Hillview Baptist Church on Jefferson Davis Highway in Graniteville, South Carolina, keeps a simple refrain at the center of its life: "Love God. Love People." The church is known for a blended Sunday worship service that pairs contemporary music and a band with cherished hymns and choir, for LifeGroups that welcome people of every age, and for a 10-acre campus that holds the sanctuary alongside Hillview Christian Academy and a weekday daycare ministry. Hillview is a place where people are invited to meet Jesus, to engage in life-giving community, and to discover their spiritual gifts and put them to use for God's glory.
Sunday Morning: LifeGroups at 8:45, Worship at 10:00
Hillview gathers on Sunday morning for LifeGroups for all ages at 8:45 a.m., then for worship and KidzView Worship at 10:00 a.m. The invitation is warm and uncomplicated: come and experience the joy of worship every Sunday at 10 a.m., joining a church on a mission to serve Jesus by loving God and loving others.
For a first-time visitor, the shape of a Sunday is easy to follow. Arriving at 8:45 puts you in a LifeGroup for children, students, or adults. Arriving at 10:00 puts you in the worship service, and children have their own KidzView Worship service at the same hour. The 10:00 gathering is also carried live, so the service can be joined from anywhere through the church's livestream.
The church keeps a Wednesday rhythm as well: a family meal at 5:30 p.m., then Discipleship Studies and student and children's ministries at 6:30 p.m. Discipleship Groups meet at various times throughout the week for those who want to meet at an hour that fits their schedule.
A Worship Service Built to Span Generations
Hillview's Sunday worship is described as a blended service, and the description is concrete. Contemporary music sits beside cherished hymns, and the room is guided by a dedicated worship team, a talented choir, and a band. The church takes an intentionally multi-generational approach, working to foster unity and to pass down the values of worship to the younger generation. From the music to the messages, the aim is an atmosphere where everyone can connect with their faith and grow together, whether they have been walking with Hillview for years or arrive for the first time.
Two simple tools keep people close to the rhythm of the church. A midweek update email is published every Wednesday and carries the week's information, links, events, and reminders. The Realm Connect app places events, sign-ups, announcements, and LifeGroups on a phone, along with access to giving. Past services are carried on the church's YouTube channel.
LifeGroups for Every Age on the Graniteville Campus
LifeGroups are the connective tissue of Hillview's discipleship, meeting at 8:45 a.m. on Sundays across the campus. The children's groups begin at ages two and three and continue through kindergarten, first grade, and fifth grade, so a family can be in a group at the same hour. Student LifeGroups meet during that same 8:45 slot, adults gather in numbered groups, and a separate ladies group offers another setting for connection. Each group has a named leader:
- Kids LifeGroup, ages 2 to 4, with Bo Kleman
- Kids LifeGroup, 4K to 1st grade, with Carol Carroll and Anne Burckhalter
- Kids LifeGroup, 2nd to 5th grade, with Nick and Rebekah Cates
- Students LifeGroup, with Kenny Monks
- Adult LifeGroup 1, with Brad Harmon
- Adult LifeGroup 2, with Steve Carter
- Adult LifeGroup 3, with Dennis Saylor
- Adult LifeGroup 4, with Gerry Kelly
- Adult LifeGroup 5, with Jimmy DuRant
- Adult LifeGroup 6, with Stan Harmon
- Ladies LifeGroup, with Felicia McAlpin
Alongside the Sunday gatherings, Discipleship Groups meet at various times throughout the week, giving members additional ways to study the Bible and share life together.
KidzView, KidzJam, and the Halleujah Kids Choir
Children's ministry begins with a simple premise. Hillview reads the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:14, "Let the little children come to me," and says its mission to reach the lost and disciple those who are saved starts with its children.
Weekly gatherings carry that conviction. LifeGroups at 8:45 a.m. share God's Word in creative, fun, and engaging ways. KidzView Worship at 10:00 a.m. gives children a worship setting built for them. On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., the Halleujah Kids Choir rehearses, and the KidzJam ministry gathers children as well. The aim is that each child hears God's Word and learns how to apply it in daily life, walking through a lifelong journey of discipleship that follows them from one stage of life into the next.
