Why ANOTHER Church?
Really? Another church? What's the point?
There are more than a thousand churches in the Austin area. You pass dozens of them every day. All kinds - from tiny ones to mega-churches, from your Grandma's church to the ones that try too hard to be trendy.
So, with plenty of churches to go around...
... why is 85% of our community not going to church?
And if nobody's going to church, why should we even bother to start another one?
Lots of us (maybe even you) have said things like ...
I don't like church.
I don't consider church relevant to my life.
I don't feel accepted or comfortable around "church people".
We wanted to create a church for people who don't like church.
Church needs to be about clear communication that is relevant to daily life. A place where people participate not out of obligation, but excitement. A place that is about what God wants for everyone - growing personal relationships with Jesus Christ, not religion. A place that partners with families to positively influence their kids.
Church needs change.
It needs to be 'real life'. A place that is easy and comfortable to invite friends to. A place for ALL people - not just "church people". A place where our Sunday clothes are the same as our everyday clothes - jeans and T-shirts. And, oh yeah, a place where the music rocks!
The beauty of Northpoint is its simplicity. Recognizing that most people don't have a problem so much with God as they do with church, we've cleared away the clutter so that we can effectively lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
We believe this happens best when people are connected in a community. For us, community happens in small groups. Everything we do as a church is designed to help people get connected into groups. It makes sense when you think about it - your life already revolves around groups that share some sort of identity or purpose, whether it be teammates, coworkers, family, friends or neighbors.
The more you look around, the more you notice that life happens in groups.
If this is true, why shouldn't we make our goal the same when it comes to helping people understand who God is and how to deepen their relationship with him?
