Harpeth Hills Church of Christ sits along Old Hickory Boulevard in Brentwood, Tennessee, and has become one of the larger multi-generational congregations in the Nashville area. Members describe it as a Christ-centered, Spirit-filled, Bible-based church saturated in grace, rooted in the fellowship of Churches of Christ while reaching well beyond traditional boundaries. Three Sunday worship gatherings, a full slate of Bible classes for every age, a Wednesday night meal and class hour, a 50-year-old preschool, an in-house counseling center, and more than 35 mission partnerships give the church a steady rhythm of life that draws families, college students, singles, and older adults alike.
Two Worship Traditions Under One Roof
Few things shape a first visit to Harpeth Hills more than the building itself. On Sunday morning the church offers three worship gatherings that intentionally split along two musical traditions that have long defined the Churches of Christ fellowship.
At 8:30 a.m. an a cappella praise team leads worship in the Auditorium. This gathering keeps the unaccompanied congregational singing that is a hallmark of the Church of Christ heritage. Visitors enter through the front doors at the columned porch facing Old Hickory Boulevard.
Across the building, the same 8:30 a.m. hour features an instrumental praise band leading a more contemporary service in the Gym. A third service in the Gym at 11:00 a.m. continues that style of worship. The Gym services enter through the glass doors under the Brown Awning.
All three gatherings celebrate the Lord's Supper each week. Prepared communion cups are available as worshipers enter, and everyone is invited to participate. Whether someone grew up singing a cappella or prefers a full band, both styles are welcomed as part of the same church family.
A Sunday Morning Built Around Three Hours
Sunday at Harpeth Hills is structured around the 8:30, 10:00, and 11:00 a.m. hours, with classes filling the middle gap and meals waiting in the wings.
At 10:00 a.m., Bible classes meet for every age group. Birth through Kindergarten gather on the first floor near the Brown Awning entrance. First through sixth graders meet on the third floor. Students in grades 7 through 12 meet in the Youth Center on the east side of the Gym. Adults find a wide menu of classes - from a study of Galatians for singles to an intergenerational reading group exploring a 2026 book on the history of the Churches of Christ.
The class catalog reflects the breadth of the congregation. College students work through selected Psalms with rotating student teachers. Young Adults dig into First Peter. A class for Young Families studies what it means to know and love a God who cannot be seen. Families with Teens look at how biblical parents shaped the kids who changed the world. Several intergenerational classes run in parallel, with teachers such as Steve Austin (Jesus in Context), Jeff Hammond and Ryan Seaton (First Peter), Stan Smith (Better Together), and Becca Smith (What it Means to Love Your Neighbor).
Children's Check-In sits on the first floor for security. Parents receive identification stickers when they drop off, and the same sticker must be presented at pickup. The staff also escorts first through sixth graders to and from their classrooms, so families don't have to navigate the building in the middle of the morning.
Wednesday Nights Around the Table
Wednesday at Harpeth Hills begins the way the church family most enjoys gathering - around food. From 5:30 to 6:15 p.m., the Community Room hosts a shared meal open to anyone who wants to come.
At 6:30 p.m., classes begin for every age. Rubel Shelly leads an intergenerational walk through Scripture as a six-act biblical drama, from Eden to the New Jerusalem, with a special textbook provided. Kevin and Lynn Hopkins facilitate a candid conversation on sex, marriage, and relationships. Donna Ackerman and Julie Reagan guide a ladies' class on discerning God's voice through journaling. A men's class works through the 33 The Series video curriculum. The college gathering meets for worship, prayer, and small-group time. Children and students follow their own schedule upstairs and in the Youth Center.
Community Groups: Finding Your People
Beyond Sunday and Wednesday, Community Groups form the backbone of life at Harpeth Hills. The groups launch in September and again in January, and each one meets at least seven times during the semester. Most are open to all ages; a few are age-specific.
The groups are not designed as Bible-study lectures. Leaders are trained in how to be welcoming, how to invite personally, and how to balance study with fellowship. Suggestions range from fire-pit nights and kickball games to serving Room in the Inn together, offering babysitting nights for young parents, and organizing the church's Trunk or Treat.
Other ongoing groups fill specific niches. Cool4Christ serves fourth through sixth graders as a bridge into youth ministry. HHCG gathers college students. HHYG is the youth group for grades 7 through 12, led by Carson Sutton and Clark Fraser. The Men's BLESS Groups, the Single Adults Living Truth (SALT) class, the Young Adults group, and the Marriage Mentoring program round out the long list of options. For newcomers, a Move & Connect class for women new to Greater Nashville runs on Monday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for ten weeks.