Ascend Students: Growing Together in the CSRA
Ascend Students is the church's ministry to students in 6th through 12th grade in the CSRA. Its purpose is stated plainly: to save the lost and disciple the saved, with weekly and seasonal gatherings planned and prayed over to bring students closer to Christ in relationship.
Sunday student LifeGroups run from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m., part of the church-wide plan every generation studies. Student Director Kenny Monks leads with Greg and Rose Daugherty, and the format favors honest, open conversation about how God's Word is speaking to their hearts. Midweek, students gather for volleyball, badminton, basketball, pickleball, and kickball, along with devotions and fellowship. The tone is energetic and relational, carrying the same emphasis on Scripture that runs through the rest of the church.
Wednesday Nights: Family Meals, Discipleship Studies, and Gatherings
Wednesday is the church's midweek hub. Family Meals begin at 5:30 p.m., then Discipleship Studies, student ministries, and children's ministries all start at 6:30 p.m. The worship team rehearses at 3:00 p.m. and the choir rehearses at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, so the music that fills the Sunday service is rehearsed through the week. For families with school-age children, the schedule makes room for a shared meal and an evening of teaching and activities side by side.
Those who prefer a different pace can join Discipleship Groups, whose meetings are held at various times throughout the week.
The Teams That Keep Hillview Running
Hillview organizes much of its ministry through working teams, each with named leaders. These include the Prayer Tent Ministry with David Maxwell and Larry Shealy, a Nursing Home and Shut-In Ministry with Dent Johnson, and an Outreach and Local Missions Ministry with Heidi Peck.
The Women's Ministry is led by Carol Carroll, Rhonda Shaver, Felicia McAlpin, and Kristen Grant, while the Men's Ministry is led by Senior Pastor Mike McAlpin and Executive Pastor Eddie Grant. The Student Ministry team works with Director Kenny Monks alongside Kylie Monks and Angela Wright, and the Children's Ministry team works with Director Bekah Cates and Melissa Berry, Jennifer Powell, Carol Carroll, and Susan Powell.
Beyond the teaching ministries, Hillview runs a First Impressions team that welcomes those arriving for the first time, a Fellowship Ministry, and a Sports Ministry, along with a flower ministry and personnel teams that support the lower school and daycare. The Deacon Ministry Team is chaired by Mark Mathis, with Roger Barton as vice chair and Moe Villanueva as secretary, alongside Bill Johnson, Eddie Herron, Cole Eubanks, Edward Mabbott, Greg Daugherty, and Ken Green. The church also names a church clerk, an assistant church clerk, a treasurer, and a finance director, together with budget and finance, bylaws, personnel, and trustee teams.
Partnerships That Reach Past the Campus
Hillview partners with several ministries in the area to reach its communities, including ACTS, Christ Central of Aiken, Standing at the Crossroads, Mt. Salem Outreach, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Recovery Road Ministries, and Walking Tall Ministries. These relationships extend the church's local mission work beyond its own buildings and programs, and the church supports missions, seminaries, and other ministries with the common goal of proclaiming the Gospel.
Hillview Christian Academy: 3K Through 5th Grade
Next to the sanctuary, Hillview Christian Academy provides a Biblically based education for 3K through 5th grade. Its mission is to equip and teach students to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others as themselves, quoting Mark 12:30-31. Its vision is to teach, model, and encourage academic and Christian excellence so that each child and student comes to know God's truth and becomes a people who love Him, obey Him, serve Him, and share Him.
Five purposes guide the school: proclaim the truth, provide Christlike leadership, pursue excellence in education, promote a biblical worldview, and partner with parents and families. The theme running through the school, from the classroom to the giving program, is the one carried by the church: "Love God, love others."
Dr. Amy Edwards serves as Head of Schools, with Kimberly Wolfe as Assistant Principal and Specials Teacher. Teachers include Taylor Holley and Ferderica Banks in 3K, Martina Hoffman and Kelley Bailey in 4K, Joyce Clark in 5K, and Kristen Palmer in first through fifth grade. Families connect with school information through the FACTS family portal, and a student support fund gives families facing financial barriers a path to a Christian education.
