From a Burden to a Building on North Avenue
The congregation at North Avenue Church of God traces its roots to the 1930s, when a woman named Emma Burgess began teaching disadvantaged children of Battle Creek about Jesus. Burgess had been attending Capital Avenue Church of God, but she felt pulled toward the children of her city and the families connected to them. Her Christian witness, her teaching, and her loving service eventually reached not only the children but their parents as well.
For almost thirty years, the small group she had gathered struggled to find a stable location and to meet weekly expenses. In the late 1950s, the congregation asked retired pastors Lee and Dorothy Sickal to share their vision and ministry experience. Pastor Sickal found land on North Avenue, and the members paid for it in a single year. In 1961, they built their first church and took on the name that still identifies them today: North Avenue Church of God.
Since that time, a succession of pastors has led the congregation to expand its facilities roughly once a decade: a new sanctuary in the 1970s, an education and day care facility in the 1980s, a youth center in the 1990s, and a gym, commercial kitchen, and additional classrooms in 2003. The story the church tells of itself emphasizes a heritage of commitment and courage, of faith and fortitude, and of sacrifice and service, and invites newcomers to journey with them as they build a legacy of faithfulness for those who follow.
A Heritage Rooted in the Church of God (Anderson)
North Avenue belongs to the Church of God movement that began in 1881, when Daniel S. Warner and several associates set out to restore unity and holiness to the church. They wanted to forsake denominational hierarchies and formal creeds, trusting solely in the Holy Spirit as their overseer and the Bible as their statement of belief. Although the movement shares the holiness commitment of several Church of God bodies rooted in the nineteenth century holiness revival in Tennessee and the Carolinas, it is not historically related to those groups and does not generally emphasize the charismatic gift of speaking in tongues.
Today the Church of God has more than 7,300 congregations worldwide, with administrative offices for the United States in Anderson, Indiana. Each congregation is autonomous and congregational in its government. Generally accepted teachings, deeply influenced by Wesleyan theology and Pietism, include the divine inspiration of Scripture, the forgiveness of sin through the atonement of Jesus Christ, the experience of holiness, the personal return of Christ, the kingdom of God as established here and now, the resurrection of the dead, and a final judgment.
The church practices three ordinances without treating any of them as mandatory conditions of Christian experience or fellowship: baptism by immersion as a witness to the new believer's regeneration in Christ, the Lord's Supper as a reminder of the grace experienced in the believer's life, and foot washing in acknowledgment of the servant ministry all Christians owe to each other and to the world. There is no formal membership roll; individuals are considered members on the basis of personal experience and conduct that supports their conversion.
Sunday Mornings on North Avenue
Sunday morning worship at North Avenue begins at 10:00 a.m. and lasts about an hour, give or take. The gathering takes place in the main worship center, and the dress code is described as one step up from pajamas, with jeans and what the church cheerfully calls super rad t-shirts counted as perfect. Visitors are greeted at the front door and pointed toward the welcome center just inside, where volunteers answer questions about where everything is.
Children from birth through fifth grade are invited to North Kids during the same 10:00 hour. Parents who prefer to keep younger children with them in the worship center are welcome to do so. Those who want to drop children off are encouraged to arrive ten to fifteen minutes early to allow time for check-in.
For those unable to attend in person, Sunday gatherings and other smaller services are livestreamed whenever the cameras are on, with chat available for those watching from home. Past services are archived in a podcast-style library so that anyone who missed a week can catch up on audio or video.
North Kids: Learn, Love, Live
The children's ministry at North Avenue operates under the motto Learn. Love. Live. Its stated goals are a growing relationship with Jesus, a working knowledge of the Bible, parents who feel safe dropping off their kids, and kids who want to come back every week, all while having a ton of fun. Children learn about Jesus, learn to love others, and learn to live out their faith.
On Sunday mornings, North Kids welcomes children from birth through sixth grade during the 10:00 worship gathering. On Wednesday nights during the school year, AWANA clubs meet for kids ages three through fifth grade from 5:45 to 7:30 p.m. AWANA runs from September through April, costs fifteen dollars per child (which covers any resources needed for class), and is open to all kids in the age range. A Wednesday supper is served at 4:50 p.m. for anyone in the church family, with a suggested donation of one dollar per person.
The children's ministry also maintains its own social presence, with an Instagram account and a Facebook page set up under the name Ignition Kids Ministries.
