Dr. Shon Neyland Transitions after Six Years Leading Portland Church

Dr. Shon Neyland, Senior Pastor of Highland Christian Center (HCC), Portland Oregon is transitioning, effective July 2025, after six years and a half at Highland Christian Center.  Dr. Neyland and his wife, First Lady, Madeline Neyland have served HCC and the greater Portland Community with honorable service, dedication, commitment and love. Madeline served as the Women’s Director at Highland for nearly two years, providing fellowship, hope and growth for many.  Dr. Neyland and Madeline were celebrated in the community recently with close to 300 attendees at his farewell banquet. As testament to his leadership and impact, many leaders from across the city came to bid farewell to the Neyland’s.

Highland is a large, diverse, and growing church with over 825 members on the roll. The sprawling two Acre Campus takes up an entire city block.  Dr. Neyland led the way with his Operations and Renovation Team in renovating the campus with over $750K in upgrades in line with the vision of a 21st Century Ministry of Excellence. Highland is truly a light in the community.  A true visionary, Dr. Neyland garnered over $700K in grants and other monetary incentives to offset the work needed at Highland Christian Center. As the Senior Executive leader of ministries, Dr. Neyland led a vast community ministry which is comprised of 14 paid employees, over sixty-five ministries, an annual budget of $850K, and manages facilities valued over $14M. HCC impacts the church and entire community through a variety of ministry opportunities designed to improve members both spiritually and practically. 

Highland feeds over 1,200 monthly through its food bank program and Sunday breakfasts for the houseless. Dr. Neyland led the way at Highland with the church’s Motto: “The Right Place, Building Community and Changing Lives.”  Changing Lives was a key aspect of Dr. Neyland’s ministry with close to 800 new converts to the Christian faith, over 375 baptized, and 450 new members joining the church. He trained, licensed, and ordained over 45 Ministers, Elders, Deacons, and Deaconess during his tenure.  The annual “Thanksgiving Feed” fed over 3,000 with hot meals and the annual Christmas giving touched the lives of 1,000s of families and children who were less fortunate with free gifts and toys. Highland will miss the leadership of Dr. Neyland, no doubt the church’s leadership will continue to carry the legacy and is designed to be a light into the community.

Dr. Neyland was heavily involved in the community and served on or with committees such the Albina Ministerial Leadership Council, Lines for Life, OHA Black COVID-19 Strategy Working Group, and the Northwest Church Fund Working Gorup to aid churches with grants. Additionally, Dr. Neyland served as the CEO of the Highland Haven for the first four years of his tenure where he obtained over $1.75Mil in grants for the local community and church. He led robust summer camps with over 30 employees and 60 plus youth attending each summer. The Highland Haven also was critical to youth mentorship, leadership development, and countering drug usage and addition. Further, Dr. Neyland leaves his position as Second Vice President of the Coalition of African and African-American Pastors/Imams (CAAAP), which exists to empower our community to achieve positive change through equitable quality of life programs, development, empowerment, and education. Dr. Neyland served as one of the co-founders of the CAAAP organization which now reaches 1,000s in the community annually with healing summits, interfaith breakfasts, soul-to-soul and other community outreaches. Dr. Neyland also leaves behind his leadership role on Council for the Luis Palau Association and his role as a Regional Convener for the greater Portland (Together PDX), promoting community growth through spiritual development and partnerships with over100 churches. Dr. Neyland through CAAAP, founded and led a monthly Care for the Caregiver breakfast for almost six (6) years with 15 to 20 local pastors attending monthly and three annual leadership conferences/retreats. The breakfasts were designed to provide fellowship, care, and growth for those who do so much for the community.  The Care for Caregiver breakfast was also sponsored by the Murdoch Trust Fund and Luis Palou Association. Even through COVID-19, Dr. Neyland played a key role as special advisor to then Governor Kate Brown regarding the reopening of churches across the state and he personally provided a strategy to aid her team in their efforts.

Dr. Neyland was instrumental in during COVID-19 with the promotion of vaccination clinics where the first clinic at a house of worship was held at HCC with over 1,000 receiving vaccinations that day.  The Highland Haven, nonprofit community arm of the church and HCC partnered with local officials to provide the opportunity for 1,000s to be vaccinated monthly over a two-year period. HCC was featured in the New York Times, MPR News, and by the state of Oregon for their humanitarian work in saving lives. Dr. Neyland also was a key spokesman for the media during the George Floyd protests and was often featured in the news for his advocacy for unity and peace in the community and respect of all people. He led several marches, rallies, townhalls, and conferences to combat youth violence.  He brokered meetings with local police and youth to form a new path forward to decreasing murder and violence. Along with Apostle Levell Thomas, President of CAAAP, Dr. Neyland created and led the Healing from Trauma Summitt that has become an annual staple in the community, reaching hundreds each year to provide healing and hope. Dr. Neyland was on the CAAAP team that secured close to $1Mil in housing assistance from the state legislators to assist with rental assistance. 

Dr. Neyland will be missed by our community and we wish he and his wife well as he moves forward in his new start in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Neyland and Madeline are relocating due to Madeline’s medical concerns and a warmer climate was needed to ensure better health. Dr. Neyland and First Lady Madeline will be truly missed as they certainly leave a legacy of Building Community.