Highlands United Church

What Highlands United Church does

Highlands United Church is a private religious nonprofit congregation affiliated with The United Church of Canada, located at 11305 64 Street NW in the Highlands neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta. The congregation traces its origins to the 1912 Highlands Methodist Church building; the current sanctuary held its first service on December 11, 1923. The church delivers weekly Sunday worship at 10:30 am (livestreamed on YouTube and posted to Facebook), music ministries including a choir and a handbell program (the Bell Canto ensemble), Stephen Ministry pastoral care, weddings, funerals/memorials, and a small but structured set of community outreach programs. Outreach includes a monthly lunch for YESS (Youth Empowerment & Support Services) shelter youth, an annual Christmas Mitten Tree for the Bissell Centre, towel collections for Recovery Acres, and eyeglass recycling through the Lion's Club.

The organization employs approximately 5 people, led by Minister Rev. Mervin Gallant, Choir Leader Wendy Nieuwenhuis, and Handbell Choir Leader Carol Bergum (25-year tenure). Revenue is generated almost exclusively through voluntary donations and offerings, accepted via offering envelopes, cheques, Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR), Interac e-transfer, PayPal, and CanadaHelps.org, with income tax receipts issued for gifts over $20. Diversifying income is the newly launched Highlands Thrifted Gems part-time thrift boutique (Tues/Thurs/Sat 11am-3pm and Sundays 11:30am-1:30) and the annual Next-to-New Sale, both of which direct proceeds to outreach.

Following an arson fire on September 14, 2018, the building underwent a year-long restoration and reopened October 6, 2019. The church is now in a transitional phase: in Fall 2024 members approved the Legacy Project to determine the future of the congregation and its buildings, explicitly citing a declining membership base and inability to maintain facilities, signalling a defensive rather than growth posture.

Name

Highlands United Church

Legal name

Highlands United Church

Website

https://highlandsunitedchurch.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Highlands United Church is an Edmonton-based United Church of Canada congregation (founded 1912, current sanctuary since 1923) offering weekly worship, music ministries, outreach programs, and a thrift boutique, funded by voluntary donations and currently undergoing a Legacy Project transition due to declining membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311), Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG), Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

Keywords

• Religious worship services
• Pastoral care ministry
• Community outreach programs
• Music ministry services
• Charitable donation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Offerings: The church receives donations through multiple methods including cheques, Interac e-transfer, Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) program, PayPal, and CanadaHelps.org. Visitors can use offering envelopes in pews and receive income tax receipts for donations over $20.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Highlands United Church is a Christian congregation providing weekly worship services, music ministries, pastoral care, and community outreach. It serves individual members of its congregation and the broader Edmonton community through inclusive Sunday worship, weddings and funerals, thrift retail (Highlands Thrifted Gems), and charitable programs supporting youth, the homeless, and those in addiction recovery.

Product overview

Highlands United Church is a religious congregation offering worship services, music ministries (choir, handbells), outreach programs (support for YESS shelter, glasses recycling, Recovery Acres donations, Bissell Centre), wedding and funeral services, a thrift boutique (Highlands Thrifted Gems), and an annual Next-to-New sale. The church conducts livestream services on YouTube. As a religious organization, it does not offer technology products or software services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunday Worship Services

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered support, core and minor.

• Edmonton South Seventh Day Adventist ChurchsupportOthersDuring the year-long restoration following the September 2018 fire, the congregation was graciously welcomed by this church located across the river at 5108 106 Avenue. The church provided space for worship services during the restoration period.
• St. Mary's Anglican ChurchsupportOthersThe church was able to rent office space in St. Mary's Anglican Church, located within the Highlands neighbourhood at 11203 68 Street during the restoration period.
• YESS (Youth Empowerment & Support Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVolunteers provide monthly lunch of soup, sandwiches and fruit to the YESS Shelter. Highlands covers monetary expenses and food preparation monthly to support youth ages 15-24 with shelter and wrap-around support.
• Lion's Club 'Recycle for Sight' ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHighlands collects used eyeglasses and donates them to the Lion's Club program which provides glasses for millions of people in third world countries who lack access to basic eye care.
• Recovery AcresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuring World Wide Communion Sunday in October, Highlands collects towels and face cloths for Recovery Acres, which provides residential treatment, aftercare support and transitional housing for men with addiction history.
• Bissell CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual Christmas Mitten Tree program collects toques, mitts, scarves and socks which are donated to Bissell Centre to help Edmonton's homeless population stay warm.
• Stephen MinistriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStephen Ministry provides one-to-one Christian care to people in the congregation and community who are experiencing life difficulties. Highlands participates in this broader church care network.
• CanadaHelps.orgsupportTechnology or IntegrationThird-party charity platform that supports all Canadian charities, enabling online donations with free account tracking, giving goals, monthly gifts, and instant income tax receipts.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Edmonton South Seventh Day Adventist Church: Adventist congregation across the river that hosted Highlands during its 2018 fire restoration; comparable Edmonton-area faith community providing in-person worship and outreach.
• St. Mary's Anglican Church (Edmonton): Anglican congregation in the Highlands neighbourhood that provided rented office space to Highlands during restoration; comparable mainline Christian faith-based community with outreach focus in the same geography.
• Emmanuel Covenant Church (Edmonton): Local Edmonton congregation offering worship, music, and outreach programs; comparable community-based church of similar size serving the broader Edmonton faithful population.
• West End Christian Reformed Church (Edmonton): Neighborhood Christian congregation in Edmonton offering worship, music, and community programs; comparable local church operating model with similar size and volunteer-driven outreach.

Others

• Stephen Ministries: National pastoral-care organization that Highlands participates in for one-to-one Christian care; comparable as an enabling partner in the congregational care delivery model.
• Bissell Centre: Edmonton community-serving nonprofit and recipient of Highlands' Mitten Tree donations; thematically aligned as a faith-community-supported social services organization in Edmonton's nonprofit ecosystem.
• YESS (Youth Empowerment & Support Services): Edmonton nonprofit shelter partner that Highlands supports through monthly lunch donations; comparable as a faith-adjacent nonprofit serving vulnerable youth in the same community.

Direct peers

• First United Church of Edmonton: Another United Church of Canada congregation in Edmonton offering Sunday worship, outreach, and community programs; directly comparable denomination, city, and mission footprint.
• Robertson-Wesley United Church (Edmonton): United Church of Canada congregation in Edmonton with progressive values, affirming stance, music ministry, and community outreach; same denomination and city as Highlands.

Broad incumbents

• The United Church of Canada (Denomination): National denomination governing Highlands and providing administrative, financial, and pastoral resources; comparable as the umbrella parent operating at much larger scale across Canada.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjbG_qbnI3VEUz_eqjhTmjg
• Facebookfacebook.com/172942419575522
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highlands-united-church

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highlands United Church