Chris Hodges

Chris Hodges, founding and senior pastor of Church of the Highlands, is known for his relevant teaching style and his passion for raising up global leaders to fulfill the Great Commission. Under his leadership, Church of the Highlands offers more than 70 worship services each weekend at 23 campuses with over 60,000 people attending weekly. With a focus on helping people realize the spiritual journey that God has for them, Chris leads people to know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and make a difference. Chris co-founded the Association of Related Churches (ARC) (arcchurches.com) in 2001, which trains more than 1,000 church planters every year. To date, ARC has planted over 960 churches all across the USA (now averaging over 100 new churches every year). Chris also founded a coaching network called Grow (growleader.com) specializing in training and resourcing pastors and churches to help them break barriers and reach their growth potential. Each year more than 4,000 pastors attend sold-out conferences and roundtables in America, Europe, Australia, and Asia led by Chris and his team. These events train pastors and leaders in a simple yet systematic model based on his bestselling books What’s Next? and Fresh Air. Grow currently serves over 15,000 churches in more than 100 countries. Chris’ other books include The Daniel Dilemma, What’s Next?, Out of the Cave, and his newest book, Pray First: The Transformative Power of a Life Built on Prayer. As Chancellor of Highlands College (highlandscollege.com), an accredited two-year ministry training college that gives students a chance to receive hands-on ministry training in a healthy, college environment, Chris is committed to placing leaders of character and competence into the harvest field. Students are currently being developed in areas such as Pastoral Leadership, Student Ministry, Children’s Ministry, Missions, Technical Arts, Worship, and Creative Arts. Chris also serves on the Board of Directors of EQUIP, a global leadership training organization founded by John Maxwell. EQUIP has trained over 6 million leaders in 196 countries of the world. Chris and his wife Tammy have five children and eight grandchildren and live in Birmingham, Alabama, where Church of the Highlands began in 2001. Connect with Chris on Instagram (@pastorchrishodges)