William Hornsby

Billy Hornsby, founder and President of the Association of Related Churches (ARC) and teaching pastor at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama, went to be with the Lord on March 23, 2011, surrounded by family and friends. He was known for his contagious love and passion for God, family, life, and leaders around the world. Church of the Highlands will host a memorial service celebrating Pastor Billy’s life at the Grants Mill Campus on Monday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m. CDT. The family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Association of Related Churches (ARC), a non-profit ministry which trains, resources and supports church planters. Billy was born on April 18, 1949 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He married his childhood sweetheart Charlene in 1967. Their ministry together began in 1975 in West Monroe, Louisiana where they started their first church, Victory Fellowship. In 1984 they moved to Germany to serve as missionaries where they planted and supported churches all across Europe. Billy and Charlene moved back to the USA in 1989 and started two new churches in Kentucky. In 1991 they moved back to their hometown in Louisiana to serve as Associate Pastor at Bethany World Prayer Center. Under Pastor Larry Stockstill’s leadership, Billy launched hundreds of small groups at Bethany and trained thousands of other churches in cell church ministry. In 2001 Billy and Charlene moved to Charleston, South Carolina to serve at Seacoast Church with Pastor Greg Surratt. During his time there, Billy and Greg began to dream about planting life-giving churches all across the country. In 2001, Billy and Greg, along with Dino Rizzo, Rick Bezet, Scott Hornsby, and Chris Hodges, founded the Association of Related Churches. ARC is now one of the largest church planting organizations in the country and trains thousands of church planters every year and gives millions of dollars annually to church planters. In 2008, Billy and Charlene moved to Birmingham, Alabama where the ARC is currently headquartered. Billy also served as European Coordinator for EQUIP, a non-profit organization founded by John C. Maxwell which specializes in the development of international Christian leaders. Under Billy’s leadership, hundreds of thousands of new leaders have been trained in Europe over the past ten years. Pastor Billy was also an author and well-known speaker. His books include “The Cell-Driven Church,” “Success for the Second in Command,” “101 Rules for Relationships,” and “The Attractional Church.” Billy is survived by his wife of 43 years, Charlene; daughter Tammy Hodges and son-in-law Chris; daughter Trudy Bezet and son-in-law David; daughter Shary Long and son-in-law Phil; eight grandchildren: Natalie Gravois, Sarah, Michael, David, Jonathan, and Joseph Hodges, Wesley and Abby Long; brothers Frank Hornsby, Leon Hornsby, Scott Hornsby, and sister Suzanne Hobgood. Billy is preceded in death by two grandchildren, Will Long and Joy Long.