Our Story

humble beginnings and life change

Beginnings

In 1985, God planted a desire in the hearts of 17 people to start a major movement of faith in this community. They were already committed Christ followers involved in a local church. But they sensed God's call to begin a new church that used the best of both traditional and innovative approaches to ministry and outreach. Their goal was to establish a "balanced ministry;" a Bible-based church that was free from denominational limitations but responsible to work in conjunction with a local association of like-minded Bible churches. On January 5, 1986, the first worship service of Hill Country Bible church was held at a local elementary school with 75 people in attendance.

By 1988, the church needed a more permanent home for ministry, but with rental rates through the roof and purchasing out of the question, it would take a miracle. The miracle came in the form of a tiny cave beetle whose habitat was being threatened by all the development in NW Austin. When most construction halted while the beetle issue was resolved, prices plummeted and God provided rental space in a nearby shopping center. The "church behind the Dairy Queen" (aka "Hill Country Bible Church") was established! This would be "home" for the next six years.

In 1988, the church hired Tim Hawks as Lead Pastor. Tim had started and led a church plant in Ruston, LA, for one year and then co-pastored the same church for two years. Tim had a passion to see the local church accomplish great things for God's Kingdom and desired to build a church of "incarnational leaders." We committed to become a church of leaders so invested in people that they in turn would become leaders who would represent God's Word to the world.

Through a series of miracles over the next several years, God provided us the ability to purchase 30 acres of land on RR 620 - right across from the Dairy Queen. Immediately after the sale, God saw to it that the nearby Lakeline Mall project, which had been dormant due to the cave beetle concerns, was approved. Area property values soared, and so did the commitment of the HCBC family. Individuals and families pledged more than $950,000 over a 3.5 year period for the land purchase and construction of the first Worship Center (Building B). Against all human odds, more than 105% of the pledges were received by the end of the 3.5 year period, and the land was purchased with cash.

Even while we experienced God's blessing here in northwest Austin, we knew that there were thousands of people throughout the city who were missing out on being part of a family of faith, and more importantly, a relationship with Jesus Christ. The elders determined that we should follow a successful model of evangelism and discipleship that had been established years ago; in the 1st century to be exact. Paul and the other apostles planted strategically located regional churches that would reflect the unique demographic, sociological and cultural make-up of that area. In 1992, the idea for the Association of Hill Country Churches was conceived.

As we moved into the late 90's and eventually the new millennium, God kept bringing more people to us, and we kept asking Him to provide. Each capital campaign in the history of HCBC NW reflects God's faithfulness to us and the sacrificial giving of our family members. God continues to grow our people in the grace of giving and has allowed us to experience His faithfulness in incredible ways. As a result, we are now debt free and have been able to invest more in people, the highest reflection of God's glory.

Our Purpose

The family of believers at HCBC was purpose-driven before those words ever graced the cover of a best-selling book. After Pastor Tim's arrival, the leadership developed our current purpose statement:

Hill Country Bible Church is a family of believers committed to reaching people with the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ.

Many years after that statement was crafted, our commitment to that purpose remains one of the hallmarks of the church. When asked why they were attracted to HCBC, many of our current members will say it was the unwavering dedication to our purpose that drew them in and compelled them to stay.

In conjunction with our purpose statement, the leadership also established this simple, core philosophy of ministry:

1. Who are you?
2. Where are you spiritually?
3. How can I help you take the next step?

This philosophy recognizes that each person, no matter where they are in their spiritual journey, has a next step to take and usually needs help taking it. It continues to guide our approach to ministry so that we stay focused on people rather than programs.

Our Vision

As our footprint in NW Austin expanded, so did our thinking. We experienced a restlessness; a sense that God was telling us he had a new challenge for us. Our general purpose statement still fueled our ministry, but we began to feel our hearts pulled toward a more specific vision, one that would take each person's all-out commitment to accomplish.

The pull started when our leadership began to see God at work in foreign mission fields. As we partnered with missionaries and discussed the enormity of their vision for the areas God had called them to, we realized that we didn't have a similar vision or passion for the place God had planted us. The elders began to see what Jesus said in Acts 1:8 in a new light:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

We had been making strides in foreign missions for years, but did we have a real strategy to reach our own Jerusalem - Greater Austin? The elders determined it was time to direct some of our energy and passion a little closer to home.

In 2003, the elders developed a specific and compelling vision that captured the desire that God had placed in our hearts and reflected the call He had issued through His Son 2,000 years ago:

That every man, woman and child in greater Austin has the chance to experience the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ because they hear the gospel from the lips of someone at a Hill Country Bible Church.

Is such a sweeping vision achievable? We believe it is - and in our lifetime. But a great vision requires a great strategy. In addition to a commitment to personal evangelism, we're committed to physically place missionally-minded people throughout Greater Austin to build up new churches and expand the influence for Christ.

The opening of our Church Plant Training Center in 2004 was a milestone in our evolving philosophy of church planting. This residency type program provides potential planters a year of intensive discipleship and experiential training with the support and direction of HCBC NW. The hiring of a full time Church Plant Director in 2007 allowed us to accelerate the original church planting vision of 10 churches in 20 years to begin to fully saturate the city with over 100 churches in the next five years.

The Story Continues

Today, nineteen churches belong to the Association of Hill Country Bible Churches. Through continued emphasis on church planting, personal evangelism, and partnerships with like-minded people of faith in our community, we come closer each day to accomplishing the vision we've been called to.

Each milestone in our church history represents thousands of personal histories - personal life change - that reflect God's glory in the life of each family member. These stories are written on the hearts of people who've been challenged, changed, and called to dedicate themselves to bringing the Hope of the World, Jesus Christ, to people who don't have any hope.