Northwest Hills Community Church sits on a wide campus along NW Walnut Boulevard on the north side of Corvallis, Oregon, and serves as a hub for believers scattered across the Willamette Valley. The building and grounds have become a place where three Sunday gatherings, midweek youth meetings, dozens of community groups, and a steady stream of mission projects converge under a single heartbeat: Love Jesus, Live Like Jesus, Make Him Known. That three-part phrase is more than a tagline. It shapes how Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen and the staff cast every ministry, from nursery check-in to the Global Outreach Team, and it gives newcomers a quick way to understand what Northwest Hills is about before they ever walk through the courtyard doors.

Sundays at Northwest Hills

Three identical Sunday services meet at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. in the auditorium. Each one runs about an hour and five to fifteen minutes and follows a steady rhythm: roughly twenty minutes of live music, a brief moment of announcements and next steps, and a thirty-minute sermon that walks through a book of the Bible or a focused series. The music leans blended, weaving traditional hymns with modern worship songs so that longtime attenders and first-time guests both find something familiar to sing.

The church makes a point of lowering the bar for first-time visits. Parking is free, with handicap and elderly spaces near the front and side of the building and plenty of additional spaces filling the lot. Visitors are often greeted by youth students holding welcome signs at the campus entrance, and a beverage station on the right side of the courtyard serves free coffee, tea, and hot chocolate before each service. A Connect Desk sits in the lobby where greeters answer questions, hand out Bibles (free Bibles are tucked in the seat baskets every Sunday), and connect newcomers to ministries and groups.

Dress runs the full spectrum. Jeans and a t-shirt fit right alongside a suit and tie. Families with young children can arrive ten minutes early without stress, since the courtyard check-in for kids is staffed by volunteers who walk parents through the process. A quiet Family Room outside the auditorium gives nursing mothers a private space with a livestream of the service, so no one misses the sermon while soothing a fussy baby.

The Heartbeat: Love Jesus, Live Like Jesus, Make Him Known

The motto is unpacked on the church's home page as a simple rhythm. Love Jesus means committing to Sundays, gathering as a church family to worship and hear the Bible, and building a daily life shaped by spiritual disciplines such as prayer, scripture reading, sabbath, fasting, silence, and meditation. Those practices, the church teaches, do not earn salvation, which is described as a free gift from God, but they attune a believer's heart to Him week by week.

Live Like Jesus finds its expression through Community Groups and service. Community Groups are the main way people get connected at Northwest Hills; they are small gatherings that meet in homes around Corvallis and the surrounding area to share meals, study Scripture, pray, serve together, and tackle hard questions about faith. Service, likewise, is treated as foundational rather than optional. Each person has unique giftings from God, and the church encourages members to discover and use them through ministries for kids, youth, photography and video, coffee and hospitality, prayer, security, and the Love INC Care Closet, among others.

Make Him Known sends the church outward. The congregation seeks to extend the love of Christ to neighbors in Corvallis and to people far beyond Oregon through prayer, generosity, short-term trips, and long-term missionary support. A Global Outreach Team coordinates everything from a summer serve trip to Mexico to relationships with missionaries in Uganda, France, Asia, the Middle East, and among unreached people groups in West Asia.

Kids: From Nursery Through Fifth Grade

Northwest Hills Kids welcomes children from birth through fifth grade during every Sunday service. The children's wing wraps around the lobby in two sides (the A wing and the B wing), with separate check-in stations outside each classroom so the process stays quick for parents. Background-checked teachers and volunteers run age-appropriate classrooms that walk preschoolers and elementary kids through the big story of the Bible, tying Old Testament stories and New Testament teachings to Jesus in every lesson. The goal, in the children's ministry team's words, is for every child to leave knowing they are loved by Jesus and excited to learn more about Him.

Check-in works differently for the youngest and the oldest kids. Newborns through age four receive a name label and a barcode ticket at the nursery and preschool stations outside their classrooms. Kindergarten through fifth graders check in at the courtyard station, get a name label their child turns in at pickup, and keep a matching barcode ticket that staff scan before releasing the child. Parents are asked to walk their child to the classroom and back for safety. For children under two, parents carry a buzzer so a teacher can quietly reach them during service if needed.

Health and safety policies are written clearly. Kids who are feeling unwell are asked to stay home until they have been symptom-free for twenty-four hours, and the same rule applies to volunteers. Minor injuries are treated with basic first aid, and a parent signs an incident report at pickup. Anything more serious prompts an immediate call to the parent, and in an emergency the church calls 911 while keeping the family informed.

Children's Ministry Director Jessi Furlo, who has been part of the church since around 2008 along with her husband James, leads the team alongside Children's Ministry Assistant Rachel Ebert. The Kids Ministry also runs Circle T Junior Camp, a four-day western-themed overnight camp at Camp Tadmor in Lebanon, Oregon, for kids entering third through fifth grade each summer.

