Northside Church sits on Houze Road in Roswell, Georgia, where it has been welcoming neighbors since 1963. The congregation describes itself as an intentional faith-family, neither a traditional church nor a contemporary one, but a community of everyday people pursuing a relationship with Jesus and with one another. Twice each Sunday morning the auditorium fills with families from Roswell, Alpharetta, Milton, Woodstock, and the wider north Atlanta suburbs, and the rest of the week the campus hums with classes, groups, and mission work that stretches across the country and around the world.
Two Sunday Gatherings on Houze Road
Services meet at 9:30 am and 11:00 am in the Main Building auditorium at 11125 Houze Road. Both services are identical in format and feature the full Northside worship band, contemporary music that mixes newer songs with modern arrangements of older hymns, a roughly 35-minute verse-by-verse sermon, and a closing response time that often includes communion at the end of a sermon series. Visitors can livestream either service on the church's Facebook page. Casual attire is the norm; most attenders wear jeans or business casual, and a warm coffee from the lobby bar is a common first stop before finding a seat.
The lobby greeters, ushers, and parking team keep the morning moving, and a Connect Center staffed by friendly volunteers answers questions and helps newcomers take next steps. Members give through baskets passed during the music, while guests are free to pass the basket along. The atmosphere is described by the church itself as easy-going, with a steady stream of people greeting one another before and after the service rather than rushing for the door.
Kidside: Discipleship from the Nursery to Preteens
Children from newborn through fifth grade are welcomed into Kidside, the church's discipleship ministry for the next generation. Check-in takes place at the large Kidside desk in the lobby, where a computerized system matches each child with the right classroom. Every volunteer working with children has passed a full background check. Preschoolers and infants meet downstairs while elementary-age children meet upstairs.
Two-year-olds through four-year-olds are introduced to foundational Bible stories through interactive storytelling, engaging visuals, and music, learning worship and prayer alongside trained leaders. Kindergarten through fourth grade follow The Gospel Project curriculum, a chronological journey through the Bible with a strong gospel-centered emphasis. Each hour begins with a structured gathering in the Kidside Theatre for worship, games, and a lesson video, then breaks into grade-specific small groups for deeper discussion.
Fifth graders attend a special class called The Rise, designed for preteens navigating the transition from elementary to middle school. It uses gender-based small groups to move students from simply hearing Bible stories to actually studying Scripture. The church frames Kidside as more than childcare, and its family discipleship resources, including a Family Discipleship Guide and a Family Baptism Guide, encourage parents to be the primary spiritual leaders at home while the church walks alongside them.
Middle and High School Students
Northside Students exists to reach sixth through twelfth graders with the good news of Jesus and to teach them how to follow him. Middle school students meet on Sundays during the 11:00 am service in the Student Building, where they connect, hear teaching, and break into adult-led small groups. High schoolers meet in the Basement of the Chapel during the 11:00 am service, then gather again on Sunday evenings from 4:30 to 6:00 pm in the Student Building for small-group Bible discussion. The Student Pastor, Andrew Kistler, oversees the ministry, and families can stay current by texting the word STUDENTS to (770) 467-3885. Throughout the year the ministry runs retreats, a summer camp, and several mission trip opportunities, including trips to Puerto Rico and other destinations.
Groups, Bible Studies, and the Women's Hub
The church's discipleship engine runs on community. Co-ed Community Groups meet in homes across north Atlanta throughout the week, generally studying the previous Sunday's sermon, sharing meals, and supporting one another. Men's and Women's Bible Studies run on campus during the Fall and Spring, lasting between eight and twelve weeks, and they double as men's and women's small groups during those seasons.
Women's Bible Study meets twice each week during the Fall and Spring semester, Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30 pm and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 am, with a Women's Bible Study Hub online that tracks weekly resources and homework. A current study works through Christine Hoover's More Than Enough, a verse-by-verse study of 2 Corinthians. On-call childcare is scheduled by small-group leaders on Wednesday mornings so mothers of young children can attend. The women's ministry also hosts an annual Fall Kickoff Event, an Advent Luncheon, and a podcast called Every Day Life with Northside Women, available on Spotify and other podcast apps.
The men's ministry offers a Bible study in addition to a series of gatherings called Meat Up, where Northside men share a meal, time in the Word, and conversation. Bible study groups for men also meet seasonally, typically Thursday mornings at 6:15 am during the eight-to-twelve-week study. The men are encouraged to wage war against isolation by finding their people.
Young Adults in Their 20s and 30s
Young adults, mostly singles, young professionals, and newly married couples in their twenties and thirties, gather on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm. Locations rotate, with details shared through a GroupMe chat. The ministry also offers community groups in homes throughout the month for those wanting a more consistent rhythm. The volunteer director of the Young Adult Ministry is lay pastor David McCullough.
Marriage Care at Every Stage
Northside runs three distinct ministries for couples. Merge is a premarital mentoring program for engaged and seriously dating couples, built around a Prepare assessment and eight mentoring sessions with an assigned couple, using a workbook that covers foundational topics for a biblical marriage. Enrich is a research-based assessment tool that helps married couples identify strengths and growth areas. re|engage is a 14-to-15-week small-group experience for married couples seeking to work on their relationship together, walking through God's design for marriage and applying biblical principles alongside other couples. Questions about any of the three can be sent to colleen@gonorthside.com.
