Andy Stanley to Step Down at North Point as Members Vote on Successor

ALPHARETTA, Ga. —

Andy Stanley, the founding pastor of North Point Community Church, has told his congregation he will step down as senior pastor of North Point Ministries in January 2027 and as lead pastor of the Alpharetta campus in June 2027, The Christian Post reported.

Stanley, 68, said he wants to be free to “be able to say 'yes' to my grandchildren without having to check my schedule.” He also pointed to the health of the church network and said a younger leader was needed to “project a vision further out.” He plans to remain an elder and to preach from time to time.

The church's board of elders has nominated Joel Thomas, executive director of North Point Ministries, to become senior pastor effective Jan. 1, 2027. Members are voting through Friday, Oct. 30, and results are set to be announced Nov. 1. About 50,000 people were to receive a ballot link by email or letter.

To vote, members must be at least 18 and, within the past 18 months, have joined a small group, served on a church team, given at least four times or regularly checked in a child, according to the report.

Thomas was North Point's first intern in 1998 and became lead pastor of North Point Community Church in 2011. He left in 2015 to lead Mission Community Church in Arizona until 2021, then led Buckhead Church for five years while serving as the network's executive director.

Stanley, son of the late Southern Baptist pastor Charles Stanley, founded North Point in 1995. The Atlanta-area ministry now has eight local campuses and hundreds of partner churches around the world. His ministry has drawn criticism at times, including a 2018 sermon urging Christians to “unhitch” their faith from the Old Testament and the church's 2023 hosting of a conference for parents of LGBT-identified children. Stanley has said the church affirms marriage as “the union of one man and one woman.”