Harpeth Christian Church sits on Gardner Drive in Franklin, Tennessee, where its campus spreads across a cluster of buildings that members simply call A, B, C, and D. From that one address, a wide-ranging ministry reaches into homes, workplaces, recovery meetings, classrooms, and mission projects across Williamson County and far beyond. The church is best known for a single, steady emphasis: helping people trust and follow Jesus, and then helping them do the same for others.
Two Sunday Gatherings, One Family
On any given Sunday morning, Harpeth Christian Church runs two services back-to-back in Building B, the auditorium. The 9:00 a.m. Family Service is shaped with children in mind. The Harpeth Worship Team leads the first fifteen minutes with the kids still seated alongside parents, then Family Discipleship Minister Mike Rozenboom walks the children through a short Bible lesson before they are dismissed to their grade-level classes for the rest of the morning. Children from birth through Pre-K stay with their own classes for the entire service so that parents with very young children can worship without interruption.
At 10:45 a.m. the Regular Service picks up the same relaxed, come-as-you-are tone. The Harpeth Worship Team, with a full band most Sundays, leads contemporary praise while song lyrics are projected on the screens so that anyone who wants to sing along can. Communion is shared each week as a way of remembering Jesus and his sacrifice. Lead Pastor Bobby Harrington or Disciple Making Minister J.P. Robinson then teaches, working through books of the Bible in series that have most recently walked through the letter of James under the heading "Wisdom Under Pressure." Services run about seventy minutes in total. Both services are livestreamed for those who want to worship from home or out of town.
The atmosphere is intentionally casual. Visitors are told to expect jeans, t-shirts, boots, or anything in between, and visitor parking is reserved in front of Building A, the first building drivers see when they pull into the lot.
DiscipleSHIP Kids and the Family Service
The children's ministry at Harpeth is called DiscipleSHIP Kids, and the whole program is built to help kids "Trust, Share and Learn." The ministry partners with parents and caregivers around four habits: read God's Word, memorize God's Word, live God's Word, and share Jesus. The Family Service is the front door for that work. After the opening songs and the short Bible lesson, children from kindergarten through fifth grade are released to their classrooms while parents stay in the auditorium to continue the service.
For families who attend the 10:45 a.m. service, an option called Overboard is available for children from birth through fifth grade. Parents check children in at the DK area before second service and pick them up there afterward, using a check-in tag to enter the secured area. Safety is taken seriously: each child is checked in, wears a parent-matching tag, and is met by a teacher at a designated door, with door assignments shown on the auditorium screens. Mike Rozenboom, the Family Discipleship Minister, oversees the program. The whole approach is designed to support family discipleship at home by reinforcing the same verses and habits in the classroom.
Students: Rooted, Known, Empowered
Middle and high school students have their own corner of the campus. The Student Ministry meets in Building A, the Student Center, on Sunday mornings at 10:45 a.m. for a class designed specifically for sixth through twelfth graders. The values posted on the door are short and direct: Rooted in Christ, Known in community, Empowered by the Spirit. The teaching is topical and designed to be accessible, while Wednesday nights go deeper.
The same students are invited back on Wednesday evenings, called MDWK, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., for in-depth small groups and teaching. Student Minister Collin Mathies leads the team, joined by Associate Student Minister Caitlyn Rozenboom, and the ministry describes its approach as "life-on-life," meaning real relationships rather than programs. The aim is to create space for students to connect with Jesus, build friendships with others who are following him, and learn to live out their faith in everyday life.
Renew Christian Academy
Beyond the Sunday and Wednesday schedule, Harpeth Christian Church is home to Renew Christian Academy, a sixth through twelfth grade college-preparatory tutorial that operates under the church's umbrella. The academy shares the Harpeth campus and is one of the more distinctive features of the ministry, reflecting the congregation's deep investment in raising up the next generation. The academy is administered separately from the church's weekly operations, but the two organizations share leadership and a common vision for disciple-making among young people. The academy gives parents in the church and the wider community a classical, tutorial-style education that complements the church's emphasis on Scripture memory, character formation, and Christian worldview.
A Midweek Rhythm of Prayer and Study
Midweek is when Harpeth's small-group culture comes alive. On Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m., the auditorium fills for Prayer Encounter, a weekly hour of worship, thanksgiving, and surrendered prayer. Anyone is welcome. The tone is described as a time to "gather in community for worship, thanksgiving and to surrender our burdens to the Lord," often including prayers for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. The gathering is short, just one hour, and is intentionally contemplative rather than instructional.
Wednesday mornings carry two parallel Bible studies that meet from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. In Building A, the Student Center, the Men's Fall Study works through an Old Testament survey that traces the promises, prophecies, and people who point forward to Jesus. No registration is required; men simply show up. In Building C, Room 119, the Women's Wednesday gathering offers both a morning and an evening option (Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.), with childcare available for those who need it. Recent studies have included Priscilla Shirer's "Elijah," an eight-week look at how God shapes faith through seasons of waiting, hardship, and quiet preparation before calling people to their greatest moments. Wednesday evenings also host MDWK, the student ministry's small group night.
Celebrate Recovery on Thursday Nights
Every Thursday night, Building B becomes the home of Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered recovery program built on eight recovery principles and the twelve steps. The meeting opens at 6:30 p.m. with worship and a short teaching, then at 7:30 p.m. the group breaks into smaller, gender-separated open-share groups. Separate groups are available for people struggling with addiction, codependency, anger, pornography, or other hurts, habits, and hang-ups. The ministry is led by Deacons Jeff and Maggie Ankrum, and the stated aim is for participants to "become free from addictive and compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors" and to find peace, serenity, joy, and a stronger relationship with God. The program describes itself as a place where the door is opened by sharing experiences, strengths, and hopes with one another.
