Tucked into a residential stretch of Chamblee-Tucker Road on the north side of Atlanta, the Embry Hills Church of Christ has shaped the spiritual life of the Embry Hills community for decades. The congregation is known for its steady, classroom-rich approach to Christianity: every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, the building fills with people who have come not only to sing and pray together but to open a Bible and work through it, line by line, with teachers who walk them carefully through books of Scripture. The church runs in two languages - English and Spanish - with a deep bench of home Bible studies that reach into Norcross, Alpharetta, Roswell, and Duluth. Its sermon and class library, free and openly accessible, goes back more than fifty years and now holds thousands of recorded lessons.
A church built on following Jesus
The members of Embry Hills describe themselves simply as Christians seeking to follow Jesus and to pattern their life together after the New Testament. They do not identify with any extra-biblical denominational title and prefer the words "church of Christ" - the same name that appears repeatedly on the pages of the New Testament. Their stated goal is to please God by honoring the plan and pattern laid out for the local church, drawing on 1 Timothy 3:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and Colossians 3:17 as guiding verses.
The church's tone is unmistakably warm. Visitors are welcomed into any gathering - whether worship or Bible class - and the congregation describes itself as "a family full of grace, forgiveness, and support." Members openly acknowledge they are not perfect people. They come from different backgrounds and bring different talents, but they say they are united by a common aim to become more like Jesus.
Worship at Embry Hills is described as both joyful and respectful. In keeping with Jesus' words in John 4 about worshipping "in spirit and truth," the services follow the New Testament pattern of praying, singing, teaching, giving, and sharing the Lord's Supper together. Guests are welcome to participate freely in every part of the service and are reminded that they are not expected to contribute money.
Sunday and Wednesday: the weekly rhythm
Three times on Sunday and once on Wednesday, the doors open at 3250 Chamblee-Tucker Road.
- Sunday, 9 AM - Bible study. Classes meet for every age group, from one-year-olds through adults. Adult classes typically draw around thirty people and move through a new book or topic roughly every six weeks.
- Sunday, 10 AM - Morning worship. The congregation gathers for singing, prayer, a sermon, the Lord's Supper, and giving.
- Sunday, 5 PM - Evening worship. A second, shorter service in the same pattern as the morning gathering.
- Wednesday, 7 PM - Bible study. A midweek gathering centered on a single, extended study of Scripture for adults, while other classes run for other age groups at the same hour.
Those who cannot attend in person can follow along through a livestream. Recordings of nearly every Sunday sermon, Wednesday Bible class, and Spanish-language lesson are kept in an online archive that stretches all the way back to 1973.
What a first-time visitor can expect
First-time guests are invited to come to any of the four weekly services. The congregation explicitly notes that visitors are not expected to give money, and they are not put on the spot. A short visitor form is available for those who want to leave contact information or share what brought them.
Dress at Embry Hills is the everyday dress of suburban Georgia - the building sees everything from jeans and sneakers to dress shirts and ties. The atmosphere is conversational before and after services, with members greeting one another and making room for newcomers. Bibles are central to every gathering, and the church is happy to provide one for anyone who does not bring their own.
Bible classes for every age
Bible classes are the heartbeat of the Embry Hills week. The children's program is tailored by age group, beginning with one-year-olds and moving up through Pre-K, elementary, middle school, high school, and college-aged students. The children's curriculum follows an annual plan that alternates between the Old and New Testaments, walking students from Creation through the history of Israel and into the life of Jesus and the early church. The goal, the children's ministry says, is to make each child feel comfortable, cared for, and excited to learn each week.
Teenagers meet as part of a wider youth ministry that gathers for an annual Youth Forum, typically held over a Friday and Saturday in early August. The 2025 Youth Forum, for example, was titled "How to Approach the Bible" and featured four lessons - What the Bible Is (and Isn't), Making Biblical Observations, Making Biblical Interpretations, and Drawing Biblical Applications - led by Dustin Merkle. Friday night was open to all ages, and the Saturday sessions were designed for rising sixth graders through college students.
