Hillcrest Christian Church sits just south of downtown McKinney at 509 South Graves Street, where members have gathered for nearly four decades in a building that opened in 1987. The congregation is known for carrying on a mission that began in 1905, for preaching and teaching straight from the Bible, and for a simple motto that shapes its life together: Love God. Love People. Love by Going.
A Mission Church Born in East McKinney
The church's roots reach back to 1905, when First Christian Church of McKinney saw the need for a mission in the east side of town. A small group of men organized a Sunday School class in a four-room house at Anthony and Kincade Streets. During the week of July 7, 1905, the Reverend George Bush conducted a tent revival on the lot next door; thirty-one people were baptized. On October 4, 1905, the new church was officially organized with forty members. Wallace Wilson donated the land at 1109 East Anthony, and members built the first building themselves beginning in December 1905 at a cost of about $1,500. The first service - a prayer meeting - was held at the building site on February 6, 1906, and the building was completed on April 12, 1906.
The congregation was originally known as East McKinney Christian Church, though many in town called it the Second Christian Church. For several decades it flourished with members from east McKinney and the rural areas to the southeast. The doors closed briefly during the Great Depression when there was not enough money to pay the bills, and two members personally stepped in to cover the costs and reopen the church. By 1956, exactly fifty years after the first service, attendance had outgrown the original building. Men worked on the new building during the day; those with day jobs helped in the late afternoons and evenings; women pulled nails from lumber to be reused; teenagers pitched in on Saturdays. The new building on the same Anthony Street lot was dedicated on December 6, 1956.
Growth continued. As Sunday School attendance passed three hundred, the church purchased three houses adjacent to the building for parking, additional Sunday School rooms, and an office. By the 1980s the congregation once again needed more room. Land purchased on West Virginia Street proved unsuitable, so the members bought land at 509 South Graves Street and chose a new name - Hillcrest Christian Church - to give the congregation a fresh identity in bringing the lost to Christ. The first service in the new building was held on July 26, 1987, and the building was dedicated on September 20, 1987. On November 18, 1964, the church had legally incorporated as an Independent Christian Church, and it has never joined a denominational body.
Sunday Mornings at 509 South Graves
Sunday morning Bible classes meet at 9:30, and worship begins at 10:45. Visitors are encouraged to arrive a little early so members can answer questions and help them find their way around. There is plenty of parking on the south side of the building.
Just inside the main entrance, a Welcome Center is staffed with people who can point first-time visitors to the right Bible class or service. Across the hall, The Corner serves coffee and donuts and gives newcomers a place to meet members before the service begins. Bibles are available at the sanctuary door for anyone who needs one.
The dress code is simply to wear what makes a visitor comfortable; some come in suits, others in jeans. Worship blends hymns and contemporary songs focused on praise to God the Father, with a pattern drawn from Acts 2:41-42: fellowship, prayer, singing, and the preaching of God's Word. Every service includes a time of communion. Crackers and juice serve as the emblems, and all baptized believers are invited to participate.
Children and Students
Hillcrest runs two dedicated ministries for the next generation. HCC Kids welcomes children from birth through fifth grade. A nursery for babies and toddlers sits just outside the sanctuary, fully stocked with safe play areas, a changing table, a sink, and comfortable chairs for nursing mothers. During the sermon portion of the worship service, children ages two through third grade are invited to a children's church down the hall, where teachers lead them in songs, prayer, a Bible lesson, and age-appropriate games and crafts. Parents are encouraged to be active partners in raising their children in the faith.
HCC Students serves youth in sixth through twelfth grade, meeting for Sunday morning Bible classes as well as weekly Bible studies, service projects, and fun gatherings. The goal of the ministry is to help students and their parents grow in their understanding of God's Word and in their relationship with Christ and one another, and to prepare students to stand firm in a fallen world and continue the church's mission to spread the gospel.
What the Church Believes
Hillcrest confesses one God, eternally existing in three co-equal persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who created and upholds all things. Jesus Christ is described as the visible image of the invisible God, born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life, was crucified, buried, and physically raised from the dead; salvation comes through Him alone. The Holy Spirit is One with the Father and the Son, lives within every baptized believer, convicts of sin, and produces the fruit of the Spirit in the Christian's life.
Salvation is offered by grace, through faith, repentance, and baptism by immersion into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism is taught as a command for all believers, performed by immersion, through which the believer receives the Holy Spirit and is united with Christ's death and resurrection. The Lord's Supper is observed each week with crackers and juice as emblems of Christ's body and blood, in remembrance of Him.
The congregation names three core values: God's Word, Community, and Discipleship. Preaching and teaching come straight from the Bible, which the church regards as God's inspired way of speaking to humanity. Discipleship is described as a lifelong journey toward becoming like Christ, supported by age-appropriate opportunities for spiritual growth.
The Blessings Box and Love by Going
Outside the sanctuary, a gray bin collects items for the Blessings Box - a small outdoor pantry that stays open around the clock for neighbors in need. Members restock it each week from donations brought to Sunday services.
Hillcrest also keeps its focus outward through missions. Domestically, the church supports Translators Refugee Ministry, Pioneer Bible Translators (with Eric and Melissa Davis based in St. Louis), and Cookson Hills in Kansas, Oklahoma. Internationally, members partner with Jame and Naomi Kautt in Tübingen, Germany, Pioneer Bible Translators' Dallas office, Stephen and Alisa Walton in Moycullen, Ireland, Toby Parker with East-West Ministries, Kontakt Mission USA, and an International Student Mission. The motto Love God. Love People. Love by Going. captures both the heart of the church and the breadth of its reach.