FAQ

As God continued to bless North Point Ministries in Alpharetta, Georgia, the leadership began to sense God leading them to extend their influence to other communities. This began with the establishment of campuses in the greater Atlanta area and grew to include the idea of strategic partnerships. During this same time, a small group of people from the Athens area were praying for a relevant place to invite their non-Christian friends.

In the spring of 2004, Sean Seay—North Point’s Director of Equipping at the time—felt led to investigate the Athens area. For the previous 6 years, Sean and his wife Bonnie had prayed about the idea of planting a church. After spending time in Athens exploring the feasibility of a new church, they became convinced of God’s leadership in this direction. They identified four families committed to the mission.

In the fall of 2004, Athens Church held informational meetings and strategic service trainings to build leadership for the launch. The first service was held on January 23, 2005. With God’s clear leadership thus far, we are excited to see what He decides to do through Athens Church to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Click here to watch a dynamic media piece summarizing the first 10 years at Athens Church.

About the Scriptures

We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Spirit of God to write the very words of Scripture. Therefore, we believe the Bible is without error.

About God

We believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus Christ is the second member of the Trinity (the Son of God) who became flesh to reveal God to man and to become the Savior of the lost world.

About Mankind

We believe that mankind was created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him but became alienated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, man is incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through his own effort alone.

About Salvation

We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, salvation occurs only when people place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin.

About the Christian Life

We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for himself. By obedience to the Word of God and daily yielding to the Spirit of God, every believer should mature and be conformed to the image of Christ.

About the Church

We believe that the church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the head. The members of the church are those who have trusted by faith the finished work of Christ. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving Him and by making Him known to the lost world.

Our Mission

Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our Vision

Our vision is to create a church that unchurched people love to attend.

Our Values

As an organization, we are choosing to value each of these areas, which are best measured by asking these questions, as we pursue our mission:

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

God has spoken to us through the Bible and we recognize it as the final authority for our lives.

Are your priorities consistent with Scripture?

INTIMACY WITH GOD

God desires an intimate relationship with each of us.

Is your relationship with God growing?

RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTS

Every environment should be designed to effectively connect with its target audience.

Are your environments appealing, engaging, and helpful?

RELATIONAL EVANGELISM

God’s message of forgiveness through Christ is most effectively conveyed within the context of personal relationships.

In whom are you investing?

AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY

Accountability, belonging, care, and spiritual growth happen best with relationally-connected believers.

Are you in a community group?

STRATEGIC SERVICE

Our spiritual gifts have maximum impact when exercised in support of our strategy.

Where are you serving?

INTENTIONAL APPRENTICING

We are responsible to pass along to others the knowledge, skills, and opportunities that have been entrusted to us.

Who are you apprenticing?

In organizing this church, our foremost desire was to be an attractive, relevant environment for those who do not regularly attend church. For the most part, our feeling is that denominational titles mean more to people already involved in church than it does to others in our culture. For this reason, we have chosen not to affiliate ourselves with any particular denomination.

The mission of Athens Church is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We feel this growth is best sustained in a small group environment. There are several reasons why we have chosen Community Groups as our primary relational structure. First, we’ve found that meeting in a home is a safe, predictable environment where it’s more difficult for participants to slip through the cracks. True accountability can be reached with a consistent group of people in a community group. Second, not having adult Sunday School allows attenders to participate in strategic service on Sundays. Lastly, people are able to benefit from the encouragement and accountability of a small group while still participating in our invest-and-invite evangelism strategy. For more information about Community Groups, please contact our Director of Community, Andy Lowry.

Athens Church welcomes people from all walks of life, and our heart for the college student is no different. We believe the best thing we can do for the college students of Athens is to create a local church full of strong families and individuals who are passionately pursuing God. Presently, we are inviting college students—along with all our attenders—to engage fully with our mission by inviting people to attend on a Sunday with them, through strategic service, contributing toward our mission, and joining a Community Group. For more information on how we serve our student population, click here.

View our preferred counseling service providers.

Childcare Reimbursement Form

Do you have a cause for celebration? Want to share a win you saw? Or maybe just tell us an awesome story you overheard? It doesn't matter which one, we want to hear it! Just write out your celebration, win, or story (CWS, for short) using the form here. Be sure to fill in your name and contact info so our team can follow up and celebrate with you, too. Thanks for helping us celebrate all that God is doing in, through, and around Athens Church!

Wanting an Athens Church pastor to officiate?

If you’re interested in having an Athens Church pastor officiate your wedding, please submit a request here and our team will follow up with you after you complete. A request is not a guarantee and is subject to pastor availability.

Facility Request Application

If you’re interested in having your event at Athens Church, please submit a request here and our team will follow up with you after you complete. Costs and fees vary based on environment. A request is not a guarantee and is subject to facility availability.

To donate stock to Athens Church, please click here.

If your question has not been answered, please don’t hesitate to contact us.