About Us

What are your weekend services like?

We have two Saturday evening services (5:00 and 6:30 p.m.) and three Sunday morning services (8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 a.m.) that are identical. Our Sunday evening service (6:00 p.m.) is geared towards college students and young adults, although anyone is welcome.

You will always be greeted with a handshake and a smiling face as you walk through the door, and of course there is always something to munch on as you browse the information tables in the lobby.

Shepherd of the Hills is a place of refreshment . . . you can sit fireside with friends and have a cup of coffee in the foyer, then enjoy our distinctive contemporary worship music and a spirit-filled message in the sanctuary.

All of our services have contemporary music and a message that is Bible-based and relevant to daily life.

The story of “The Merge”

In 1912, a group of 100 dedicated believers began meeting in an old railroad car to worship God. As time passed...and the congregation grew...this group of believers formed the 1st Baptist Church of Van Nuys, California.

In 1976, Dr. Jess Moody became pastor. Under his leadership, the Southern Baptist church built and moved to its present location in Porter Ranch and changed its name to Shepherd Of The Hills.

Hillcrest Christian Church began its non-denominational fellowship in the summer of 1952 with 105 people. In 1964, the church purchased and moved to a five acre parcel of land in Granada Hills.

In 1987, God called Dudley C. Rutherford to pastor Hillcrest Christian Church. Over the next 8 years, church attendance tripled, causing the congregation to begin looking for a larger location.

In the spring of 1995, Dr. Jess Moody was on the verge of retiring and Shepherd Of The Hills was facing some financial hardships. Dr. Moody approached Pastor Dudley and Hillcrest Christian Church with the idea of possibly merging these two churches.

Though it seemed like an impossibility for legal and denominational reasons, Pastor Dudley agreed to pursue the interesting idea. After many, many, many (and still more) meetings between pastors and deacons and elders and bankers and lawyers and other church leaders, what was once an impossibility turned into an intriguing longshot.

Both pastors hosted church wide meetings for their congregations where they presented their ideas, answered questions, discussed concerns and shared their vision. Finally, after months of prayer -- as skeptics and doubters watched from around the country -- the issue went to vote in the summer of 1995.

AMAZINGLY, OVER 95% OF EACH CONGREGATION VOTED YES TO UNITE!

In October of 1995, Shepherd Of The Hills & Hillcrest Christian Church officially united with a combined membership of 1600.

GOD PERFORMED A MIRACLE!

Today...the congregation has grown (against the odds) to over 7,000 people with new members being added each week!

God is good... all the time... and the best is yet to come!