What is a community? At Santa Rita Ranch, it’s more than just the homes, streets, cul-de-sacs, and green spaces that make up our neighborhood. It’s also the families and people, the memories, and the guiding principles that bring us all together and make life on the Ranch something special. A true community is a place where the people and surroundings inspire a life of joy, purpose, and connection – and that’s what we try to build for all of our residents.
This is why we at Santa Rita Ranch are so excited to announce The Grove Church, a new place of worship that people all over our community and throughout Williamson County will have access to. It’s a place where our residents and others can congregate, worship, and be free in expressing their service to God. It’s not just a place of worship, however. It’s also a place to strengthen the bonds of our community – a place of fellowship with one another. That’s what a community ought to be, and we hope that The Grove Church will be one way that our community becomes stronger and more welcoming.
The story of The Grove Church in Liberty Hill, Texas and the role it will play as a unique new addition to our community began many years ago.
It Starts with a Promise
The original owner of the land where The Grove Church is being built was Mrs. Roselle Braun. When her husband passed away, she prayed that the land would one day become a place of fellowship and worship, and when she sold the land to developer Ed Horne, she had one stipulation. Knowing that he was a man of faith, she wanted him to promise to build churches within the community so that the people of Santa Rita Ranch would have opportunities to connect with God and with one another.
She believed that the success of a community lay in faith and fellowship, and she saw the churches that would be built in Santa Rita Ranch as beacons that could bring people together and transform them into something more than just neighbors. And we hope that’s just what the new Grove Church will do.
The Origins of Grove Church
In the fall of 2013, a small group of Liberty Hill residents met at the home of Scott and Jayme Heider to study the Bible. The group began to grow, and by July of 2014, more than 50 people were meeting weekly at the Sendero Event Center, which later became Rockpoint Church.
In December of 2014, the growing group moved to its first permanent building, and in June of 2015 it opened the doors of its first church, Austin Chapel. By October of 2018, the church already needed more space. The group moved to Liberty Hill Junior High to make room for more kids and, in August of 2019, acquired the Ronald Reagan Blvd. property in Santa Rita Ranch that is soon to be home to Grove Church.
Led by Pastor Scott Heider, the new church will be open to all who wish to find hope, love, purpose, rest, peace, and family. It will be located next to the private Divine Savior Academy, and the first phase of development should be completed in the fall of 2021. This 14,550-square-foot development will offer various child and student programs for kids from infants and toddlers to pre-K, Kindergarten, and first through fifth grade.
The Grove Church will also be home to a wide variety of special events and community outreach programs, including sunrise hikes, special services, gift exchanges, programs for fellowship and opportunities to learn and grow, and ways to help those in need.
The Grove Church in Liberty Hill, Texas is the latest exciting new addition to our growing community. If you want to stay up-to-date on all the incredible things that are happening in Santa Rita Ranch, just fill out a short form above to subscribe to our Ranch newsletter. We’ll keep you in the loop on the latest things that affect all of us here on The Ranch!
