A Neighborhood Church in the Renton Highlands Since 1946
Highlands Community Church sits at 3031 NE 10th Street in the Renton Highlands neighborhood of Renton, Washington, and has been on the same block since 1946. Three Sunday gatherings - at 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 am - fill the Worship Center each week, and the building stays busy throughout the week with community groups, kids' clubs, recovery meetings, women's studies, student discipleship, and rehearsals. The mission that drives everything else is short enough to fit on a postcard: Highlands exists to help people find and follow Jesus.
Lead Pastor Nate Edmondson describes the church as a place that takes the Bible seriously, prays persistently, builds gospel-shaped community across generations, loves its neighbors locally and internationally, and is committed to passing the ancient faith to the next generation. Five core values capture the culture: Word-Centered Ministry, Persistent Prayer, Gospel-Shaped Community, Future Generations, and a Missionary Heart.
Sundays at 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 am
Three identical Sunday gatherings let families and friends pick the time that works best. Each service runs about 65 to 70 minutes and includes music, prayer, scripture reading, teaching, and a brief time of fellowship. The Lord's Supper is generally shared once a month during the gathering, and baptisms are celebrated in the services as a public declaration of new life in Christ.
Worship is intentionally blended. The team leads a mix of traditional psalms and hymns and contemporary songs, and people are free to worship in whatever way they feel led - hands raised or down, eyes open or closed. Communion and baptism are the only two ordinances observed; the preaching of the Word, congregational singing, Scripture reading, the offering of tithes and gifts, and time spent greeting one another are all part of how the church worships together.
The full message is livestreamed each Sunday on the church's YouTube channel for those who want to gather from home or who are traveling.
Planning a First Visit
Newcomers are expected and welcomed. Pastor Nate's standing offer is simple: "Anyone is welcome to join us. Whether you are curious about the Christian faith or have mixed emotions about organized religion, you are welcome here. We treat everyone with kindness and respect." If Highlands turns out not to be the right fit, the pastoral team is glad to recommend other churches in the area.
Arrival. Plan to arrive ten to fifteen minutes before the service starts. Coffee and baked goods are available in the lobby, and guests are welcome to bring their own coffee into the worship center.
Parking. The upper parking lot off the 10th Street entrance is the most accessible route into the Worship Center. Guest parking is in the lower lot off the Kirkland or 9th Street entrance. Green Welcome Tents and greeters stand near the entrances to point visitors in the right direction.
What to wear. Most people dress casually, with a few dressing more formally. Wear whatever is most comfortable.
Kids. Preschool and Forum lobbies have Guest Family Check-In Tables staffed by volunteers who will walk families through the process. Nursery (infants through age 2), Preschool (2-year-olds through Kindergarten), and Elementary (1st through 5th grade) programming is offered at all three services. Special Needs support is available during the 10:00 am service, with trained buddies and a Quiet Room for sensory breaks.
Students. Middle School students (6th to 8th grade) meet at 11:30 am in the Family Life Center. High School students (9th to 12th grade) meet Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm in the Family Life Center and Gym during the school year.
What Highlands Believes
Highlands holds to a detailed Statement of Faith rooted in historic evangelical Christianity. The 66 books of the Bible are God's Word, written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and are inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts. The Bible alone speaks with final authority over truth, morality, and conduct, and it points ultimately to Jesus Christ.
God is one living and true God, eternally existent in three distinct Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - equal in nature and worthy of worship. God the Father reigns providentially over creation. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is the promised Messiah, fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life, performed miracles, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, was buried, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will personally return to judge the living and the dead. God the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, indwells all believers, illuminates their understanding of Scripture, empowers them to obey, and conforms them into the likeness of Christ.
Human beings are made in the image of God, male and female, and are to be respected and loved from conception until death. The human race fell from fellowship with God through voluntary sin, and all people inherit a nature inclined toward sin and are subject to God's righteous judgment. Salvation is a free gift received through personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; those who believe are united with Christ, born again, adopted into God's family, forgiven, justified, and sanctified.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ordinances given to the church. Baptism is a symbolic washing of a believer into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, publicly identifying the person with Christ and His people. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic meal in which the bread symbolizes Christ's body and the cup His blood, calling believers to remember His promises and renew their commitment.
