Hillside Community Church sits on ten acres at 5354 Haven Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga, north of the 210 freeway. Four gatherings fill the Worship Center every weekend, and the rhythm continues through the week with student worship nights, recovery meetings, grief support, Bible studies, and a steady stream of mission teams heading overseas. The church's work is built around three commitments - experience God's love, grow in community, and serve with compassion - that shape everything from the Sunday bulletin to the global partnership portfolio. Forty-five years after a small group first met at Chaffey College, those three commitments still hold the calendar together.
Sundays at Hillside
Sunday gatherings at Hillside follow a four-service schedule: 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. All four meet in the Worship Center, all four are led by the same teaching team, and all four are open to families. The 10:00 a.m. service carries American Sign Language interpretation on the front left side of the room. The 5:00 p.m. gathering is followed by a family-style dinner that begins at 6:00 p.m., with the menu posted on Wednesdays.
The dress code is whatever you walked in wearing. Pastor Aaron and the staff say it plainly: "Come as you are." On any given Sunday that might mean jeans, shorts, or business casual. The atmosphere is intentionally relaxed so newcomers blend in rather than stand out.
For those who can't attend in person, the 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 a.m. gatherings stream live on Hillside Online, where viewers can chat with one another in real time, and on the Hillside YouTube channel. The 5:00 p.m. service is in-person only. A weekly podcast called Sidebar with Pastor Aaron McRae continues the Sunday message with extended conversation, and sermons are archived through the church's Messages library.
Where to Park and What to Wear
Hillside operates multiple parking lots on its campus, including first-time guest parking and accessible parking at several entrances. The fastest option is a complimentary shuttle from Chaffey College that runs on Sundays - a deliberate echo of the church's own origins, since the first Hillside worship service met on the same Chaffey College campus in 1979. Visitors are encouraged to give themselves extra time before their first visit, especially if they are bringing children.
Inside, the welcome starts at the front doors with a Greeter Team that has been trained to make the first five minutes friendly and easy. Haven Coffee Co., the in-house coffee shop, is open before each morning gathering for anyone who wants to grab a drink on the way to the Worship Center.
Forty-five Years on Haven Avenue
The Hillside story begins with a small group from Pomona First Baptist, now Purpose Church, who launched Sunday meetings at Chaffey College in 1979 with the founders' own framing: "It was a faith thing." The following year the group called Dave Burns as its first senior pastor. He led the church through its slow build, often saying, "We want to be in over our heads."
In 1984 the founding members secured ten acres of dirt and granite on Haven Avenue and built the first facilities on what is still the church's home campus. The Community Center, the original sanctuary, was completed in 1994 after years of meeting in modular buildings. A leader prayed at its dedication, "God wear this building out for your glory," and the prayer was answered. By 1999 the church was hosting community events like the Soap Box Derby, which drew over ten thousand people and set the tone for an outward-focused identity.
The 2000s brought two defining moments. In 2004 the Our Finest Hour capital campaign launched what would become the present-day Worship Center, which opened in 2009. In 2012 Pastor Burns retired and Pastor Aaron McRae took the senior pastor role. McRae, a North Carolina native with a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, had grown up in the church and found his calling for ministry in his teens. His love of Scripture and a focus on transformational teaching now anchor the church's teaching voice.
In 2016 the church adopted Rooted, a ten-week small-group experience designed to draw people deeper with God, with the church, and with their purpose. The 2020 pandemic pushed Hillside Online to life in three days, after generous gifts from members upgraded the church's video production capabilities. The church marked its forty-fifth anniversary in 2024 and laid out three priorities for the years ahead: spiritual formation that draws people deeper in their faith, volunteer and leadership pathways for members who call Hillside home, and investment in the next generation that will carry the mission forward.
What Hillside Believes
The church's beliefs page walks through seven core doctrines in depth. Hillside confesses one God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who has disclosed Himself in creation, in redemptive history, and above all in Jesus Christ. Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, is received as the inspired and trustworthy Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
Creation is the free work of God for His glory, and human beings are bearers of His image, made for fellowship with Him; that fellowship was broken by rebellion. Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and humanity, fully human and fully divine, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, whose death and resurrection reconcile and justify those who trust Him.
The Holy Spirit renews hearts through the proclamation of the gospel, persuading sinners to repent and confess Christ. The Christian life is a walk of Spirit-led obedience in which believers grow in the knowledge of the Lord and live so that others see good works and glorify the Father. The church is one holy apostolic community called out of the whole human race, summoned to worship, to preach the gospel, to make disciples, and to relieve human distress. Eternity is the consummation of God's redemptive purpose: Christ will return, raise the dead, judge all people, and establish His kingdom forever.
Kids Ministry
Kids Ministry is open during all four Sunday gatherings for children from infants through fifth grade, with classroom doors opening fifteen minutes before each service begins. The vision is to equip parents to outlast the program's influence, disciple children toward their next step with Jesus, and build a team of leaders who can facilitate an engaging experience in every classroom.
