Our Story
We all have a history; a story of how we arrived at where we are now, and Higher Calling Community Church is no exception to this rule. Don Pittman, or Pastor Don, as he became known, along with his wife Mindy were confident that God had called them to start and pastor this church but little did they know the journey that they were about to embark on would change their lives forever.
Pastor Don & Mindy had served in ministry for their entire adult life but had gotten to the point of losing their excitement and passion. They had not lost their faith or even their desire to be in ministry but they had lost their sense of purpose. For years they struggled in ministry in the denomination they both grew up in always finding themselves at odds with the church leadership because they were unwilling to accept the status quo and put God in a box. They believed Him for more. They were determined to start fresh and follow God's leading in ministry by moving to a fast-growing suburban area north of Atlanta and start a church there. Surely, God would bless them as they pursued this plan for Him. But God had a different purpose.
Instead, they were let go from their ministry positions and told that they, along with their family were on their own when it came to moving away and starting this new church. Within their denomination, they could find no support, help, or encouragement for their plan to start the church. They were unable to sell their home so they could not finalize their plans to move. Financial pressures were mounting so Pastor Don felt that he could not reduce the hours of his work schedule. The levels of fatigue, frustration, and stress were growing to unbearable levels and then his health began to deteriorate. Pastor Don was continually tired and experiencing a nagging pain and soreness in his chest accompanied by uncontrollable, almost violent bouts of chilling. Tests revealed a softball-sized tumor in his abdomen. On April 21, 1999, the mass was removed but the diagnosis was grim. At 38 years of age, Pastor Don Pittman was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a treatable but incurable blood cancer that would surely shorten his life. Where was God in all this? Amazingly, He was in it all, overseeing it all, and orchestrating it all in order to accomplish His purposes in their lives. Through his treatment and healing of this cancer, God led them on a journey of discovery and renewal that reignited their passion for living and refocused their heart in believing God for more. After enduring a bone marrow transplant in August of 1999, Pastor Don along with his wife Mindy, founded Higher Calling Community Church on October 1, 2000. Their vision for the church was to create a place where people that had never been to church or hadn’t been in years could discover and experience God’s higher calling for their lives no matter where they had been or what they had done.
Pastor Don experienced God’s healing touch on his life and was able to start and pastor the church he loved so much. He relapsed several times from the blood cancer and endured many chemotherapy, radiation, clinical trials and even two bone marrow transplants before he passed away in August of 2006. Before his death, he coined the phrase, “Never Settle” which would become his lasting legacy. His decision to never settle for anything less than God’s best in his life leaves a mark on Higher Calling that will never be forgotten.
Our story is this: God loves us too much to leave us alone. He wants to be a real Father to us and give us all that we need to live powerful, purposeful, and passionate lives. But the most incredible aspect of our story is that God wants you to be His very own. This church was born out of God's desire to do something new in the heart of a person just like you - a person with his own set of struggles, desires, and dreams. The entire reason for the existence of Higher Calling Community Church is to help people experience God's higher calling for their lives. We invite you to join us in discovering or maybe rediscovering God's greater purpose and higher calling for your life.