Children and Students: HHCM and HHYG
The Children's Ministry, known as HHCM, walks children from birth through sixth grade through the Bible three times by the time they finish sixth grade, covering both Testaments. Children ages three through Kindergarten can take part in Children's Worship - a special gathering with drama, puppets, and praise that runs during the school year alongside the regular Bible classes.
Cool4Christ gives fourth through sixth graders their own space to ask hard questions, build friendships with adult mentors, and prepare for youth ministry.
The Youth Group gathers students in grades 7 through 12 from a variety of schools. In addition to weekly meetings, students take part in service projects and short-term mission trips. Summers add a week at Camp Koinonia, the church's own camp.
Harpeth Hills Preschool: A Half-Century of Learning
The preschool has its own rich history. It opened in 1971 as a Mother's Day Out program serving twenty-three children and has grown into a state-licensed, DHS-certified 3-star preschool with twenty-three teachers and staff and more than one hundred students across nine classrooms.
Harpeth Hills Preschool serves children from fifteen months old through six years. The school day runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Parents Day Out classes for toddlers and twos meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while threes, Pre-K fours, and fives have a Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday schedule. Pre-K fours and fives can add an optional STEAM Monday, and After Care is available from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
The curriculum blends the Tennessee Early Learning Developmental Standards with a Bible curriculum that runs through the school year, including Creation, Noah, Baby Moses, Baby Jesus, and the message that each child is loved by God. Children participate in a monthly chapel time called JAM - Jesus and Me - and weave Bible stories into their centers, songs, and prayer time throughout the day.
Enrollment for the new school year opens in January, with current families receiving priority and a non-refundable $75 application fee. The school year begins before Labor Day and ends in mid-May, following the Williamson County Schools calendar.
Counseling Center
The Harpeth Hills Counseling Center is one of the more distinctive features of the congregation. Open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on some Fridays on a limited basis, the center is staffed by professional therapists who serve both church members and the wider Nashville community.
Because the center is treated as a ministry, the $125 per 50-minute session fee is below typical market rates. Clients may file for insurance reimbursement on their own. Members with financial need can apply for assistance through the church, supported by a designated Counseling Center Support Fund that makes sure no one is turned away.
The team offers general therapy and more specialized services. Dr. Anderson is a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, and most of the staff are trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) for trauma recovery. Confidentiality is a stated priority, and sessions take place in a private suite of offices on the east side of the church building.
Resource Center on Aging
Also on the church campus sits the Resource Center on Aging, directed by Robyn Arab. The center's mission is to value every stage of life and to equip both the congregation and the broader Nashville community to walk alongside older adults.
Programs include an Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Group that meets every third Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to noon, a Caregiving Consulting service that helps families navigate hospitalization and rehabilitation choices, and Coffee & Conversation gatherings for the 65-plus community. The center also maintains a medical closet that loans out wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, bedside commodes, shower chairs, and incontinence supplies, and runs Martha's Market, a freezer-meal ministry that bridges families until a meal train can be organized.
Pastoral Care and Grief Support
Teresa Norris leads the Pastoral Care Ministry, which focuses on caring for home-centered members through visits, prayer, and a Food Ministry that delivers meals to those who are ill or grieving. A separate Funeral Hospitality Support Team sets up, greets, organizes refreshments, and serves meals during funeral services.
GriefShare runs for thirteen weeks on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Room 207, with a meal at 6:00 p.m. and a video followed by small-group discussion. Led by Beverly Blair and Allison Harris, the program is free and includes materials; the fall session pauses for Thanksgiving week.
Local Missions Across Nashville
Harpeth Hills describes its local mission work as organized around three streams: Compassionate Care, Discipleship, and Schools and Communities. The church is involved with more than twenty local partners.
In Compassionate Care, the congregation partners with AGAPE, Care Portal (which connects child-serving requests to local churches), Compassion Relief, Disaster Relief Efforts, Faith Family Medical Center, Helping Hands, Room in the Inn, and the Sneedville Outreach.
In Discipleship, the church supports Chinese Student Ministry, Maranatha Church, Onward Church Planting, Tennessee Prison Outreach Ministry, and UrbanPromise Nashville.
