Who is North Avenue?

Vision Statement

Mission Statement

Our mission is to love and honor God in WORSHIP, to experience the fullness of life in Christ as we GROW, and to share in the Holy Spirit’s transforming work in the world as we answer the call to GO.

 

Core Values

Radical Hospitality 
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. –Romans 15:7

We want to invite, welcome, and include every single person who walks through our doors. Our hope is that no one could walk away from North Avenue without having felt the love of Jesus extended directly and personally to them. We want to always go the extra mile to make every visitor feel welcome and comfortable through personal, engaging, and loving encounters.

Radical hospitality is not just something our first-time visitors experience; instead, we hope this is a mind set of every member of the North Avenue family that permeates all of our interactions with family, friends, co-workers, and community.

Passionate Worship 
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 
–Psalm 84:2 

Our times of gathered worship are single-purposed in glorifying and praising our wonderful Savior. We hope that with worship that is heartfelt and unhindered, people can powerfully and personally connect to God. We try to lead consistently authentic worship that leads to encounters with God that result in radical life change.

We know that worship is not only when we gather to praise God in song but that worship is actually everything we do! Every action is an opportunity to glorify and worship God. We may begin with passionate worship here on Sundays, but we carry that worship into our everyday lives, praising God in all we do.

Read about our worship here.

 

Transformational Faith Development 
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. –Acts 2:42

At North Avenue, we want to be and to make disciples of Jesus Christ; in a word, we want to be missional. This goal is reflected in our Discipleship programs by a strong Sunday morning teaching curriculum–eight (and counting) different classes that emphasize Bible study and fellowship, and a new system of church-wide small groups where people build close relationships, study scripture, and serve and grow together. We believe that it’s not enough to teach by simply conveying information. Transformative Faith Development is learning through discussion and accountability; through mutual trust and strong relationships; through honesty and openness in our dealings with God and with each other. Scripture is our foundation, and relationships with God and one another are our focus. We know that as we grow and mature as followers of Christ, our lives will be transformed in big ways!

Read about our discipleship programs here.

 

Risk-Taking Mission and Service 
…'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
  -Matthew 25:40 

We want to make a positive impact on the world around us in order to glorify God. We recognize that God often calls His disciples to uncomfortably different and unknown environments and atmospheres in order to accomplish His will. Our hope is that we are often stretched outside of our comfort zone, challenged physically, mentally and spiritually to faithfully follow Christ. We want to be pushed beyond our routine church commitments and into places that we would never be if not for our desire to follow Christ. Wherever Christ is moving, we want to be there.

We hope that through obedient service both in our local and global communities, we may make Jesus known, especially to those who may not otherwise know Him.

Read about North Avenue and mission here.

 

Extravagant Generosity 
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. -2 Corinthians 9:11

We want to share our blessings from God in a way that exceeds all expectations. We want to sacrificially and selflessly give of our time and talents. We want to give more than what is comfortable, fully depending on God to sustain us. We hope that our giving goes beyond simple obedience, but instead is inspired by the joy of giving as freely as God has so generously given to us.

Leadership

The New Testament regularly speaks of church leaders, commonly called elders, overseers, or shepherds. In addition, deacons were appointed in the early church to meet various needs in the local church. The Presbyterian church believes that the people of God are chosen for service as well as for salvation.  Our form of government stresses strong, active, representational leadership, based on Biblical precedents.  At North Avenue, we have 27 elders and 28 deacons, chosen by the people and ordained to be officially set apart for leadership and service. Officers serve three year terms. God working through them facilitates our life together as a community of believers brought together to further the church's mission in the world.

 The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) consists of the Book of Confessions, which you may view here, (historical statements of what we as a church believe) and the Book of Order, which you may view here, (form of government, directory for worship, and rules of discipline). 

 

Ministry Teams

Adult Discipleship: Committed to transformative faith development through establishing and growing an ever-increasing number of small groups at North Avenue; engaging in spiritual formation; continuing to promote and improve the adult Sunday School program; increasing teacher recruitment and training; developing new curricula; and incorporating hands-on mission experience with prayer, Bible study, and fellowship.

Children and Family: Through multi-dimensional programs and special events, inspires and nurtures children from infancy through fifth grade to become Disciples of Christ with a passion for serving and loving Him; supports their families in developing Christ-centered homes, rich in faith and glorifying God.

College and Young Adult: Aims to reach out with the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ to college students and young adults who live in the vicinity of NAPC; strategizes discipleship, worship, fellowship and mission opportunities for this unique and vital population.

Communication:  Oversees all internal communication within the church and external publicity to the community, including the weekly newsletter North AveNews, website, outdoor banners and signage.

Congregational Care:  Visits homebound members; conducts Neighbor Net to get members living in the same areas together socially; conducts Keep In Touch to telephone members who have not been attending to learn if they are sick or homebound, or have relocated or joined another church.

Evangelism and Neighborhood Outreach:  Seeks to spread the good news of Jesus Christ by helping to build the congregation from within and connect in unique ways to the broader community of Atlanta; conducts New Member Classes to orient and “plug in” new members.

Financial Resources: Provides oversight of the church’s financial operations.  The team meets on a monthly basis to review the income and expenditures for the prior month.  The team is responsible for the approval of the ministry and mission budgets prior to their presentation to the Session.

Hospitality: As ushers, ambassadors and greeters, the team extends a loving welcome in the name and spirit of Christ to all who come through our doors and ensures that visitors and members continue to feel embraced and valued.  Responsibilities may be regularly scheduled or occasional.

Human Resources: Provides oversight in all matters as they relate to the church’s staff.  These matters would include compensation, benefits, the calling and dismissal of non-pastoral staff, maintenance of the employee handbook, and the development and modification of personnel policies.

Leadership Development: Educates, engages and encourages servant leadership with particular emphasis on elders and deacons.

Missions: Makes Jesus Known through mission partnerships and outreach in the areas of Compassion, Campus Outreach, Gospel Proclamation, Family Support and Human Trafficking.  Also helps members of the church connect their passions for helping others with appropriate serving opportunities.

Music and The Arts: Coordinates and plans special events, approves the ministry budget, oversees the use of special designated funds and provides support to the Director of Music and the music ministry staff members.  Ministry groups include the Chancel Choir, Contemporary Worship Team, Orchestra NAPC, Hand bell Choir and choirs for children and youth.

Nominating:  A representative group of active elders, deacons and members, the team prayerfully discerns nominations for new officer classes each year.

Presbyterian Opportunities and Issues: Encourages elder attendance at Presbytery meetings and involvement with the higher courts of the PCUSA; also monitors the activities of the PCUSA and brings concerns to the attention of the Session.

Property Resources: Provides oversight of the physical assets of the church.  The team provides direction to the ongoing care and maintenance of the church campus.  The team meets of a monthly basis.

Worship: Oversees the Worship Services held at NAPC on Sundays at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 7:00 p.m. and any other special services held throughout the year.

Youth: Prays, plans and prepares for lessons, activities, and retreats for youth in grades six through twelve.

 

Ministry teams are led by church officers, but anyone is welcome to join teams. If you are interested in contributing to any of these ministries, please contact Andrea Henry at andrea@napc.org.