Georgia Megachurch Plants Gwinnett Campus

By Alex Murashko, CP Contributor Wednesday, July 20, 2011

North Point Community Church, one of the largest churches in the country, is launching a fourth satellite campus in the Atlanta area.

Plans to launch a new campus were announced by Pastor Jeff Henderson via webcast Tuesday evening. Henderson said that the newly formed Gwinnett Church will be hosting Sunday evening services at the Gwinnett Center beginning Oct. 2.

Ground breaking for the church on 50 acres of land in Sugar Hill purchased by North Point Ministries has not begun. The rental agreement at the Gwinnett Center is for Sunday evenings through the end of this year. Gwinnett Church leaders will be making decisions about campus growth in the fall, Henderson said.

“Anytime you launch something like this there is a lot of uncertainty. Rather than make decisions now about 2012 we want to watch what God does in the fall, watch what God blesses and then make decisions in October and November for 2012.”

“Our long range plan is a building in Sugar Hill,” he said. Henderson added that completion of church construction on the property will take about three years.

Henderson is the former pastor of North Point Ministries’ Buckhead Church in Atlanta.

North Point Ministries was founded by Pastor Andy Stanley. His weekend messages are simulcast from North Point Community Church in Alpharetta. Other satellite campuses include Browns Bridge Community Church in Cumming and Watermarke Church in Canton.

North Point Community Church has been ranked in recent surveys as one of the most influential churches in America. Weekend attendance for all of its campuses averages 24,000 people. A survey of U.S. pastors in 2010 found Stanley to be the 10th most influential preacher.