Our Pastor
In June of 2019, Rev. Vic Ruis came to Hilltop as an assistant under Rev. Lynn Head. In March of 2020 Rev. Head retired and Rev. Ruis became the senior pastor. Rev. Ruis is originally from Moultrie, Georgia and his wife, Ashley, is from Millry, Alabama. They married in 2001 and have made their home in the Walnut Grove area for the past 21 years. They are the proud parents of five children.
Hilltop Holiness Church has a long, proud history of serving the community. The church was first started in the late 1980's as West Walton Baptist Church. In 2010, under the leadership of Rev. Lynn Head and his wife Arlene, Hilltop Holiness Church was established with a desire to reach the surrounding community.
Through the dedication of our leadership and volunteers we are committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ, and are here to spread His message. We are open to worshippers of all ages and backgrounds, and strive to lead all who worship with us towards a deeper love for God.
Our Vision, Our Mission, Our Calling
Nurture Each Other in Faith
The vision of Hilltop Holiness Church is to build and expand the Kingdom of God. This is accomplished through our mission statement. As followers of Jesus Christ, our mission is to be disciples who spread the good news of Salvation through Jesus.
Our desire is to reach the broken, discouraged, and the outcast, and show them that there is someone who cares. Matthew 28:19-20 reads "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
Our calling is clear and is read throughout the Bible. John 15:16 reads, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."
1 Thessalonians 4:7 reads, "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."
John 14:6 reads, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Consider this story: There was a young salesman who was disappointed about losing a big sale. As he talked with his sales manager he lamented, “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” The manager replied, “Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.” Our calling as Christians is to live a life filled with compassion and the love of Jesus Christ so that it creates a thirst for the Gospel to whoever we are around. A wise, elder, preacher once said, "A salty Christian makes a thirsty world!"
Community
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
When we are in close relationships with a community of believers we have people to pray for us, support us, encourage us, and serve alongside us.
Church is more than just entertainment, having large numbers of people attending services or hearing messages of empowerment from the pulpit that makes one feel good. Church is the lifeline of any society. Church is a unique place that instills change in people’s lives and brings to the community the consciousness of God.
Our Values and Beliefs
- The Word of God alone shall be the Doctrine, Practice, and Discipline. God’s written word is the infallible, authoritative, and verbally inspired Divine rule of faith and conduct. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used by the church. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21)
- God is the Father, the creator and preserver of all things in Heaven and earth, and Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried, and arose on the third day. Afterwards He ascended into Heaven where he is now and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, from whence He is to come again to judge the quick and the dead. (John 3:16; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6-7, 51; Romans 8:34)
- Water Baptism by immersion should be administered to every believer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 3:17; 28:19; Mark16:15-16)
- The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. The soul is sanctified definitely and progressively through the word of God and by the blood of Jesus Christ. (John 17:7; Hebrews 13:12; 1 Corinthians 6:11) This makes the believer eligible to receive the filling of the Holy Ghost and fire which is given to them that obey. The evidence of this experience is speaking in other tongues as the spirit gives the utterance. (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 5:32)
- There will be a resurrection of the dead, both saved and lost, when God will judge men according to their works. The righteous will be received into everlasting life, and the unrighteous into everlasting punishment. (Revelation 20:10-15)
- God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Everyone is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities) are answerable to God and governed by His word. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14)
- The Lord’s supper, commonly called Communion, and the washing of the saint’s feet is commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ, to be done in remembrance of Him and as a symbol of servitude toward one another, until He comes. (John 13:4-15; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30)
- There is divine healing for the whole physical man. This was included in the suffering of Jesus Christ. It is still available to all. (Isaiah 53:5; James 5:14)
- The church of Jesus Christ is to be a living organism, and the body of Christ is to be a habitation through his spirit. Each true believer is a member of the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Corinthians 12:14; Acts 2:47)
- Marriage is a union between one man and one woman. God sanctions only the union of a man and woman in marriage. (Genesis 2:19-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:18-27; Ephesians 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:4)
- God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between one man and one woman. Homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, beastiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. God disapproves of and forbids attempts to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
- Human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. Abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth, or population control, or the physical or mental well-being of the mother are not excusable. (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; Psalms 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
- The taking of an innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of intention. Euthanasia or any such assisted death is disobedient to God’s divine will. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. An act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. (Exodus 20:13; Exodus 23:7; Matthew 5:21; Acts 17:28)
The Holy Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that Christians believe.