In 1958, West Highland Baptist Church was established in Huntsville, initially under the name Cloverdale Baptist Church. With a vision to reach the newly established university right around the corner, they changed their name to University Baptist Church in 1967.

In 2017, The Well Church in Florence, AL planted The Well Church in Huntsville with the same vision of reaching students on the campus of UAH. They officially launched on September 10, 2017– 50 years to the day that WHBC became University Baptist Church.

The Well Church Huntsville initially planned to meet on UAH’s campus, but with a last-minute change, they needed a new meeting space. At the same time, UBC had been praying for an opportunity to reach college students when a staff member heard a broadcast about The Well’s vision for reaching the college campus. UBC got in contact with The Well, and The Well Church began to meet in UBC’s Fellowship Hall. UBC later moved up the time of their worship gathering so that The Well Church could use their sanctuary for a later service. 

University Baptist Church and The Well Church continued in partnership for several years. Over time, each church began to feel led to merge into one congregation. Separated, the two churches on the hill had strengths and weaknesses unique to their congregations, and both churches had had the desire to see the gospel move throughout the college campus. Our vision was that together, the new congregation would become a vibrant multigenerational church with a refined vision and strategy to reach the next generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

University Baptist Church and The Well Church voted to merge into one congregation on November 5, 2023 and we had our first service together as Church on the Hill on January 7, 2024. We adopted the name Church on the Hill because people have always referred to us as “that church on the hill,” and we desire to be the “city on a hill” that Jesus described displaying His love and light in Huntsville (Matthew 5:14).