The church is one holy, universal, apostolic body of all believers in Christ, made visible in local congregations. A local church gathers to worship, to learn and obey the Word, to observe the ordinances, to love one another, to build one another up through spiritual gifts, and to spread the gospel. Local churches are to be led by qualified elders and served by qualified deacons under the authority of Christ, who is the head of the Church.
Jesus will physically return to the earth to judge the living and the dead. Those who have believed the gospel will receive salvation and live with God forever in the New Heavens and New Earth in glorified bodies. Those who have rejected the gospel will be condemned to Hell, the place of everlasting, conscious punishment.
On gender and marriage, the Statement of Faith teaches that God created the human race male and female, that marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and that all intimate sexual activity outside of marriage is contrary to God's design.
Highlands Kids: Infants Through 5th Grade
The Kids Ministry exists to help kids and families find and follow Jesus. Sunday morning classes connect kids to God's Word, help them apply biblical truths to daily life, and give them a fun, faith-filled community for building Christ-centered friendships. Parents are recognized as the most influential people in a child's life, and the team works to come alongside them with tools, milestones, and prayer.
Nursery (infants through age 2) is offered at all three services and is treated as a launching pad for nurturing the faith of the next generation.
Preschool (2-year-olds through Kindergarten) meets at all three services with structured play, music, teaching time, and hands-on activities designed to help young children grow more aware of God's love, care, and presence in everyday life.
Elementary (1st through 5th grade) meets at all three services with both large group and grade-specific classroom environments so kids can learn and grow with their peers.
Special Needs Ministry. A hallmark of the Kids Ministry is the integration of children with disabilities into the life of the church. Programming is available during the 10:00 am service. When appropriate, kids participate alongside peers in classroom settings. For those needing extra support, a trained adult or teen buddy is assigned, and a Quiet Room is available for sensory breaks. The building has an elevator connecting all three floors with ADA bathrooms on each floor, and a Family Questionnaire helps the team prepare for each child.
Tuesday Kids. A fall and winter program meets Tuesday mornings from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm for two ten-week sessions. It serves infants through Kindergarten and homeschooled 1st through 5th graders with story time, songs, and activities, and runs alongside Tuesday Women's Ministry.
Upward Basketball & Cheerleading. A winter sports league for 1st through 6th grade stresses character, improvement, and sportsmanship while introducing Biblical virtues. The 10-week season runs from January through mid-March, and registration traditionally fills quickly.
KidsFest. A fall community day features trunk-or-treat, bounce houses, games, food trucks, and free coffee and popcorn for parents.
Students: Middle School and High School
The Students Ministry provides sixth through twelfth graders with someone to walk alongside them and somewhere to belong. The goal is to create fun and safe spaces where students can form spiritual friendships and have biblical conversations.
Middle School. Sixth through 8th graders meet Sundays at 11:30 am in the Family Life Center. The gathering includes a connection game, a gospel-centered teaching from Scripture, and grade-based small groups.
High School D-Groups. Ninth through 12th graders meet Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm in the Family Life Center and Gym from September through June. Each night includes dinner, a teaching message, and small groups with godly mentors. Annual retreats, summer camps, and events such as Capture the Flag round out the year.
The ministry is overseen by the Family Pastor, a Middle School Director, and a Students - Girls Director. A search for a Student Pastor was underway to oversee the entire student ministry.
Adults: Community Groups, Studies, and Classes
The Adults Ministry treats the church as more than a Sunday gathering - it is a family transformed by good news and devoted to good works. Connection happens through four main pathways.
Community Groups. Small groups are the primary vehicle for building community at Highlands. Groups meet throughout South King County on different days of the week and are designed to give individuals, couples, and families an opportunity for conversation around Scripture and meaningful spiritual friendships. New and existing groups open for enrollment twice a year, in September and January, with more than forty groups now active.
Studies. Men's and women's studies meet throughout the week at various times. Men's ministry includes a Tuesday evening group and a Saturday morning group that meet year-round and accept any join. Women's studies include Moms 'N' Tots, MomsPlus, Firm Foundation, TWIST, Friendship Connection, In God's Word, and Gather & Grow, with both short- and long-term options to fit different schedules.
