North Point Community Church
| North Point Community Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates: 34°03′27″N 84°15′35″W / 34.057565°N 84.259669°W | |
| Location | Alpharetta, GA based with various physical campuses and strategic partners |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Non-Denominational, Evangelical Christian |
| Website |
northpoint |
| History | |
| Founded | November 1995 |
| Founder(s) | Andy Stanley |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Active |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Andy Stanley |
| Pastor(s) |
Clay Scroggins (NPCC lead pastor) |
| Laity | |
| Music group(s) | North Point Music |
North Point Community Church is a non-denominational, evangelical Christian megachurch located in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. North Point currently averages more than 36,000 people in attendance among its six campuses each week, making it the largest church in Metro Atlanta and according to Outreach Magazine, the largest church in the United States as of 2014.[1] Andy Stanley is the senior pastor. Clay Scroggins serves as the church's lead pastor and, in turn, leads the North Point Community Church staff.
North Point Community Church is the namesake and flagship of North Point Ministries, which serves as the parent organization for five other churches in the Atlanta area: Buckhead Church, Browns Bridge Church, Woodstock City Church, Gwinnett Church, and Decatur City Church. Several other churches are associated with North Point as Strategic Partners.
History
The church was started in November 1995 by Andy Stanley. For the first three years of its existence, the congregation of North Point met every other Sunday night in rented facilities. When the Olympics came to town, the church was unable to meet for nine weeks.
In December 1996, North Point purchased an 83-acre site in Alpharetta, a suburb of Atlanta. Construction began six months later. The first phase of construction included a 2,700-seat auditorium and other facilities, which opened on September 27, 1998. By Christmas, attendance had grown to 3,000. By the end of the first year, North Point was averaging over 4,000 in worship. In spring of 2001 the second phase of construction was completed, which added a second auditorium with the additional seating. North Point can accommodate around 5,000 worshipers at one time.
Additional Campuses
In the spring of 2001, a group from the Buckhead area began meeting every other Sunday night in rented facilities. NPCC leadership advised Buckhead Fellowship, and in August 2001 they became the first satellite campus. Buckhead Fellowship became Buckhead Church. Buckhead Church moved into a renovated grocery store in 2003, and moved to a permanent facility in May 2007.
A third campus, Browns Bridge Church, opened on October 8, 2006.[2]
The 4th and 5th campuses of North Point, Gwinnett Church and Woodstock City Church (originally Watermarke Church), were opened in 2011.
Also in 2011, Stanley transitioned into an advisory role over all campuses, with Joel Thomas becoming the lead/campus pastor for the original North Point Campus until January 2015.
On October 20, 2014, the sixth metro Atlanta campus, Decatur City Church, was announced.
See also
References
- ↑ "Andy Stanley's North Point Ministries Named the Largest Church in America". Christianpost.com. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ↑ "Brief History of North Point Community Church". Retrieved 14 February 2016.