About Hill House

Our Purpose

Hill House exists to equip students and faculty to integrate their faith in academia, the workplace, and the community. We do this by:

  1. Nurturing Christian identity, wisdom, and character

  2. Engaging contemporary questions and culture with the riches of the Bible and the Christian intellectual tradition

  3. Exploring the call to follow Jesus in every area of life and society

Read our latest newsletter here.

Our Beliefs

Hill House affirms and holds fast to the fundamental Christian beliefs found in Scripture and articulated succinctly in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. We are tethered to historic, traditional, orthodox doctrine and teaching, as well as to the heritage of the Protestant Reformation.  

At the same time, Hill House is a place of diverse Christian thought. In our community, you’ll find Presbyterians, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, non-denominational Protestants, and more. We are, however, committed to the shared pursuit of Christian truth found and embodied in Jesus Christ.

In keeping with its Christian commitment, Hill House strives to enlarge and extend conversations about God, faith, morality, meaning, and truth rather than narrow or end them. We gladly listen to and learn from those who may not share our convictions. While we have no official affiliation with the University of Texas, Hill House supports higher education, affirms critical thinking, strives to work collaboratively with UT, and seeks to promote and contribute to the intellectual life of the university community.

Our Team

Bill Walker - Director

Thanks to mentors, teachers, and study abroad experiences in college, seminary, and graduate school that challenged him to see everything and everyone as sacred, Bill comes to Hill House with a deep appreciation and passion for the importance of growing in faith, seeking truth, and exploring one’s sense of calling as a young adult.

Before coming to Hill House, Bill served as the Director of Vocation at Christ Church of Austin, where he oversaw ministries in the areas of spiritual formation, faith and work, and vocational discernment. He is also a lecturer at Truett Seminary and Baylor University in theology and business ethics. Bill received his BBA from Baylor in Economics and Spanish, an MTS from Truett Seminary, and a PhD from Claremont Graduate University in philosophy of religion. He has published several works in the field of theological ethics, including his 2020 book on the doctrine of salvation in the age of globalization.

Bill is married to Whitney, and they have three children: Liam (6), Roy (4), and Cody (2). Whitney is an interior designer and the founder of Farrington Lane, a residential design studio in Austin. Outside of his ministry and spending time with family, Bill enjoys water skiing and trail running.

Our Board

Hill House is blessed to have the support of community leaders. These individuals invest their time to further our mission and shape the vision for our future. Currently serving on the Hill House Board are: Carolyn Ahrens, Steve Collier, Peter Graves, Charles Heimsath, Barry McBee, Terri McClendon, Thomas Laughlin, Lindsey Stringer, and Aziza Read.

Directors Emeritus

Greg and Mary Jane Grooms

Greg Grooms came to Hill House in August of 1994 from Huemoz, Switzerland, after working with L'Abri Fellowship for 15 years. While studying biochemistry at Tulane University in New Orleans, he discovered his faith needed to grow if it were to survive the questions and pressures of living in the modern world. This led him to Francis and Edith Schaeffer’s study center in the Swiss Alps where the historic Christian faith of his childhood was reaffirmed and expanded to apply to all of life and culture. Greg met and married his Canadian-born wife Mary Jane in Switzerland. They have five adult children.

Mary Jane Grooms became a believer while a student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. She realized immediately what some people never do: that conversion is more than adding a religious dimension to an otherwise unchanged life. It means changing the way you look at and think about everything. After reading the Schaeffers' books, she set aside university for a time in order to study at L’Abri. There she served as secretary to Edith Schaeffer for four years prior to marrying Greg. Mary Jane brought over three decades of experience in teaching, counseling and hospitality to her role as Co-Director of Hill House.

Greg and Mary Jane's conviction is that the Bible is true and that all of life is spiritual and meant to be lived to the glory of God. It is a conviction that is reflected in Greg’s teaching. He begins with the Bible and moves to everything else, from academics to pop culture.