Classes. Sunday morning and weekday classes dive deeper into biblical truths and topics through teaching and spiritual conversation.
MeetUps. Events for men, women, and a Sixty Plus group create shared experiences outside the regular rhythms.
Care Ministries: Walking Alongside Hard Seasons
The Care Ministry is built around the conviction that the church exists to bring the hope and healing of the gospel to a broken world. The team offers care groups, counseling, premarital preparation, and Stephen Ministers who provide confidential one-to-one care.
Celebrate Recovery. A Christ-centered recovery program meets every Friday from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall, both in person and on Zoom, working through the eight Christ-centered recovery principles for freedom from hurts, habits, and hang-ups.
Cheerleaders & Champions. A group for those affected by cancer - patients, survivors, family, and supporters - that meets to share, listen, laugh, learn, open God's Word, and pray.
DivorceCare. A 13-week program combining video, group conversation, and a guidebook runs on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:45 pm in Room 201 and on Zoom, open to both men and women.
GriefShare. A 13-week series featuring top experts on grief recovery, followed by small-group sharing for people who have experienced a recent loss.
Counseling. Pastors provide biblical counseling for individuals and couples and can refer to prescreened Christian counselors in the area. Lay couples also offer premarital counseling.
Stephen Ministries. Trained lay ministers provide one-to-one care for those experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, relocation, or other difficult seasons.
Bereavement. Pastoral care, funeral and memorial service planning, and receptions are coordinated for families.
Visitation. A team of trained members reaches out with love and listening to those in hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, and other settings, working alongside the pastoral staff.
Baptism and Membership
Baptism by water is a symbolic demonstration that a person has committed to Jesus as Savior and Lord, an outward sign of an inward spiritual reality and an act of obedience. Kids' and students' baptism booklets walk through what baptism means; once someone is ready, they sign up to be baptized and the team schedules the service.
Membership is taught as a practical outworking of being a member of God's family and a part of Christ's body, and is required for many leadership roles. The path includes a Membership Class offered a couple of times a year, a Membership Application, a Membership Conversation with an elder and another member, and elder approval.
Local Outreach
Highlands partners with a number of local organizations to serve the Renton area, and members can connect with these ministries through the church's Serve opportunities. Longstanding partners include Vision House, Vine Maple Place, Communities in Schools of Renton-Tukwila, Union Gospel Mission, and the Salvation Army Renton Corps. Members also serve neighbors through events such as Winter Car Care, where volunteer mechanics provide free vehicle inspections, and through community events like KidsFest that open the church's parking lot to the broader neighborhood.
Global Missions: 52 Partners in 22 Countries
The Global Missions team walks alongside more than fifty cross-cultural workers and ministries around the world. The 2025 Impact Report lists 52 global partners serving in 22 countries.
Africa. Work includes linguistic research and Bible translation, equipping nationals for discipleship and church planting in eastern Africa, establishing Bible-based churches in a region with limited evangelical presence, and the Reach4Life program bringing the gospel into schools, prisons, rehabs, and community groups in South Africa.
Asia. Asia holds 55 percent of the world's population and over 4,800 unreached people groups. Highlands supports missionaries who are church planters or trainers in India, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand, with over 2,000 new churches planted in Asia and hundreds of training-program graduates in recent years.
Eurasia. Twelve countries of the former Soviet Union, where only about 2 percent of the population is evangelical, receive prayer, financial support, project development, and short-term teams.
Europe. The team supports ministry in France, where under 10 percent of the population regularly attends church.
Latin America. Missionaries reach their communities through a boys' home, Awana, sports ministries, and vacation Bible schools.
North America. Missionaries serve on college campuses with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), and Highlands partners in local church planting and disaster relief.
Middle East. Prayer support is offered for persecuted Christians and for the workers who serve in the region.
Pacific. Highlands partners with Australian Indigenous Ministries (AIM), Pacific Missionary Aviation (PMA), Wycliffe Bible Translators, and Campus Crusade for Christ International (Cru), with workers in Australia, Micronesia, and Papua New Guinea. A recent visit to PMA in Palau marked Highlands' first trip there since 2019.