First-time families fill out a short online form and stop at the First-Time Visitor counter on arrival. After the first week, families can pre-check children in at home through the Church Center app. Drop-off and pickup take place at the Kids Ministry Parking Lot off the Vista Grove entrance; check-in runs on the Bridge outside the building, with parents scanning their code or typing in their phone number. To keep lines short and welcome manageable, only one parent is asked to handle drop-off and pickup, and the same pickup code is required for collection.
Every volunteer is background-checked, and children are matched only to the adult presenting the matching code. Parents are reached by text message in case of any emergency during the gathering. Elementary-aged children with developmental or physical needs have their own class called Super Squad, offered during the 11:30 a.m. gathering. Child Dedication classes are held periodically for parents who want to commit publicly to raising their child in the faith. On Wednesday evenings a ten-week Kids Discipleship Night gathers elementary-aged children for Bible study, worship, and community while parents attend their own group or class on the same campus.
Junior High and High School
Student Ministry covers sixth through twelfth grade, split into two distinct programs with two distinct weekly rhythms.
Junior High Ministry meets Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Community Center. The night includes high-energy worship, biblical teaching, and time with adult leaders and peers. Beyond Wednesday nights, Junior High Community Groups meet in the homes of student ministry families. Groups are organized by grade level and gender - 6th Grade Girls, 7th Grade Guys, 8th Grade Boys - and led by background-checked, trained adult volunteers who commit to a specific group for at least one school year.
High School Ministry meets Sundays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Community Center, with the same blend of worship, teaching, and community time. High School Community Groups follow on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and use the same home-based model, organized by grade level with gender-specific discussion during group time. A High School Student Leadership track develops 10th through 12th grade students for service within the ministry. Students who sing or play instruments can audition for the Student Worship Team, and technically inclined students can apply for the Production Team that handles lights, sound, and slides across the campus.
Young Adults
The Young Adult Ministry, branded YAM, gathers in two ways each month. The first Monday brings a large-group gathering at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Center, an evening built around extended worship, a clear Bible message, and a long hangout window for new faces to find their people. Coffee is on early; the music starts on time. The remaining Mondays are filled with weekly community groups, most meeting Monday nights but with additional groups on other evenings for those with shifting schedules. Groups often run the Rooted curriculum, especially for newer Christians.
On Sundays, Young Adults sit together at the 5:00 p.m. gathering toward the front right of the Worship Center and head to dinner together afterward. A 2027 Internship Program offers hands-on ministry experience for those exploring vocational ministry, with summer placements across the church.
Care and Support
The Care Ministry is organized into three lanes: groups, classes, and services. Each lane shares the goal of providing practical, biblical support for people walking through some of life's most difficult seasons.
Care Groups cover recovery, mental wellness, grief, chronic illness, widowhood, and caregiving. Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered twelve-step program for hurts, habits, and hang-ups, meets every Tuesday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Room 112 of the Fireside West building, with open enrollment year-round. GriefShare meets Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and welcomes newcomers at any point in the thirteen-week cycle. The Cancer and Chronic Illness Support Group meets the second Saturday of each month from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m. under the leadership of Anthony S. Oh, M.D., F.A.C.S., a surgical oncologist with fourteen years of practice in the community. A Fun Friends and Fellowship group gathers widows, and a Widowers' Coffee and Conversation group gathers widowers, while a Caregivers Support Group serves those walking alongside a loved one through medical, disability, or aging-related care.
Care Classes are short courses that build practical skills for being present with others. Current offerings include Relational Intelligence: Essential Skills for Cultivating Relationships, an interactive four-week course with a $10 fee for the required book; The Prayer Course, a one-day journey through the Bible's teaching on prayer; Art of Praying with Others, focused on praying aloud with confidence; and Surviving the Holidays, designed for those grieving through a season of family gatherings.
Care Services cover the pastoral side of the same calling. Pastoral Counseling provides short-term, biblically grounded guidance through the Care Ministry; the church notes that it does not offer licensed clinical psychotherapy and will refer out for ongoing needs. Care Partners are trained volunteers who meet weekly for one hour with someone walking through a difficult season for a four-to-eight-month stretch, providing spiritual encouragement, a listening ear, and prayer. Marriage support runs through Re|Engage, a curriculum with both closed (fourteen weeks) and open (ten weeks) tracks through large-group teaching and small-group discussion, along with Prepare/Enrich-based premarital mentoring required of any couple whose wedding is officiated by a Hillside pastor. The church also walks alongside families through memorials and funerals, and operates Hillside Handymen, a ministry that provides skilled labor at no cost for owner-occupied homes in the community.
Next Steps and Rooted
People exploring membership or deeper connection at Hillside are pointed toward Next Steps, a three-week class held Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. in Room 114 with sessions on the church's story, beliefs, and ministry opportunities. The next step is Rooted, the ten-week small-group experience the church launched in 2016. Rooted groups read Scripture together, practice spiritual rhythms, and share life - a structure Hillside says has shaped thousands of its members over the past decade. Baptism classes for both youth and adults are scheduled periodically throughout the year, with baptisms typically celebrated in gathered Sunday services.
