated our first worship time in our new church home here at The WareHouse. 

In January of 2014, we took our next step in living out our mission as we opened our second campus in south Nashville with Jason Hale serving as the Campus Pastor there. In 2016, we strategically relocated to Nolensville Elementary to reach out to the growing community in this part of Middle Tennessee. Then, in August of 2018, we secured office space on Nolensville Road to establish a daily presence in the community. As of 2019, after merging with Revive Church, our Nolensville Campus secured a permanent worship space. In October 2021, we began construction at our Nolensville Campus to build out a new Auditorium, Kids & Student Ministry Space, offices, and more, thanks to the generosity of our church family. This building was officially opened in February 2023, and we are so excited about continuing to reach people for Christ in this community!

In January of 2018, Rolling Hills merged with Belmont Heights Baptist Church to form our third campus, our Rolling Hills Nashville Campus. Led by Nashville Campus Pastor, Nic Allen, starting on August 25, 2018, we began meeting at the Troutt Theater on the campus of Belmont University. Soon, we began to search for a more permanent arrangement, and God opened the door for us to merge with Park Avenue Baptist Church on Park Avenue in Nashville. So, in 2019, our Nashville Campus moved and found its permanent home there. 

When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, we took our services completely online for a few months. We were blessed to have had our Online Campus in place at that time and ready for all that was to come. At first, improving the virtual experience of our worship and teaching was our top priority. Since then, we’ve begun to leverage the online space to build community among people in our Online Campus — a community that goes beyond Sunday mornings, and includes virtual Bible studies and serving opportunities. 

People tune in to our Online Campus community from all over the U.S. and the world each week, and we average around 700 people any given Sunday morning. We have been blessed to see much growth in our Online Campus community over the past few years!

Recently, with the growth taking place in Maury County, we felt God calling us to plant a campus in Columbia. After praying for a Launch Team, a place for our offices, a campus location, and a presence in the city, God has blessed us with our fourth campus. In 2021, our Columbia Campus launched and began by meeting at Riverside Elementary School and now meets at Highland Park Elementary School, just minutes from downtown Columbia. T. Lusk serves as our Columbia Campus Pastor. And, in December 2022, we purchased a building in Columbia that will have its Grand Opening in fall 2023! 

Within the last year, we added our fifth physical location of Rolling Hills upon our merger with Haywood Hills Baptist Church in south Nashville. During our time of transition, Patrick Hamilton has stepped in as the interim Campus Pastor of this congregation. We look forward to growing in this diverse and growing part of Middle Tennessee, serving the community and worshiping together on Haywood Lane.

God is very much at work and moving through His ministry at Rolling Hills. We give Him all the glory for what He has done and stand ready to be used for His work in the future.