The Mix and The Hills: A Bridge into the Teen Years

For fourth and fifth graders, Sunday evenings bring a separate gathering called The Mix, which meets from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the NWH MOD (a modular building at the edge of the parking lot identified as W3 on the campus map). The Mix is built around high-energy games, a snack rotation that runs from cookies to pizza, and small-group conversations about faith. Young Adult Pastor Gary Jones and volunteer Matthew Donaldson lead the program alongside a team of volunteers, and the space is open to kids whether or not their families attend Northwest Hills.

Middle school and high school students step into The Hills, the church's youth ministry, which gathers on Sunday mornings during the 10:30 service and on Wednesday nights during the school year. On Wednesdays, middle school meets from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and high school from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., both in the MOD, with time for games, community, teaching, and small groups. Youth Pastor Cason Brownell, who joined the staff in 2025 after serving summers at Hume Lake Christian Camps, and Youth Ministry Associate Gail Whitling lead the team of staff, interns, and volunteers. The Hills runs summer trips each year, including a middle school camp at Camp Tadmor and a high school camp at Hume Lake in California's Sequoia National Forest.

Community Groups: The Main Way to Connect

If Northwest Hills has one consistent answer to the question of how to get involved, it is Community Groups. The church describes these small gatherings as the place where life happens: friendships form, meals are shared, scripture is studied, prayers are offered, and the hard work of following Jesus is done shoulder to shoulder. Groups meet in homes throughout the week, in locations spread across Corvallis and into neighboring towns, and they welcome anyone exploring faith or well into a walk with Jesus. New groups open for sign-ups through the church's online directory.

The church also points newcomers to a handful of bridges into community. A Meet the Fam lunch is held periodically with lead staff for those newer to Northwest Hills. A Membership Class walks through what NWH believes and what members commit to. Vertical Marriage, Redemptive Compassion, and other short studies run on Sunday mornings in Room D7 as classes on faith and life. For those who want to learn the basics of the Christian faith from scratch, the church offers a Story of Reality course.

Life-Stage Ministries: Women, Men, College and Young Adults, Seniors, Marriage

Northwest Hills organizes a number of ministries around seasons of life. The women's ministry, under the leadership of Meagan Carstensen as Volunteer Director of Women's Development, holds weekly Bible studies using the Discovery Bible Study method, a Monday-evening study, a Thursday-morning study, and home groups that gather in living rooms around town. HOME (Helping Our Moms Excel) meets on Tuesdays at 9:15 a.m. in the NWH lobby for moms of children five and under, and HOME NEXT meets at 12:15 p.m. the same day for moms of older children. Sisters in Grace is a fellowship group for women in their 50s and beyond that gathers for hikes, lunches, pickleball, games, and dinners throughout the year.

The men's ministry is anchored by Men's 1:27, a service team that meets at 8:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of every month in Room D7 and heads out to serve widows, seniors, single moms, and others in need around Corvallis. The team shares a meal afterward. The church frames the work around the simple instruction in James 1:27 to look after orphans and widows, and it is open to anyone willing to show up, whether for the first time or the fiftieth.

For college students and young adults, Young Adult Pastor Gary Jones oversees monthly Sunday gatherings, community groups built around college-age cohorts or mixed generations, and a steady stream of service opportunities. The Mix, which he also leads, gives him a connection with the high schoolers aging up into his ministry. Young Married's Lunch gathers couples under thirty for a no-agenda afternoon of food and friendship, hosted at rotating homes.

Seniors have a presence of their own at Northwest Hills. A Senior Fellowship Class meets every Sunday morning at 10:30 in Room D7 for hymn singing, prayer, Bible study, and the kind of unhurried conversation that ties a church generation together. A monthly Senior's Lunch (50+) meets at noon on the first Wednesday of every month in the same room, with attendees bringing their own lunch and the church providing the company. Couples Dessert Potluck and Game Night is another anchor on the calendar for older adults.

Marriage Ministry focuses on equipping couples at every stage, with periodic Vertical Marriage classes, dessert nights, lunches, and a network of small groups for young marrieds and older couples. The ministry can be reached through marriage@nwhills.com for those looking for connection or resources.

Following Jesus: Salvation, Baptism, and Membership

The church's teaching on what it means to follow Jesus is laid out plainly. Salvation is described as a gift received by grace through faith, not by works, rooted in Jesus' death and resurrection. Baptism is taught as the outward sign of an inward reality, and Northwest Hills practices baptism by immersion for believers after they confess faith. Baptisms are celebrated publicly, including outdoor river baptisms during warmer months, and those interested are invited to connect with the church to talk through their story and timing.