College-aged students have their own dedicated class during the Sunday morning Bible study hour and are encouraged to participate in the broader adult classes as they grow in the faith.
Adult classes are where the depth of the Embry Hills program becomes most visible. On any given Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, several different adult classes run at the same time, each one working through its own book of the Bible. The current rotation, for example, includes classes on the Book of Daniel (taught by Phillip Shumake and Glenn Dobbs in the auditorium), the Book of Hebrews (Brigham Eubanks and Michael Peters in Room 12), and 1 & 2 Samuel (Danny Haynes and Marty Broadwell in Room 13). In Spanish, Bill Sanchez and Alvaro Matias lead Vidas de Los Reyes (Lives of the Kings) in Room 11. Adult classes rotate to a new book roughly every six weeks, so the focus changes regularly across the year.
The Spanish-language ministry
Spanish-speaking members are a core part of the Embry Hills community, and the church takes seriously the call to make the same Bible teaching available in Spanish. A full set of parallel resources exists in Spanish, including:
- Spanish-language Sunday sermons (Sermones en Español) preached in Spanish.
- Interpreted recordings (Sermones Interpretados) of every English Sunday morning and evening sermon, translated and posted alongside the originals so that Spanish speakers can follow the same sermon in their own language.
- Bilingual sermons (sermones marcados "bilingüe") delivered in both languages.
- Spanish Bible classes (Clases Bíblicas) on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, taught by Matt LaGrone, Bill Sanchez, Alvaro Matias, Daniel Mantilla, Brigham Eubanks, Roger Polanco, Oscar Rodriguez, and others. Past and current Spanish studies include Gálatas y Colosenses, Sermones en Hechos (a walk through the sermons in Acts), Vidas de Los Reyes, Cómo leer los profetas, and Hechos 1-12.
- A library of study guides in Spanish that mirrors the English set.
The Spanish ministry runs an Estudió Bíblico en Español twice a month, meeting in homes around the Doraville area on alternate Friday evenings at 8 PM. There is also a Spanish-language Bible study online via Zoom on alternate Saturday mornings at 8 AM, currently working through the letter to the Romans. Contact for the in-person Spanish study goes through Brigham Eubanks or Alvaro Matias; the online study goes through Oscar Rodriguez.
Bible studies across the Atlanta area
Beyond the building on Chamblee-Tucker Road, Embry Hills supports a network of small Bible studies that meet in homes, coffee shops, and restaurants across metro Atlanta. These are organized through the Join a Study page, with RSVPs handled through Meetup and direct phone contact.
The studies cover different formats and audiences:
- Men and women, Peachtree Corners / Norcross. A weekly study of the book of James on Tuesday evenings at 7 PM at Panera Bread on Holcomb Bridge Road, taught by Mike Krek.
- Men and women, Duluth. A weekly study of the Gospel of Mark on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 PM at White Windmill Coffee and Bakery on Duluth Highway, led by Bill Sanchez and Colton Hamlett.
- Men and women, Alpharetta. A monthly "Questions to God" study on the last Friday of each month at 7 PM, hosted in the home of Oscar Rodriguez.
- Men and women, Roswell. A monthly study on various topics on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM, hosted by Rod and Paula Hovater in their home pavilion, with William Christian and Phillip Shumake as regular teachers.
- Women only, Roswell. A weekly Thursday morning study at 10:30 AM titled "God, Pass By Me" - a study of the names of God - led by Casey Mellor and Janna Shannon at Casey's home.
- Men only, Peachtree Corners / Norcross. A weekly Friday morning study at 7 AM titled "Case Studies: Leading Like Jesus," led by Phillip Shumake and a rotation of other men.
- Personal one-on-one studies. Anyone who wants to be studied with individually - in a home or a public location, at a time that works for them - can request a personal Bible study. One such series, "Battles in My Mind," walks through three lessons on surveying the battlefield, God's power to demolish strongholds, and the heart of the matter.
A library of free study guides
Embry Hills maintains a working library of more than two hundred free study guides, written by the church's own teachers and made available for anyone to download. The guides are organized by category (Old Testament textual, New Testament textual, topical, character study, Christian living, and home and family) and are designed both to follow along with the in-person classes and to support personal study through the week. Past studies that have produced published guides include Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther and Ruth, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Minor Prophets, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation.