Foster and Adoption Ministry
The Foster and Adoption Ministry (FAM) supports families inside the church who are following the call to foster care, respite care, or adoption. The ministry organizes care teams - small groups of volunteers that provide meals, babysitting, prayer, and weekly support to a specific foster family - and partners with FaithBridge Foster Care to provide the Encounter training that is the first step toward becoming a foster or respite parent. Current foster, adoptive, and respite parents gather regularly to listen, learn, and grow together. Donations to FAM are tax-deductible and support both children in care and the families who serve them.
A Network of Mission Partners Near and Far
Locally, Northside serves alongside Mimosa Elementary School in Roswell, North Fulton Community Charities, the North Fulton chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and a Beacon of Hope ministry, and its Foster and Adoption Ministry works in cooperation with FaithBridge Foster Care. At the state level it partners with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
Across North America, the church walks with the Send Network, a church-planting initiative of the North American Mission Board, and supports Matt, a missionary with Bible Training for Church Pastors who equips ministry leaders to teach the Word. Globally it partners with the International Mission Board, Send Relief, and SRV, an organization that serves local church leaders among Bibleless and unreached people groups. Two couples supported by Northside serve abroad: Shane and Jennifer work with the Send Network in Los Angeles and the western United States, and John and Caroline lead Grace Church Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. A third missionary, Michael, travels internationally equipping ministry leaders to communicate the gospel and make disciples.
The Movement Fund and the Road to 2027
As the church approached its 60th anniversary, leadership launched a Movement Fund with a three-year goal of $2.7 million to align values of truth, care, and mission with the church's vision. Under the value of truth, the fund supports a campus master plan and the repurposing of the large chapel as a ministry leader training and Bible study facility, completed during the campaign, along with maintenance and a refreshed auditorium sound system, acoustic design, and lighting. Under the value of care, the fund elevates the adoption and foster ministry director to a paid position and grows the church's support of adoptive and foster families. It also aims to retire the remaining $850,000 of debt by 2027. Under the value of mission, the fund supports planting or replanting three churches over five years at a projected cost of $150,000. Gifts can be made online, by texting give to 678-647-6988, by mailing checks to the church's secure PO Box, or by Donor Advised Fund, stock, or crypto through Finance Director Laura Vacko.
What Northside Believes
The church holds to historical Christian doctrine while seeking a lifestyle that flows out of those doctrines. Members affirm the Bible as the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, sufficient for matters of faith and practice. God is one in being and three in person, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sovereign over all things. Jesus is fully God and fully man, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, and rose victorious from the grave; he is coming again to make the world right. The gospel is the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, counsels followers of Jesus, seals believers together with Christ, and empowers mission in the world; the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are understood to continue today under the authority of Scripture and the local church. The church teaches that humans are made in the image of God, deeply broken by sin in relationship with God, others, themselves, and creation, and equal in essence, dignity, and value while different by divine design. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman for a lifetime as a picture of the gospel. Baptism is reserved for those who have professed faith in Christ and is practiced by immersion as a symbol of death and resurrection with Christ; membership requires baptism by immersion at Northside or a church of like faith.
Pastors, Directors, and Lay Leaders
Lead Pastor Dr. Dustin Schadt casts vision and leads preaching and teaching. He holds degrees from the University of Louisville and an M.Div and Ph.D. from Southern Seminary. Micah Millican, Executive Pastor, leads disciple-making ministries and holds an M.Div from Southern Seminary. Blake Brandenburg oversees Sunday worship and discipleship after a decade in software sales; Andrew Kistler leads Student Ministry; Dan Jenkins leads Groups and Care after serving among an unreached people group in Africa. Staff directors oversee Music and Gatherings (Sarah Nudelman), Women's Discipleship (Laurie Millican with Jenna Brandenburg as associate), Production (Carol Moody), Worship (Casey Darnell), Kidside (Hannah Martin with associates Jen Craft, Colleen Rogers, Liz Breedlove, and Brandy Hunnicutt), Students (Kathryn Calvert as associate), Missions (April Schadt with Jennifer Lok), Adoption and Foster Care (Christie McCullough), Communications (Stephanie Dover with Lauren Beeco), Finance (Laura Vacko), Administration (Amy Gore), Facilities (Gary Ready), and Assimilation (Jennifer Harding). Seven lay pastors - Bob Regus, Mark Overstreet, Chad Oglesbee, Jarrod Purdon, Mike Rogers, David McCullough, and Joel Prothro - shepherd the faith family alongside the staff. Volunteers lead Coffee (Sarah Steinbeck), Content Team (Matt Hulgan), Set Up and Reset (Mike Stock), Production (Tsega Lemma), and Security (Chad Oglesbee).
Discover Northside, an informal conversation with the pastors that explains what makes the church distinct and helps newcomers take their next step, is offered every one to two months on the Northside campus right after the 11:00 am service, with lunch and childcare provided. Becoming a member requires attending Discover Northside, surrendering to Jesus and being baptized, signing the membership covenant committing to the church's 5-G Strategy of Gather, Grow, Guide, Give, and Go, and being affirmed by the congregation. Visitors can plan a first visit by filling out the Plan Your Visit form on the church's site.