Our History

The story of Foothills Church is one that begins with a vision and a calling shared by Dr. Trenton J. Stewart and his father, Dr. Ron Stewart, the longtime lead pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Knoxville. Together, with the support of Grace Baptist, the pair sought to plant a new church whose mission would be to serve the Maryville and Blount County community by developing mature disciples of Christ.

In 2009, that vision would come to life, as Pastor Trent and his wife Micah, after serving as student pastor at Grace led a team of 30 volunteers to the Maryville community to officially plant what would become Foothills Church. The team prayed diligently over the vision, shared the hope of Jesus with residents of Maryville and Blount County, and on Easter Sunday that year, Foothills Church opened its doors for its first service.

That inaugural service took place inside the gymnasium of a local school, where God's presence and provision could immediately be sensed. In just one year, FC grew to welcome more than 130 people in weekly attendance - and went on to double that number by 2011.

With 130 in weekly attendance and a trajectory of rapid growth, FC went on to purchase its current location at 1551 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville. The milestone moment allowed for FC to establish a permanent home and provide ample room for future growth in the years to come. The church renovated the facility in two phases, constructing a 600-seat auditorium and developing a dedicated children's ministry in the process. In its new home, God continued to send people to FC. By 2014, weekly attendance grew to 750.

Three years later, in 2017, more than a thousand people would walk through the doors weekly. As more people found FC, and eventually called it their home, the church went on to purchase three acres adjacent to its facility to support the ongoing growth.

In 2018, on Easter Sunday, FC opened new doors once again, this time to a brand-new atrium and 1,200-seat auditorium to ensure its vision would continue to impact more people across the community.

Today, FC continues to carry out the original vision and mission of developing mature disciples of Christ in relational environments. In 2019 alone, 202 people professed their faith in Jesus through baptism at FC, while the church sent four partners as long-term missionaries around the globe and more than 2,400 first-time guests walked through the doors.

Still, we know the harvest is ripe and we have much work to carry out as the people of Foothills Church serve our community, region, nation, and the world with the hope of Christ.