Among Schools and Communities, members serve Joelton Elementary, King's Academy, McMurray Middle School, Napier Elementary, Nashville Inner City Ministry, Franktown Open Hearts, Two Rivers Middle School, and YES. Oversight for local missions is provided by Kristy Hall and Robert Day, with Jimmy Gilfilen coordinating the church's role in CarePortal.
Global Missions Across Five Continents
Global missions form the other half of the church's outreach. Partners include African Christian Schools in Nigeria, Chosen Seed in Ghana, Ciudad de Ángeles in Cozumel, Eastern European Missions, Great Cities Missions across Central and South America, Hacienda of Hope in Ecuador, Healing Hands International, Hope for Haiti's Children, India Outreach Program, and Jovenes en Camino in Honduras. Additional partnerships reach Kevin and Benay Blume in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Nations University, Nick and Rebecca La Spina in New Zealand, Onward Global Church Planting, Path of Hope Foundation in Honduras, Pearl House in Ghana, SAT-7 across the Middle East and North Africa, the South Pacific Bible College, Steve and Gill Raine in New Zealand, the Texas International Bible Institute, The Bridge Ministry in Haiti, and World Christian Broadcasting.
Women's and Men's Ministry
The Women's Ministry, led by Donna Ackerman with a leadership team that includes Randi Baxter, Debbie Blackshear, Laura Day, Sherry Dorris, Ann Gupton, Susan Hammond, Tonya Kennedy, Gail Powell, and Nia Wiley, organizes Bible studies, fellowship events, service opportunities, and mentoring. The fall Monday-morning Bible study at the church and the Monday-evening study hosted by Brooke O'Dell work through Priscilla Shirer's He Speaks to Me.
The Men's Ministry gathers men of all ages around Bible studies, fellowship events, service opportunities, and mentoring. The annual Men's Breakfast, hosted in recent years with featured speakers such as Jonathan Skrmetti, draws the wider circle of men together. A text-alert group, reached by texting HHMM to 84576, keeps members connected.
What Harpeth Hills Believes
The Statement of Faith outlines twelve foundational beliefs. They begin with one God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and with the sixty-six books of Scripture as God-breathed and authoritative for faith and life. The statement affirms that women and men of every race and background bear the image of God and are to be treated with dignity and Christian love.
Jesus of Nazareth is described as God Incarnate, born of the virgin Mary, living a sinless life, and offering himself on the cross to redeem the world. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach good news to the poor, welcome the neglected, heal the sick, and show mercy, as the pattern for his followers. The bodily resurrection of Jesus affirms the redemption of sinners, the renewal of creation, and eternal life for God's people.
The Holy Spirit indwells Christians to empower holy living. Salvation is a gift of grace received through faith in Jesus as Lord. The visible evidence of living faith includes baptism, worship, the Lord's Supper, service, compassion, sharing the gospel, and suffering for the sake of Christ. The statement names humility, meekness, generosity, and obedience as the Christian response to a fallen world. It calls the church as the bride of Christ to chastity outside heterosexual marriage and to sexual purity for all, whether single or married. There is one holy worldwide church commissioned to spread the gospel, and Jesus will return to raise the dead, judge all people in righteousness, establish God's kingdom, and reign forever.
Worship, Classes, and Discipleship Beyond the Building
Sunday services stream live and replays of the 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services are available online. The full archive lives on the church's YouTube channel. Sermon series such as recent Psalms studies, Elijah, The Parables, Revelation, Ecclesiastes, How Faith Works, and other topical studies are posted online alongside podcasts and class recordings from teachers including Rubel Shelly, Stan Smith, Leonard Allen, Carlus Gupton, Joe Beam, and Tom Heinselman.
Members have free access to RightNow Media, a library of more than twenty thousand biblically based videos for adults, youth, and children, with study guides and the ability to host virtual groups. Discover Harpeth Hills, the church's orientation class, runs several times a year as a first step toward membership. The shepherds of the church continue to place a high value on placing membership as a personal commitment. The path from the orientation class runs through the Family Information Form and the Membership Involvement Form.
Online giving is handled through Realm, and gifts of all sizes can be made one-time or recurring. Visitors are welcome to give as well, even before they join. A staffed Connections team follows up with first-time guests, and Welcome Centers in the building are ready with information and a small gift.
Harpeth Hills keeps its rhythm straightforward: come as you are, worship in the style that fits you, find a class that feeds you, and let the rest of the church walk alongside. The dual-worship heritage, the deep investment in children and older adults, the in-house counseling center, and the wide reach of local and global missions all flow from that simple commitment.