Topical guides cover themes such as the names of God, the church, the family, prayer, evangelism, marriage, parenting, the Christian and the workplace, science and belief in God, the case for Christ, evidence for Christianity, denominational distinctives, the history of Christianity in America, and the role of the Holy Spirit. Each guide lists the teachers who wrote or taught it, the date of the class, and the room or location where it was held, giving the library the feel of a working archive rather than a finished publication.
Worship, leadership, and the annual theme
Worship at Embry Hills is led by a team of evangelists who preach and teach in rotation. The team currently includes Bill Sanchez, Phillip Shumake, Russ LaGrone, Dustin Merkle, Colton Hamlett, and a wider bench of preachers and Bible class teachers. Oversight of the congregation is provided by a group of elders who shepherd the flock, supported by deacons who lead acts of service. Members themselves play a part in the work of the church.
Each year the church adopts an annual theme that shapes the sermons, classes, and devotional reading across the program. The current theme, in place from 2026 through 2027, is "Growing in Grace + Knowledge," drawn from 2 Peter 3:18: "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." The aim of the year is to grasp both the joy and the challenge of Peter's call for growth, to help one another make real changes that lead to greater maturity, to grow in discernment when facing deceptive and worldly dangers, and to live faithfully and peacefully in expectation of Christ's return. The monthly lessons for the year move through the nature of Christ, life and godliness, diligence, confidence, false teachers, worldly desires, hope, perseverance, and a closing focus on glorifying God.
Past themes preserved on the church's record include "I Am Not Ashamed" (a study of Romans, 2025-2026), "Rooted and Grounded" (a study of Ephesians 3:14-19, 2024-2025), "Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:1-2, 2023-2024), "Vessels for Honor" (2 Timothy 2:21, 2022-2023), "Love One Another" (John 13:34-35, 2021-2022), "Be Steadfast, Immovable, Always Abounding" (1 Corinthians 15:58, 2020-2021), "To God Be the Glory" (1 Corinthians 10:31, 2019-2020), "Free in Christ" (Galatians 5:1, 2018-2019), "Building on the Rock" (Ephesians 2:19-22, 2017-2018), "Walk as Children of Light" (Ephesians 5:8-14, 2016-2017), and "Sharing the Hope That Is in Us" (1 Peter 3:14-15, 2015).
Becoming a Christian
The church teaches that a person becomes a Christian by hearing the gospel, believing that Jesus is the Son of God, repenting of sin, confessing that faith, and being baptized. The script for this is taken directly from the book of Acts: Acts 10:33 (hear), Acts 8:12 (believe), Acts 11:18 (repent), Acts 8:37 (confess), and Acts 22:16 (baptism). Anyone interested in walking through these steps can request a free, one-on-one Bible study, scheduled at a time and place that works for them.
First steps for those just starting to explore faith are also spelled out: read the Bible (Matthew is suggested as a starting point if you are new), pray, and attend church regularly. The church offers to provide a Bible to anyone who needs one.
Reaching the church
The church building is at 3250 Chamblee-Tucker Road in the Embry Hills neighborhood of Atlanta, with a mailing address of PO Box 941095, Atlanta, GA 31141. The phone number is (770) 455-8412. The church maintains a presence on Facebook and publishes its sermons and Bible classes as a podcast. Visitors who want to be contacted after their first visit can fill out a digital visitor form.
A household of classrooms
What makes Embry Hills distinctive is not a single program but the sheer scale of its ongoing teaching. The church runs multiple adult classes simultaneously on Sunday and Wednesday, plus dedicated classes for every age of child and teenager, plus the full Spanish-language track, plus a network of home studies that reach across the northern suburbs, plus an archive of lessons that stretches back over fifty years. For someone looking for a church where the Bible is opened, read, discussed, and applied week after week - in the language they think in - the doors are open at 3250 Chamblee-Tucker Road, three times on Sunday and once on Wednesday, every week of the year.