Leadership Journal

If ever anyone was destined to lead a big church, it is Andy Stanley. The son of Charles Stanley, Andy grew up with firsthand exposure to his dad's ministry at First Baptist Church of Atlanta.

Early on, it was clear that the younger Stanley had inherited a gift for communicating. After graduating from Dallas Seminary, he served as youth pastor at First Baptist for 10 years and had regular opportunities in the pulpit.

In 1995, Stanley and a handful of others launched North Point Community Church. Unable to find a permanent meeting place for three years, the church met every other Sunday evening at different locations. When the 1996 Olympics came to town, the church couldn't meet for nine weeks because its usual gathering spots were booked. Still, the church grew. In September 1998, North Point's 1,500 attenders moved into an impressive, 110,000-square foot building in Alpharetta, a growing suburb north of Atlanta.

Today, more than 5,000 people attend North Point's two Sunday morning services and another 2,000-plus singles meet on Tuesday nights. LEADERSHIP editors Marshall Shelley and Edward Gilbreath visited North Point to ask Stanley, 41, about preaching to contemporary audiences comprised of both skittish seekers and mature believers.

A casual observer might assume North Point is rather homogeneous. Is it?

From time to time people will say about us, "Everybody's white. Everybody's young." Our church reflects our location.

We aim at two distinct groups: (1) mature believers who are concerned about evangelism, and (2) people who grew up in church but drifted away. We have a lot of people who left the church after high school and during college. Now they're getting married, or they're in their twenties and life is empty, and they're giving church another try.

How conscious are you of the diverse personal situations represented among your listeners on Sunday morning?

I'm very aware. I'm a relational person. When a member introduces me to a visitor and then whispers to me, "You know, he's not a believer" or "This is the guy I've been trying to get here," I find myself preaching with them in mind.

How specifically do you address that person?

I'm not preaching at them, but I feel like I'm sitting at the table with them. It's an invigorating thing for me because I'm partnering with our members in reaching that particular person. They may have spent four or five months trying to get this person here, and what they're saying is, "Andy, here he is. You'd better deliver."

Is your sermon the pivotal event in the service?

Not necessarily. I often tell our people, "The sermon starts in the parking lot. You are the introduction." In other words, if our members haven't created a positive impression and if they haven't been won in our worship, by the time I get up there, our visitors have pretty much determined if they're going to listen or not.

Most people come to church for the first time trying not to like it. They want three excuses why they don't have to go back. So we ...