Our Approach
We are
intentional to our commitment to "worship God,
connect with each other, and impact our world."
We take a principled approach, but are not bound
to any specific program or strategy. Below are
elements of discipleship-making that we believe
are paramount to our mission.
We grow
as disciples through the worship of God. Every
facet of our lives needs to be done for the
glory of God, and we highly value our
corporate worship as God's people come
together as a church family to give Him the
glory that is due Him.
We grow
as disciples through instruction, and offer a
wide variety of learning opportunities.
We grow
as disciples through community with one
another - not in isolation. Believing that
small groups are the most effective means to
connect in supportive and nurturing
relationships, we place a high priority in
providing meaningful small group relationships
for all North Park people.
We grow
disciples through service, and encourage all
our members to discover the gifts and
abilities that God has given them, and then to
use those to serve God and others.
We make
disciples through outreach, and are committed
to local, national and international efforts
to communicate the Gospel in word and deeds,
as well as world missions. Nearly
one-fourth of our entire budget is spent on
extending the Gospel beyond the four walls of
NPC. We are also committed to local
church planting, having birthed a daughter
congregation on the North Side of Pittsburgh
(New Hope Church) and more recently, Gateway
community EPC, in Slippery Rock, PA.
Our
Denomination
In
essentials, Unity;
In non-essentials, Liberty;
In all things, Charity.
We are happy to be affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, an exciting denomination of some 180 congregations that was founded in 1981. The title "Evangelical" means that we are serious about reaching out to others and telling them the good news about Jesus Christ.
The word "Presbyterian” describes both how we are internally governed (by a body of elders elected by the congregation along with our pastors) and what we doctrinally believe.
The word “Church” refers not to our building but to the people of God. We recognize that there are other fine denominations and congregations in the North Hills of Pittsburgh
but we are also grateful for our rich heritage
and the foundation and direction that it
gives us.
A
missional church is a church:
-
that is
grounded in the scriptures and historic
Christian orthodoxy and so committed to the
primacy of the Great Commission.
-
that
believes that the United States has become
post-Christian and is now a mission field.
-
that
believes that is has been planted by God in its
own community to effectively reach those around
them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
-
that is
continually in the process of equipping its
members to be their own world and to the ends of
the earth.
-
that is
constantly re-examining itself as to whether it
is merely doing maintenance of existing
ministries and members, or whether or not it is
effectively doing the mission of reaching its
own community with the reign of God through the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus.
-
that
perceives that the essence of these fundamental
attributes is the essence of its own existence.
A
missional
denomination is a denomination:
-
that
believes the location of ministry is the local
church.
-
that is
made up of local congregations committed to be
missional.
-
that
constantly re-examines itself as to whether or
not its policy, structures and programs are
serving or inhibiting a missional mindset.
Our People
Most of
our congregation live in the North Hills, but we
do have people who attend from other places in
Western Pennsylvania. We come from all walks of
life: young and old, married, single, divorced,
widowed; retired, unemployed, working class,
business executives, and others! Our folks also
come from many different church backgrounds (the
majority of our members do not have a
Presbyterian heritage) and some have no church
background at all. Our variety contributes to
our strength, and does not weaken our purpose.
Our Past
Our congregation was formed in 1982 when a faithful group of like-minded followers of Christ met together to form North Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church (NPC for short). We purchased the old North Park Sportsman’s Club property, 12 beautiful acres adjacent to North Park. Since then, God has enabled us to build a new worship center in 1991, and a new education building in 2003.
