A view from the hill: there are a church, school, meeting hall, athletic fields

My stop at Hilltop Church, 10212 Fayetteville Road, was educational for me as well as an opportunity to indulge my interest in photographs. I initially stopped there early last week and checked in at the office to see if it was OK for me to roam the campus to do a photo profile. 

I met executive pastor Mark Cash in the office, and he suggested I return on a Saturday when no school was in session. I wasn’t aware the church had a school on the grounds; the full campus is on a hill (hence the name) and thus drivers on U.S. 401 below don't see much beyond the church itself. Indeed, he said that Hilltop Christian School offers grades K through 12.

He also said that the church is affiliated with the Free Will Baptists, which I later learned traces its roots to the 18th century in North Carolina. And as I glanced through the church’s online directory of staff upon returning home after my shoot on Saturday, I saw that many of its staff — including Cash — obtained their higher education academic degrees at Southeastern Free Will Baptist College in Wake Forest, N.C.

On its website, the college (which is on the grounds of the original Wake Forest University) states that its primary mission is to train people for church-related ministries. 

Like Mid-Way Baptist, which I profiled here in the previous post, Hilltop Church has several buildings and facilities on its campus. There is the main church (see photo leading off the post), a building housing the fellowship hall and gymnasium (first photo below) and the school (second photo below). In addition, there is a playground, baseball field/diamond, a soccer field and an outdoor basketball court. Photos of those appears further down in the post. 

Hilltop Church is just under 6 miles north of downtown Fuquay-Varina. 

To view a gallery containing all the pictures I took on this shoot, follow the link in this sentence. 

Another view of the church (above) and the soccer and baseball fields, an outdoor basketball court and playground in pictures below. 

Above: The road running between the church on the right and fellowship hall/gymnasium on the left. 

The south entrance to the church (above), and just to the left of that is the tree you see in the photo below.

The soccer field (above), ball diamond (first photo below) and outdoor basketball court (second photo below).

Above and below: Sandboxes spaced about 20 yards from each other. 

 

Above and first two photos below: Playground facilities. 

The playground swing set (above) with the fellowship hall/gymnasium in the background, and an amphitheater type seating area (below) near the playground for adults to sit and supervise children. The swings are in front of this seating area, while the remainder of the playground equipment is behind it. 

 

School buses for various transportation needs (above) and just one of many lightposts on campus bearing a pennant stating "Rooted in Love" (below).