Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about Buckhead Church.

When are your services?

Sundays at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.
Waumba Land (preschool), UpStreet (K–5th grades), and Transit (6th–8th grades) are offered at all services.

Who is the lead pastor of Buckhead Church?

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. Joel Thomas is the lead pastor of Buckhead Church (BC) and leads the staff in its day-to-day operations and in discerning the ministry needs of those who attend BC and those who live in the community. 

Why doesn't Buckhead Church have Sunday school?

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. Group members study God’s Word together and are in a small enough environment to discuss the issues and challenges of life. 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 one another. Learn more about Community Groups.

What is the deal with the video sermon? Will you ever have a live local preacher on Sundays?

We often use video as a means to bring relevant messages to our congregation. As long as the video technique is 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.

North Point Ministries has been using the combination of video sermons and local ministry staff preaching since the summer of 2001; so far, we've found this to be quite effective. From time to time, Andy and other communicators will speak live from Buckhead Church.

I heard that Buckhead Church is a nondenominational church. What does nondenominational mean?

It means 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. We clearly state what we believe on our Church Overview page.

Can I take a tour of Buckhead Church?

Our weekday tours (Tuesday–Thursday) are by appointment only. We ask that tour requests are for a minimum of 5 and no more than 15 people. To request a tour, please email [email protected].

Does Buckhead Church have membership?

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.

How do I become a member of the church?

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 Buckhead 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:

How do I become fully engaged here?

We want to be a church where unchurched people love to attend and engage. In order to be that kind of church, we need the help of those who share our passion for creating environments where the unchurched can be inspired to follow Jesus. You can engage in the life of the church by doing four things:

Why don't you have traditional membership?

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 Buckhead Church 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.

What about leadership?

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.

How do I become a leader? What are the prerequisites?

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.

What if I need a membership confirmation letter for a reference?

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

What about the people who were members?

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.

What about voting?

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