North Students: Sharpen, Grow, Go
North Students covers middle school and high school students in grades seven through twelve. Its three-word mission is Sharpen. Grow. Go. The ministry seeks to provide a safe place for students to develop a relationship with God and with one another, with the conviction that they are there to change the world.
Students meet every Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for games, worship, and small groups. The group uses the verse Let all that you do be done in love from 1 Corinthians 16:14 as a guiding text. Their stated aims are to sharpen one another, grow in faith, and go make a difference.
Parents of students are not left to figure things out on their own. The student ministry page gathers downloadable resources on topics like Gamer Kids, Dealing with Guilt, Student Questions, a conversation starter kit, ideas for parent-initiated conversations, guides for leading family devotions, and a Be Present challenge. The church's framing of these tools, calling it being a ninja but with words, reflects the conversational, accessible tone the ministry takes with families.
Adults: Compass Groups and Mentorships
Learning and growing is not just for kids at North Avenue. The adult ministries include Compass Groups, which the church describes as small gatherings aimed at helping adults find a little direction in life. A searchable Compass Group finder lets visitors look for a group and request to join one that fits their schedule or stage of life.
Lead Pastor Jeff Eckman teaches during the worship experiences, and the church also offers one-on-one mentorships for adults who want to grow in a more personal setting. Bible studies for everyone meet on Wednesday nights at 6:00 p.m., running alongside the youth and children's programs so that the whole church family can be present at the building on the same evening.
Going Outside the Walls
The church's volunteer ministries begin with the conviction that the church is a people, not a building, and that the people should be out in the community helping and reaching out with the love of Jesus. North Avenue tries to meet the needs of people both inside and outside its own congregation through several ongoing efforts.
The homeless ministry reaches out to those without stable housing in the Battle Creek area. The food pantry provides groceries to families in need. The RAK Team (Random Acts of Kindness) looks for small, practical ways to serve neighbors, including the occasional cookie delivery. The Empty the Pew Project is another avenue for getting members out into the community. Office hours run Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for those who want to plug into one of these efforts.
A Building Paid Off, A Vision Ahead
In 2021 the church launched a campaign called Fulfilling the Vision, structured around a one-time offering on October 2, 2022. The goal was to pay off the mortgage on the church building so that money previously committed to debt service could be redirected toward ministry. The mortgage balance stood at just over $423,714 as of September 30, and the church had set a goal of $400,000, planning to use reserve funds to cover the rest.
The offering came in at $415,559.95, and with pledges not yet fulfilled the total reached $469,429.90, exceeding the goal by more than $69,000 and the loan payoff by more than $45,000. Pastor Jeff's letter to the congregation described the moment as a testimony to what God can do through a unified church, and the mortgage was burned in a celebration that followed. The church now points to Ephesians 1:3 as it plans how to use the freed-up resources to impact Battle Creek with the gospel.
What North Avenue Believes
The church's stated core values cluster around ten ideas: the Bible as the authoritative Word of God and guide for faith and practice; Christ as Savior, Lord, and Head of the Church; love for God and others at the heart of all they do; one unified Church that transcends man-made boundaries; the command to be and to make disciples; a call to holiness understood as actively becoming more like Christ; servant leadership modeled after Jesus; worship of God both corporately and individually; the centrality of prayer; and the Bible as their rule of faith.
Salvation is the criterion for membership at North Avenue. The church teaches that when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, God places that person in the church, so congregational leaders do not vote on who shall be received as members. Parent-child dedication is offered in public worship as a way for parents to present their infants or children for a time of dedication, in keeping with Jesus' words in Matthew 19:14. The mission statement sums up the work in three phrases: Grow in Faith, Serve People, Together.
Getting Connected
The staff that anchors the work at North Avenue includes Lead Pastor Jeff Eckman, Executive Pastor Mary Hirakis, Student and Children's Pastor Brian Spitters, Creative Director Jenny Salas, and Associate Pastor Pat Gilbert. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and anyone who would like to speak with a pastor is encouraged to email or call first so someone can plan to be in the office.
The church sits at 1079 North Avenue in Battle Creek. Sunday gatherings are at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday nights bring supper at 4:50 p.m., Elevate student ministry at 5:30 p.m., AWANA at 5:45 p.m., and Bible studies at 6:00 p.m. Services are livestreamed online, past sermons are available in audio and video formats, and giving is accepted in person, by text message, online, and through the church's mobile app.