Heath and his wife Denise first heard about Hilltop Urban Church while attending evening services at First Evangelical Free Church.  At the time, 1994, they were praying about urban ministry possibilities, and felt that God may be leading them to Memphis.  However, all doors to Memphis kept closing.  It was at an evening service at First Free, that Heath and Denise began to consider urban ministry in Wichita.  Some time in October of 1994, Heath and Denise first attended church at Hilltop.  It wasn't long before they discovered places to plug into ministry.  Denise's musical gifts were utilized on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening.  Soon a concern rose, after the kids graduate from club, where do they go to continue being discipled?  In the summer of 1996, Heath with the help of another couple from the church started playing pick-up softball, with borrowed park board equipment, with the neighborhood kids at the park.  This was the beginning of the Hilltop youth ministry as we know it today.  As the days got shorter and the kids went back to school, Heath and Denise invited the youth down to the church on Friday night for youth group.  The first meeting at the church had three youth, one of which was the pastor's oldest daughter.  However, it didn't take long before a healthy core of seven youth was faithfully coming on Friday nights. 

Heath: Denise and I began to plan events for the youth and included them in church activities.  We have fond memories of those first years.  I was working for the State of Kansas at the time, and couldn't get time off to take the kids to summer camp.  The summer of 1997 Denise loaded seven kids into a borrowed suburban and headed for Golden, MO to Kids Across America.  Six kids found the Lord on that trip, and Denise lead three of them through a scripture memory program in which they memorized fifty two verses through the next school year.  God continue to bless this group of teens, and the ministry grew in number. 

It also grew in depth of need.  The teens struggled with school, and struggled in just about every relationship they encountered.  Heath began to advocate for the teens at school and at times at juvenile court.  Trust slowly built with parents and Heath was able to play a role in de-escalating several family conflicts.  The memories and events of those days are too numerous to recount in this space, but God was beginning to mold a young shepherd.