Short-term mission trips - including recent visits to Ukraine to serve at a family-style home for children with disabilities and to Ethiopia to encourage a Wycliffe family translating Scripture - are a regular part of congregational life.
Bible Quiz Team
Highlands fields a Bible Quiz Team that competes regionally and nationally. The Senior Team won the National Bible Quiz Championship at the IFCA National Youth Convention at Faith Baptist Bible College in Iowa, while the Novice Team finished second in its division. Over the course of ten months, students memorized passages from 1 Corinthians chapters 1-6, 11-13, and 15.
Elders and Staff
Highlands is governed by a Board of Elders that makes decisions in unanimity, guided by Scripture, the Holy Spirit, the Statement of Faith, and the church Bylaws. The Lead Pastor serves on the board, alongside other elders. The current Board of Elders includes Lead Pastor Nate Edmondson, Nate Garvin, Mark Hanson, Mark Heilman (Executive Pastor of Ministries), Dan Kellogg, Larry Maison (Board Treasurer), Ben Menenberg (Executive Pastor of Operations), Dana Rekow (Board Chairman), and Scott Sawrey (Board Secretary). Deacons and deaconesses act with delegated authority from the Board in their assigned areas of ministry.
Nate Edmondson grew up in Tennessee, trusted in Jesus as a child, and began teaching the Bible and leading worship bands in student ministry while in high school. A graduate of Moody Bible Institute and Western Seminary in Portland, he served as Highlands' High School Pastor from 2015 to 2017 and returned in 2020 as Lead Pastor. He and his wife Courtney have two daughters, Esther and Anna.
The broader staff team of twenty pastors, directors, and coordinators carries out the day-to-day ministry of the church and includes Nathan Betts (Discipleship Pastor), Simi Bilti (Missions Pastor), Evan Jarms (Worship & Creative Pastor), Kasra Soltani (Family Pastor and Special Needs Coordinator), and the rest of the team listed at highlandscc.org/staff.
Safety and Accountability
Highlands has published a May 2023 GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment) Investigation & Assessment Report on its elder communications page, along with all twenty-six of GRACE's recommendations, which have been implemented in policies, training, and reporting avenues. The church has also cooperated with the Renton Police Department in its investigation of a former pastor and continues to communicate transparently with the congregation about the steps being taken to make Highlands a safe place to worship.
Helping Women Flourish
A Helping Women Flourish initiative has been launched to listen to and learn from the women of the church. A general survey for women 19 and older who are members or regular attendees was open through mid-September 2026, with a Helping Women Flourish Steering Committee overseeing the process and a plan to share overall themes and insights with church leadership.
The Highlands App, Giving, and Staying Connected
The Highlands App (available for iOS and Android) is the simplest way to keep up with messages, events, registrations, and giving. Giving is processed through Pushpay; the church encourages setting up recurring giving through an ACH account to reduce fees. In person, cash and check offerings can be dropped in the black collection boxes inside the Worship Center doors on Sunday mornings; checks are made payable to Highlands Community Church and may be mailed to 3031 NE 10th St., Renton, WA, 98056. Stock donations are coordinated through the finance department.
A weekly newsletter keeps the congregation informed, and monthly Kids and Students emails highlight the next generation of ministries. The sermon archive stretches back more than five years and is organized by series, speaker, and book of the Bible.
A Year in the Life of Highlands
The 2025 Impact Report tells a quick story of a year in the life of the church: 350 first-time guests, 330 kids and students at camps and retreats, 14 baptisms, 31 new members, 40+ community groups, 52 global partners, 22 countries served, and more than $93,000 distributed through benevolence. The report is one of several annual reflections the church publishes to highlight how the gospel continues to bear fruit in and through the congregation.
Come As You Are
The Sunday gathering, the building at 3031 NE 10th Street, the community groups scattered across South King County, and the global partners on five continents all share one stated aim: to help people find and follow Jesus. Visitors are welcome at any of the three Sunday gatherings, online through the livestream, or through a Discover Highlands class that meets periodically for those wanting to learn more about who Highlands is, what it believes, and where it is headed next.