Serve the Church
The Serve the Church team list runs to twenty-plus slots. Ushers and Greeters hold the doors and welcome people in shifts of about thirty minutes before and ten minutes after each gathering. The Start Here Team focuses on first impressions, the Info Center Team fields questions at the welcome booth, and the Parking Lot Team guides drivers and watches for foot traffic.
The Coffee Bar Team staffs Haven Coffee Co. on Sunday mornings. The Prayer Team prays over ministries, services, and individual requests. The Production Team works behind the scenes on lighting, sound, and video for the Worship Center and the rest of the campus. The Worship Team auditions for the privilege of leading music at the gatherings. Kids Ministry, Junior High, High School, and Young Adults each draw on a steady stream of adult volunteers, all of whom go through background checks and onboarding. Bilingual volunteers, particularly those who speak Spanish or Mandarin, help the staff on Sundays, and a Sign Language Team supports the interpreters and translation for the 10:00 a.m. service.
Support Services cover back-office needs like administration, IT, data analytics, and accounting. A Facilities Team handles setup and teardown for weekends and special events. First Responders and a Safety Team provide medical and security coverage. A Communications Team writes, photographs, and produces videos for the church. A Kitchen Team supports the Sunday night dinners and special events.
Serve the City
Hillside organizes its local outreach into three buckets: food insecurity, shelter and recovery, and vulnerable groups. Each bucket carries a roster of partner organizations that church members can plug into, and the church encourages volunteers to build long-term relationships with specific partners rather than one-off visits.
In food insecurity, the church's flagship partnership is the Hope Food Pantry in Rancho Cucamonga, where on the first and third Fridays of each month volunteers meet at First Baptist Church to pack grocery boxes for families and individuals in need. Touch Ministries in Ontario reaches the homeless and needy across the Inland Empire, and New Life Food Pantry in Pomona distributes groceries with a heart to "feed His people with all of God's goodness." Gleanings for the Hungry runs short-term trip opportunities in Central California, packing dried soup for overseas shipment.
In shelter and recovery, River's Edge Ranch serves adult men in recovery from substance abuse. Boys Republic in Chino Hills has worked with troubled adolescents since 1907, with Hillside sending regular serve teams to campus events. Hoving Home in Pasadena shelters women in recovery from addiction. Foothill Family Shelter provides transitional housing and walk-in services for low-income and homeless families. Habitat for Humanity runs local house builds through the San Gabriel Valley affiliate. Project Boon addresses food insecurity through events like its annual Eat and Be Well Thanksgiving outreach.
In vulnerable groups, Hillside partners with Warrior for Children to support foster families, including a Christmas gift program each December. Hillside Handymen serves owner-occupied homes with no-cost repairs for both church members and neighbors. There are also several ways to serve from home: Compassion Kits for the Homeless, Soup Packets for the Food Pantry, Patience Packs for foster families, New Beginning Bags for men entering recovery at River's Edge Ranch, and homemade clothing through Sew Powerful.
Serve the World
The global ministry reaches across four continents through four partnerships. Empowering Lives International works in Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania, with children's homes and sponsorship, programs for men and women in recovery, and agriculture training; a trip is scheduled for June 2027. Living Room Ministries provides holistic care to people in Kenya affected by life-threatening illnesses, with a parallel June 2027 trip. Harvest India meets tangible needs through mercy ministries, orphan care, education, and evangelism in remote villages, with a team going each January and February. Kingdom Builders International focuses on Mexico, training and planting local pastors in unreached communities, with a trip to the Tijuana area scheduled for October 2026.
From home, members donate rolling suitcases of supplies for each team, sew child-size quilts for Living Room, contribute medical supplies, and bring light items the overseas partners have asked for - bracelet-making beads, kites, soccer balls, scarves, and lace doilies. Annual prayer cards focus on Mexico and Kenya.
Giving and Generosity
Hillside frames giving theologically rather than transactionally, describing it as an act of worship, a participation in God's grace, and an investment in what will last for eternity. The church teaches a practical framework of Give First 10 percent, Save Second 10 percent, and Live on the Rest 80 percent, and walks members through a five-step generosity path: Nothing, Something, Consistent, Generous, Sacrificial.
Giving is available online, through the Hillside App, by texting any amount to 84321, or by mailing a check to the church office. Past giving history and annual tax statements are accessible through the donor profile. The church notes that giving funds discipleship, outreach, weekend gatherings, kids and student ministry, family care, and local and global partnerships.
Leadership
Aaron McRae has served as senior pastor since 2012 and leads the church alongside a staff team that includes Woody Morwood (Campus Pastor), Harmony Bathauer (Worship Pastor), Kelly Roth (Growing in Community Pastor), Jimmy Higgins (Family Care Pastor), Natalie Moore (High School Ministry Pastor), Scott Ramsey (Care Pastor), Lisa Toney (Serve Pastor), Jayden Zwerner (Young Adults Pastor), and Andrew Mckeown (Formations Pastor). Together they steward a calendar that has run continuously on Haven Avenue since 1984 and now reaches from a Wednesday-night Kids Discipleship Night to a Kenya-bound Living Room team, all anchored by the same three commitments the founders carried out of Chaffey College in 1979.