Northlake believes in the transforming power of God. We believe this because we have experienced it. Composed of rich and poor, young and old, black and white, and everything in between, Northlake’s diversity reflects our belief that we serve a God who unites.

We honor God through worship, seek to live like Jesus, and express God’s great love for us by serving others. We also wrestle with tough questions about our world and God, sometimes struggling with each other through the pain that accompanies life. We believe in the power of the gospel to change lives, but you won’t find a perfect group of people claiming to have all the right answers. You will find people who are going to genuinely care about you.

So whether you are a lifelong follower of Christ, or someone who harbors serious doubts about Christian faith, we invite you to explore our community. Let us show you how we have been changed by our loving God.

Every Sunday our church family gathers together to honor God in worship. We recall God’s story through singing, reading scripture, praying, hearing the Word of God preached, sharing communion and making financial gifts.

Our service lasts between 1-1 ½ hours and child care and a children’s worship is provided during this time. You will see people wearing everything from suits to jeans, so wear whatever makes you feel comfortable.

We think participation makes worship real and authentic, so you will see and hear the entire congregation singing, praying and reciting scripture right along with the men and women who lead our service.

We also use this weekly gathering as a time to share communion, which is a special time to remember Jesus’ story. We invite anyone who is a believer in Jesus to participate. We also take this time to give our own financial gifts through public contributions. Unlike communion, this time is for our members, not our guests. We place no expectation on our guests to give!

Northlake Church of Christ is a congregation within the Stone-Campbell family of churches. Because of this, we highly value historic commitments to the authority of Scripture, the centrality of the gospel, and the pursuit of Christian unity. In our pursuit of Christian unity we affirm with other Christian traditions this historic expression of the Christian faith.

We believe in one God who communicates Himself in three distinct persons to humankind.

We believe in the Father who creates the heavens and the earth.

We believe in Jesus, God’s Son, who became flesh and lived on earth with humanity. We believe in his ministry, life, death, and resurrection to new life. We believe that all who place their trust in Him also participate in this new life—now and for all eternity. We believe that Jesus is coming again to judge all peoples.

We believe in the Holy Spirit who lives within the people of God.

We believe in the one, universal church which practices baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe the church is God’s expression of love to the world through proclamation, community building, and service.

Ministers

Ike Reeser
Minister
ike@northlake.org

How do you observe people finding God at Northlake?
Typically, the missing piece for development in our spiritual lives is learning to be a servant, which Jesus clearly says is our role in the Kingdom of God. I like how Northlake has embraced servanthood as part of the true job description of each person in the Body of Christ. We all struggle with living this out; it goes against the grain of our culture. At Northlake, we know we all struggle with selfishness and greed and with the huge difficulty of caring for the weak, oppressed, sick, and lonely. This tension inspires me to keep pressing forward with my own journey of faith and with the ministries I lead.

Ike first came to Northlake in 1985 and currently serves in the areas of Children’s Ministry, Servanthood Development, Ministry Organization, Small Groups, and Building and Grounds Maintenance.  Ike and his wife Gwyn have three children: Paul who works in the Refugee Community in Clarkston, and Isaac and Allie who are college students in Nashville.

Shawn Duncan
Minister
shawn@northlake.org

What do you find exciting and hopeful about Northlake?
Northlake has made a decision to honor the Spirit’s gift in people, no matter their gender, race, or age. It’s exciting to see a church welcome my sisters in Christ to leadership roles within ministries, and I see a greater movement toward diversity – racially and generationally.  It’s important to attend a church where there are people much younger, and much older, than me, where our similarities and differences are celebrated.  The Kingdom of God is a place for all nations, all ages, all people, and I am excited that Northlake seeks to embrace God’s vision of inclusion.

Shawn is the grateful husband of Holly and doting father of their two sons, Lucas and Julian. Shawn completed an M.Div at Lipscomb University in 2006 and is currently working on a D.Min at Columbia Theological Seminary in Christian Spirituality. Shawn enjoys backpacking through the hills of Tennessee and Georgia, but is most passionate about teaching and preaching on issues of spiritual formation and social justice. You can follow Shawn online at his blog and on Facebook.

Doris Clark
Minister
doris@northlake.org

Why might Northlake be a place where a person could find hope?
Northlake is good at comforting and supporting people in their time of need.  I know this because the church has done this for me. This generous church family walks beside of people as it ministers to them through Care Teams, GriefShare, FriendSpeak, NET Works, Mission PREDISAN and so many other ways. These ministries bring hope to others in Jesus’ name.  I believe we are learning that as we experience God’s grace we must share God’s grace. God has forgiven me and His compelling love helps me to forgive and love others. This faith brings peace and hope into my heart, and I believe God can do the same for you.

Doris returned to Northlake in 2007 after spending over 20 years leading Predisan, a medical mission in Eastern Honduras, that she founded with her late husband, Robert. She has two grown children, Robert and Kendra, and currently serves in Care Ministry at Northlake while continuing a supportive role with Predisan.

Elders
The Northlake Elders serve the congregation by providing oversight to the church’s life and ministry, offering pastoral care, and through their own varied ministries. Northlake Elders are selected by the congregation through an affirmation process every three years.  You may contact them by sending an email to elders@northlake.org or call the church office at (770) 414-8717.

Pat Graham

Ralph McCluggage

Brent Wiseman

Jerry Hardiman

Joe Page

Dave Holland

Joe Robling

Northlake Church of Christ started as the Decatur Church of Christ in 1958 as a church planting effort of the Druid Hills Church of Christ. The founding members believed church should be a family of God’s people, and they sought to create a church where people from different backgrounds were welcome to worship.

With over fifty years of history, the Decatur-Northlake congregation has been involved in many notable ministries. Early on, the church developed a focus in two areas: Providing subsidized, senior housing, resulting in the opening of  Christian Towers and Gwinnett Christian Towers, and medical mission work, which evolved into Mission Predisan in Catacamas, Honduras.

In 1995, the Decatur Church of Christ moved to Tucker, Georgia and changed its name to Northlake Church of Christ. Northlake’s campus sits in one of the most ethnically and economically diverse areas in the country, including young professionals, retirees, and families from almost every socioeconomic layer.

Within two miles of Northlake are some of the most important refugee centers in the country.  So at Northlake you might see faces from Somalia, Burundi, Sudan, and Bhutan, and many of our current local ministries focus on helping these immigrants adapt to their new lives in our community.

Even after five decades of service and ministry in the Decatur-Tucker area, Northlake is excited and energized about the future. Many founding members of the Decatur Church still worship and serve at Northlake, and the new faces among us add passion to ministries in our community and around the world.

Our hope is that you will come and see how we are continuing our legacy of faithfully following God as we honor His faithfulness and trust Him to provide in the decades to come.