Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum COTH (Church of the Highlands)

Who all goes there, and which campus?

I went when I lived in Bham. My sister goes to Huntsville, brother goes to Auburn, and parents go to Mobile Bay. Two of my wife’s uncles are pastors at COTH in bham.

i watch the service online from time to time .... it's a "seeker-friendly" church, but the real action is in their small group programs ...

We go to the alabaster campus and I’ve been going to COTH since 2002.

Yep

Yep, although that's going to be the case in most churches. Our church isn't what I'd consider huge (300-400 members each sunday, split between 2 services) but our preacher will be the first to tell you that, while Sunday morning service is important, a small group is where you're going to really grow in your faith. For evidence of such, just look at Jesus himself. Sure, he preached to large crowds on plenty of occasions, but he also had his "small group" whom he preached to, who then went out and preached to others, who then did the same, and so on and so forth.

Grants Mill.

We have lots of friends that attend across multiple campuses, and some that are employed at COTH. We tried the Greystone campus, a few years ago, but just totally felt like a number.

Grandview

I"ve never been to one, but I'd like to attend one Sunday just to see how they do things. They do a lot for the community, I like that.

Huntsville campus here

I figured we surely had a pretty large contingent on here... We go to the Oxford campus. It has been a Godsend for me!

I have always been very small-group-centric, so the whole small group mentality of COTH is good for me. But the best thing is the life/vibrancy it has brought to my walk.

Spent a few of my early years in a "traditional" Southern Baptist church, and the past 15 or so in a slightly more "contemporary" Southern Baptist church (which basically just means we had a young-ish preacher and sang more contemporary music than old stuff, and we'd tiptoe right up to the line of Reformed soteriology, but could just never let go of the Law and the incessant preaching of behavioral modification).

I guess I just wanted to talk about this today... I've long known my spiritual giftedness was in the groove of "teaching", I'm the oddball that likes theology and unpacking it, so the "academic" side of our faith has just been easy for me. It was easy for me to answer the questions. But over long years I began to realize a cognitive disconnect in my life... I just didn't have any "oomph" in my worship, it was all mental for me I guess. Oh sure, I'd sometimes be emotional, but I was reserved and usually wouldn't show that publically. Until recently I had never raised my hand (or anything like that). I've had lots of happy cry sessions in the truck going down the road, but I had never just given God what He is worth. So maybe 3 years ago (+,-) I just began to wander. I resigned my class, resigned as a deacon, and shortly thereafter just left my church. The problem had to be "there", right? We joined another SBC church and that lasted all of about a year before I admitted that the church we left was better than this new one. So the truth is for the last year we had hardly attended church at all. My reasoning was that I had just come to a place of understanding that I just wasn't "Southern Baptist" anymore. Now that part was honest, but it wasn't ALL the problem. If anybody asked (and often even if they didn't) I took the opportunity to lament that there simply wasn't a church around that actually preached scripture with a clue of what grace is. I hoped, and longed, and wished to have a nearby church that exposited the scripture, made Jesus the focus of it all (not me), confessed that we are broken, that the work of grace was COMPLETELY finished and that I could rest in it, and trusted the Holy Spirit to work in me (not the nasty SBC theology of behavioral modification). So I felt all alone. Seriously, I routinely cried out to God, "What's wrong with me???...why does everybody else seem happy in a church that I believe is spiritually sick??? Do I have this all wrong, God? Is my theology flawed? Am I the lone fool with this cognitive disconnect?

Well, a friend who shares my doctrinal views had been on me for some months about visiting COTH (they were driving from Oxford to Grants Mill), but I had no interest in such a drive. When we began to hear about the coming of an Oxford campus I started to investigate, and I got sucked in to the "21 Days of Prayer" in January just prior to our opening Sunday of Feb 4th. Oh. My. Stars. This is it!!! Um, I don't often talk in mysterious/spiritual ways, but dude you talkin' about getting stirred!!! On our first Sunday we had approx. 2300 people show up, most of whom I knew went to other local churches, and virtually all of whom have stuck here! That first day we left church and started home, nobody really spoke at first. All of a sudden I just couldn't hold it in anymore, I just cried. Not aloud, but with tears down my check because I was humbled that God was speaking to me. That wasn't so much a testament to COTH as it was an indictment on the other local churches. It was like God said, "There's your answer. You've been asking me if you were wrong. You've been longing for a place to worship. You weren't alone!"

And old preacher friend of mine used to say, "Tis easier to calm the fanatic than to raise a corpse", and boy was that true! I feel like a corpse who has been breathed back to life! COTH has been awesome for my family! We are serving as Growth Track hosts, and I think I'm going to lead a small group (it'll feel like the good ol' days of teaching). I don't wish to exalt Church of the Highlands, but only that it's faithful to scripture and vibrant with worship.

BTW, if you aren't attending the 21 Days of Prayer, please do!

Amen and amen...on all counts. I have a luncheon today to discuss with my fellow leaders the upcoming semester of the Freedom small group we will lead. If one will truly dive in and give it a fair shake, the Freedom curriculum will indeed set you free to live in the victory and freedom the grace and blood of Christ Jesus purchased on Calvary. I HATE guilt-driven, behavioral modification, law-soaked, preaching and manipulation. It leads to no true life change and essentially zero impact for the kingdom of God due to the constant, incessant self-examination and fear, never with any time, effort, available freedom to focus on those who are hurting and dying all around us. Men are so arrogant to believe they can (and should) do the work that only the Holy Spirit and the grace of Christ can do in the hearts and minds of mankind. So long as COTH has open doors and Chris Hodges is the pastor, I will drive 100 miles for my family and I to be engaged accordingly.

Same here. When we're in town.

Drops mic

Montgomery.

We love it.

we go to the greystone campus. I love coth. The small groups are awesome. I went to the men's meeting Friday night and it was great too. coth is more about relationship than religion. I've really been enjoying 21 days of prayer .It starts my day of on the right foot.

What's the closest one to Boaz/Gadsden I've known the preacher in Montgomery or Prattville for a long time he a great guy. I feel like I've sorta failed in raising my kids in church like I was but looking to change that and myself

Gadsden Campus

I just finished doing some work for the alabaster campus pastor. great guy. I grew up with his wife.