Young Adults and Home Groups
Young adults, defined by Harpeth as ages 18 to 29, gather on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Student Center for fellowship, worship, and teaching. A second young-adult option, the Young Professionals Group for those in their mid-twenties to early thirties, meets Sunday evenings in Building D for conversation, scripture, and connection. The Young Adults ministry describes its purpose as inviting adults 18 to 24 into genuine community centered on following Jesus together, building meaningful relationships, studying scripture, and encouraging one another as they grow in maturity.
Smaller still are Transformation Groups, or T-Groups, which are gender-specific groups of three to six people who meet weekly to pursue an intentional discipleship life. Larger Home Groups meet in homes across the region, from Brentwood to Spring Hill, and are described as the church's primary environment for making disciples. Members sign up, and a Discipling Minister helps match newcomers to the right group. The church's own description is clear: "Relationships are the DNA of our church."
A Place for the Deaf Community
Deaf Ministry is a longstanding commitment at Harpeth. TPSE interpretation is offered during the 9:00 a.m. Family Service on Sundays, with the exception of the first Sunday of each month. Mary Anderson coordinates the ministry, and Deaf friends are welcome to come along. The church's stated goal for the ministry is "access, fellowship, and discipleship," and the program is open to anyone in the wider community.
What Harpeth Believes
The church's faith statement is built around ten commitments, all rooted in Scripture and summarized in a single sentence at the top of the statement: "We want to trust and follow Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit." The document walks through the church's understanding of the Bible as the inspired, authoritative, and infallible Word of God; the gospel as God's good news of reconciliation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; the distinction between essential, important, and personal matters of Christian conviction; and the centrality of new birth through repentance, confession, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.
The statement also affirms that people are saved by grace through faith, with faith understood as more than agreement: it is the act of surrendering self-rule to the rule of God through Jesus in the power of the Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is described as essential to daily discipleship, and the local church is described as the primary environment for making disciples of Jesus Christ. Weekly communion is a hallmark of the gathered life, baptism by immersion is taught as the normative expression of saving faith, and the church holds convictions about the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, marriage defined as the covenant between one man and one woman, racial reconciliation, a complementary understanding of men and women in marriage and ministry, and generosity toward the poor and marginalized. Renew.org provides the full statement and additional teaching that unpacks each point in more depth.
Renew.org and the Leadership Team
Harpeth Christian Church and its Senior Pastor, Bobby Harrington, founded Renew.org, a collaborative network that equips disciples, disciple makers, and church planters. Renew.org includes the church's faith statement and a range of resources, and the teaching at Harpeth is fully aligned with those resources. A related ministry, Discipleship.org, also grew out of Harpeth and serves as a community for people committed to the discipleship lifestyle.
The staff team is led by Bobby Harrington as Lead Pastor, with Doug Robertson serving as Executive Minister and J.P. Robinson as Disciple Making Minister. Mike Rozenboom oversees family discipleship, Collin Mathies leads the Student Ministry, and Caitlyn Rozenboom serves as Associate Student Minister. Behind the scenes, Annie Chase leads Connections and Danielle Smoot handles Communications. The church is governed by a board of Elders that includes Austin Gooch and Brad Conner, supported by Deacons with specific responsibilities ranging from safety and compassion to missions, marriage, and Celebrate Recovery. The church's own description of its leadership is straightforward: "Jesus is our Supreme Authority. Under his leadership, we serve his church together."
Worship, Music, and Renew Creative
The church's worship ministry goes by the name Renew Creative and records original music. A recent song, "Faithful Faith," was released alongside a parallel children's project called Renew Creative Kids, which produces memory-verse songs designed to help children memorize Scripture. Both projects stream on Apple Music and Spotify. The Harpeth Worship Team also leads the congregation in singing each Sunday, drawing on a blend of contemporary worship songs and the occasional hymn. The church also hosts a podcast, the Foundations Podcast, which has featured conversations about family life and discipleship, including a series called Family Conversations.
Serving Franklin and Beyond
Helping Hands of Harpeth is the congregation's umbrella for outward service. Rather than running a single in-house program, the church points members to a list of partner ministries where they can volunteer, including Graceworks, Both Hands, OneGenAway, Room in the Inn, Nashville Rescue Mission, IDES, the Pregnancy Care Center of Middle Tennessee, and others. Each year, Harpeth hosts Serve Weekend, a Saturday-and-Sunday emphasis when the congregation heads out to serve the surrounding community together, with childcare provided during the Sunday service for children three and under. Members also serve on local church ministry teams and participate in short-term mission projects connected to the church's wider network.
Practical Information
Harpeth Christian Church meets at 1101 Gardner Drive in Franklin, Tennessee 37064. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and can be reached by phone at 615-790-0104 or by email at churchoffice@harpethcc.com. The mailing address is P.O. Box 680279, Franklin, TN 37068.
Services are livestreamed every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Central, and both the livestream and an archive of recent sermons are available online. Giving can be done online, by texting "GIVE" to 844-690-1237, or by mail. Anyone wanting to stay in the loop can text "Connect" to 855-488-7128 to sign up for the church's texting tool. The congregation is led by elders and deacons, supported by a staff that reflects both the church's focus on disciple-making and its commitment to the next generation through Renew Christian Academy.
From the Family Service at nine to Celebrate Recovery on Thursday night, the rhythm of the week is built around disciple-making relationships. The church frames itself simply: "We are a group of people learning to trust and follow Jesus together."