Frequently Asked Questions

You can stream our services every Sunday at 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. or watch on demand starting at 1:00 p.m. Plus, check out online content for the whole family as well other resources on our Stay Connected page.

Andy Stanley is the founder and senior pastor of North Point Ministries, which has eight churches in the Atlanta area: Browns Bridge Church, Buckhead Church, Decatur City Church, East Cobb Church, Gwinnett Church, Hamilton Mill Church, North Point Community Church, and Woodstock City Church. Steven Lee is the lead pastor and leads the staff of Decatur City Church in its day-to-day operations and in discerning the ministry needs of those who attend Decatur City and those who live in the community.

Instead of providing adult Sunday school classes on Sunday mornings in the church building, we provide small group environments, called Community Groups, that meet at a variety of times during the week in people’s homes. We believe the small group is the best place for sustained life change to occur. In a small group, people study God’s Word together and are in a small enough environment to discuss the issues and challenges of life. It’s also where they pray and care for one another and where they are missed if they don’t show up.

Community Groups are made up of five to six couples or five to eight individuals of the same gender. They are the places where people are personally encouraged and challenged in their relationships with God and each other.

We often use video as a means to bring relevant messages to our congregation. As long as the video technique is meaningful and helpful in our mission to inspire people to follow Jesus, we will continue to use video messages for preaching and a local ministry staff for ministry. If we determine another technique is more relevant and helpful in accomplishing our mission, we will adopt it.

We have been using the combination of video sermons and local ministry staff preaching since the summer of 2001, and so far have found them to be quite effective. From time to time, Andy and other communicators will speak live from Decatur City Church.

It means that we are not affiliated with a denomination, such as Baptist, Methodist, etc. In organizing this church, our desire was to be an attractive environment for those who do not regularly attend church. We feel that denominational titles mean more to people who already attend church than to people who don’t. We have discovered that there are more disadvantages to a denominational title than there are advantages.

The moment you walk through the doors, you belong here and can consider this your church home. Since we don’t have traditional membership, you won’t be able to “join” the church as a “member,” but we hope you become fully engaged in the life and mission of the church. There are four ways to reach full engagement: through serving on a ministry team, connecting in a group, financially supporting the church, and inviting people to church. Those who are fully engaged with us are considered our members.

If you're applying for a leadership position (including a leader, coach, mentor, or captain role), please contact us or take a look at the additional questions below.

We’re glad you’re interested in engaging in the life of our church. We don’t have traditional membership in the sense that you “join the church,” but we’d love to help you get connected. Our hope is for Decatur City Church to be a place where you can walk through the doors, call it your church home, and begin to get connected. Those who are fully engaged with us are considered our members. We describe full engagement as:

• Connecting in a group.
• Serving on a team.
• Supporting the church financially.
• Inviting friends to church.

Traditionally, membership has been known to represent joining a church, calling it your church home, and/or taking the first step toward involvement and volunteering. Yet the word “membership” has also carried a lot of baggage and has become an unnecessary barrier to involvement for some of our attendees.

Since Decatur City began, we have historically viewed membership as more of a dynamic partnership than a static decision, and so full engagement is a key prerequisite to becoming a member.

At a leadership level, it’s important that we’re all aligned around our vision, mission, and statement of faith. Because we don’t have traditional membership, we ask that anyone interested in entering into leadership meet specific prerequisites. Each leadership application will include questions around the person’s spiritual background, leadership background, and, for many ministries, a certified background check.

If you’re interested in leadership, please begin by looking through our website to learn about the different ministry areas in which you can lead or become involved. Once you’re ready, start the application here. Each ministry will have specific requirements for its leadership positions. These requirements will be listed on a landing page prior to beginning the application. Additionally, all ministry leadership applications will require that an applicant:

• Has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Has been baptized after accepting Jesus as their Savior.
• Has a willingness to be held accountable to their church leadership and ministry agreement regarding matters concerning their relationship with God and others.

Once you submit your application, you’ll hear from a ministry team representative about next steps.

We are able to provide a confirmation letter based on your involvement. Please contact us for more details.

Anyone who became a member before September 1, 2015, will remain in our database as such. Moving forward, if you are fully engaged with us, please consider yourself a member.

Anyone with an existing membership status and everyone who has engaged fully at some time in the two years preceding the vote will be invited to participate in that specific vote.