Membership is treated as a meaningful step rather than a formality. Members commit publicly to belong to this body of believers, support the mission and vision with their lives, finances, and gifts, and pray for and support the church family and its leadership. Members in turn submit to the church's leadership, engage fully in giving and serving, and grow through confession, accountability, and community. To become a member at NWH, a person must have received Jesus as Savior, been baptized by immersion, affirmed the Statement of Beliefs in the NWH Constitution, watched the membership videos, and attended a Membership Class.

What Northwest Hills Believes

The Statement of Beliefs in the NWH Constitution is explicit and biblical. The church holds that the Old and New Testaments were verbally inspired by God and are completely inerrant in the original writings, serving as the supreme and final authority in faith and life. There is one God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, is true God and true man, and died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice; God justifies all who believe in Him on the basis of His shed blood. Human beings were created in God's image, fell into sin, and are born with a sinful nature; the crucified body of our Lord was resurrected, He ascended into heaven and now intercedes as High Priest and Advocate, and there will be a bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust. The church looks for the imminent, personal return of Jesus Christ. All who receive Christ by faith are born of the Holy Spirit and become children of God, eternally secure in that relationship. Church members are subject to biblical discipline in the spirit of Galatians 6:1.

Serving Together: Local Outreach and Global Missions

Service is woven into the life of the church at every level. On Sunday mornings, volunteers serve as greeters, ushers, prayer team members, coffee and hospitality baristas, kids' ministry teachers, nursery caregivers, worship team and A/V crew members, security and emergency team members, and photo and video storytellers. Beyond Sunday, the Men's 1:27 team serves widows and seniors, and the HOME outreach walks alongside moms of young children.

Local outreach is centered on a partnership with Love INC of Benton County. Northwest Hills members staff the Love INC Care Closet, a community service ministry that equips local families in need with clothing and shoes for children from newborn to age 18. The church also promotes Love INC's rotating slate of community classes and points members to other Benton County ministries.

Globally, the church's mission work stretches from Corvallis to several continents. The Global Outreach Team (GO Team) equips and sends people for short-term trips, long-term service, and prayer and financial support of missionaries already on the field. Northwest Hills-supported ministry partners serve in Uganda (including work with the Karamojong and Teso people through Waffle and Val, and the CLIDE Consultancy), in mountainous France, in Asia through translation projects and animal husbandry ministries, in the Middle East alongside church-planting efforts, in West Asia through oral Bible storytelling, and on the campus of Oregon State University, where Rex and AJ serve military veteran students through The Navigators. Each summer, the church sends a team to Rancho Genesis in Baja California, Mexico, to love orphans through camp and to help with building projects on the site, with Associate Pastor Ron King carrying a long-standing relationship with the ministry.

Preparing the Next Generation: Internships and Pastoral Residency

One distinctive offering at Northwest Hills is a nine-month internship for young adults ages 18 to 25, running from September through mid-June with the potential to extend into summer or multiple years. Interns receive free housing on the church campus in intern houses stocked with large appliances, kitchen necessities, and living room furniture, pay a fixed fifty dollars a month toward utilities, and serve around twelve hours a week in a specific ministry track. Tracks include Worship Ministry, Youth Ministry, Children's Ministry, and Young Adult Ministry, each shaped by the lead of that area.

The Pastoral Residency sits alongside the internship and is aimed at people pursuing full-time vocational ministry. Residents work alongside Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen and the rest of the team, gaining experience in teaching, preaching, leading, and shepherding. Applicants for the residency are ideally completing or pursuing theological education, and ages outside 18 to 25 are welcome. Together, the internship and residency programs have become a steady pipeline of leaders sent out from Northwest Hills into ministry and mission beyond Corvallis.

Messages and Resources

Sermons are posted within a few days of being preached and are available through the Messages page, the church's YouTube channel, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Recent series include a chapter-by-chapter walk through the Gospel of Mark and a focus called The Good Fight. The teaching calendar is built around books of the Bible and topical series that connect to the church's broader ministry calendar.

A resource library in the NWH lobby offers a curated set of books, many of which are referenced in classes and community groups. The collection includes works like Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, The Reason for God by Timothy Keller, Knowing God by J. C. Packer, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero, Union with Christ, The Story of Reality by Gregory Koukl, and Gary Chapman's Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, alongside devotional and parenting titles. An Old Testament reading plan and weekly community group questions are available for anyone who wants to follow along with the church's teaching rhythm.

Three Sunday gatherings, a full slate of ministries for every age, and a steady drumbeat of service and mission keep Northwest Hills moving week to week. Whether someone arrives as a first-time guest in the courtyard or as a longtime member heading into a Monday Bible study, the same motto carries them forward: Love Jesus, Live Like Jesus, Make Him Known.