The curriculum pairs Abeka, which serves 4K through 5th grade with phonics-based reading along with history, math, and science, with the Institute for Excellence in Writing for first through fifth grade. Deep Roots Bible, which equips students with a biblical worldview through worldview study and apologetics, serves grades one through five. Fourth and fifth graders add The Mystery of History, which follows world history from creation to the death and resurrection of Jesus, and Sadlier Math, a comprehensive program built around conceptual understanding and real-world problem solving.
The school admits students of any race, color, national, or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally made available to students, with applications handled through its admissions information. The academy office at 1960 Jefferson Davis Hwy. is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the school phone number is 803-392-7060.
Hillview Daycare Ministry: Care from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Hillview Daycare Ministry is part of the church family and runs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Director Nina Canaday leads a team that includes assistant directors Lynette Sweem and Bianca Serrano. The daycare's stated mission is to provide each child with what the child needs most: love, guidance, understanding, and diligent care within an atmosphere of Christian love. The ministry notes that many children in its care spend more time there than at home, which gives the staff the opportunity to make each day special.
Its goals include providing a loving witness of Jesus Christ and His church to children and their families, offering life-changing ministry to every child and family, and creating a Christian, nurturing, developmentally appropriate environment where children develop mentally, physically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally. The ministry also receives requests for after-school care. The daycare office number is 803-392-7197, and its office is open the same hours the children are in care.
What Hillview Teaches and Confesses
Hillview's statement of faith is extensive and Bible-centered. Scripture is held to be divinely inspired, truthful, and trustworthy, with the New King James Version used for interpreting references. God is confessed as one and true, eternal and triune, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is affirmed as fully God and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, risen, and exalted at God's right hand, and the Holy Spirit is affirmed as fully divine, illuminating Scripture and empowering the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Human beings are described as the special creation of God, made in His image and given full dignity. Salvation is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior through personal faith, and it involves regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Baptism is described as the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Supper as a symbolic act of obedience that memorializes the death of the Redeemer.
Hillview holds to the first day of the week as the Lord's Day, emphasizes evangelism and missions as the duty of every follower of Christ, supports Christian education, and teaches that Christians are responsible for good stewardship of time, talent, and possessions. Love is to be shown not only to fellow believers but also to those who oppose them, and the church holds that creation happened in six literal 24-hour periods. Hillview also affirms religious liberty, the family, and the authority of Scripture as the sole and final source of faith.
Where Hillview Stands
Hillview Baptist Church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist and South Carolina Baptist Conventions, and locally it is part of the Aiken Baptist Association. The same commitments govern the church, its daycare, and its school, where all literature is held in agreement with the statement of faith. The church's stated vision is to create a community of authentic believers and to witness a city transformed by the life-changing reality of the Gospel, as people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Getting Connected at Hillview
A first visit can lead directly into a conversation about faith. Hillview's plan of salvation explains that sin separates people from God, that Jesus never sinned and died in our place as payment for sin, and that anyone can begin a personal relationship with God by confessing sin, turning away from it, and calling on God for forgiveness. A prayer expressing that decision is available for anyone ready to make it, and those who want to talk through new life in Christ can call the church at 803-593-5125. The church also publishes what a first Sunday looks like for guests, describing the blended music and the intentionally multi-generational atmosphere of the service.
Membership has its own starting point in Hillview 101, a new members class for people who want to deepen their faith and connect with the church. A connection card lets first-time visitors and regular attenders say how many times they have visited, note interests such as salvation, baptism, getting connected, membership, or D-Groups, and share how they heard about Hillview.
Giving runs through Realm, the church's secure online community, where recurring donations can be set up, with the same giving available through the Realm Connect app. The church office at 1974 Jefferson Davis Hwy. is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the mailing address for church business is 1910 Jefferson Davis Hwy. The daycare office operates the same 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekday schedule, and the academy office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Signage across the 10-acre grounds points visitors toward the building they need, whether they are arriving for worship, for childcare, or for school.
What ties the sanctuary, the academy, the daycare, and the many volunteer teams together is the refrain Hillview repeats at every gathering: love God, love others. On Jefferson Davis Highway in Graniteville, the church holds that each person has unique value in the eyes of God, that obedience to the command of Jesus changes the world by the Gospel, and that a community of authentic believers is the vision it keeps pursuing.