We’re Saving a Seat for You
We are here because of the good news of Jesus Christ.
We are sinners who have been rescued from sin by Jesus Christ. Though we have different backgrounds, ethnicities, opinions, and personalities, we find commonality in the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We gather each week to worship the one true God revealed in the Bible. We're grateful for the privilege He has given us to worship, live, and serve in our local community.
We rely on God's grace to give us true unity to function together as one body in Jesus Christ, submitted to the Word of God and committed to living that Word out in our daily lives.
Who We Are
A Culture of Grace
We seek to be a community characterized by grace. We pray for and actively strive for grace to permeate every aspect of our church culture. Because we recognize our deep gospel neediness, we are quick to extend grace to those in our church family, to other local churches, and to the people of our community.
A Culture of Vibrant Corporate Worship
We seek to be a community characterized by vibrant, full-hearted, participatory, unified, Christ-centered corporate worship. Because we believe that the worship of the gathered church should be corporate, not individual, we encourage our congregation to participate in every act of worship rather than merely observe. We strive to sing, pray, and preach the Word in a way that includes the entire congregation in our worship.
A Culture of Discipleship
We seek to be a community characterized by disciple-making followers of Jesus. Because we believe that the mission of the church is making disciples of Jesus Christ, we develop intentional relationships for the purpose of encouraging each other to pursue Christ, and we actively pray for and seek out relationships for the purpose of calling others to follow Christ.
What to Expect
Walking into a church for the first time can be intimidating, so we want to help you know what to expect when you visit.
We promise not to embarrass you or point you out. If you are interested, please fill out a connection card and we’ll follow up with you later. You can come knowing you are in the midst of a group of broken people, who all need God’s grace.
What to Wear
We have a diversity of people attend our services and are thankful for a congregation with a variety of dress. You'll find anything from very casual jeans and t-shirts to polos and dresses and suits. We encourage you to come as you are.
Sunday School
After our morning service and a brief time of fellowship and food, we regather for Sunday School. We have classes for all ages covering a range of topics.
Service Format
Our service is intentional, in that it follows a deliberate order of worship, but it’s not formal in style. We sing several songs, offer congregational and pastoral prayers to God, and hear Scripture read. We close each morning worship service with a benediction, with the typical service finishing about 10:45 am, followed by our Christian Ed for adults and Sunday School for children until around 12:15 pm.
Children
We believe that children are a gift from God to their parents as well as to the church. We welcome and encourage children to participate in as much of the service as they are able. We provide nursery care for children up to age 3.
Sermon
Preaching is generally expositional, meaning that it seeks to systematically work through passages of Scripture, declaring the point of a particular Biblical passage with practical application rooted in the redemptive story of Scripture. Sermons usually last around 30 minutes and are packed with material for reflection. Our sermon series regularly alternate between the Old and New Testaments. All preaching is driven by the Gospel, the Bible’s main message of God saving sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Music
It is our desire to be God-centered in all we say and do. We adhere closely, though not exclusively, to the regulative principle of worship; that is, we want to practice those forms of worship that God sanctions in His Word, and that build godly character in our people. We also focus on being congregational, in that we encourage broad participation as opposed to spectatorship.
We sing a blend of lyrically rich songs both recent and historic. Those of us who are comfortable with music from one particular era have discovered that we come to enjoy other songs we had not previously encountered.
Meet the Elders
Ron Leach
Ron and Ella were part of the founding of the church, were raised in Christian homes, and came to faith in Jesus Christ early in life. Ron earned his Bachelor's degree from Bob Jones University and his Master's degree from Ashland University. Ron taught and coached at Columbus Academy for 17 years and is returning to Northside Christian as the Athletic Director, Coach, and teacher.
Ron’s focus is on Missions, Service, Christian Education, and community outreach.
Ron and Ella have two adult sons and 6 grandchildren. Ron enjoys sports and travel.
Jason Brown
Jason was saved in 2003 while owning a restaurant on the OSU campus. After starting at Ohio State, he finished his studies at Baptist Bible College and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has previously pastored for churches in Louisville and Columbus. In addition to pastoring, Jason also works as an IT Consultant.
Jason and Jessica came to NAEFC in 2015 looking for a place to worship. Jason began regularly preaching when the pastor at that time was called away for active military duty. When the previous pastor stepped away to pursue the military full-time, Jason was called to assume the role of preaching pastor with a focus on preaching, teaching, and overall vision.
Jason and Jessica have two children. When he’s not reading, Jason enjoys spending time outdoors mountain biking and hunting.
What We Believe
Statement of Faith
God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Human Condition
We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
The Work of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
The Church
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
Christ's Return
We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
The Bible
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
Christian Living
We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Response and Eternal Destiny
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
This text is the EFCA Statement of Faith
Our Philosophy
Luke, the first church historian, describes members of the early church as individually and corporately engaged in the following five priorities. We seek to glorify God, that is, to delight in and display the excellence and beauty of our God, by . . .
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Exalting him through God-centered worship in the assembly and in all of life.
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Edifying the Body of Christ through preaching, teaching, and discipleship.
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Evangelizing through being and bringing the Good News about Jesus Christ to the world.
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Encouraging one another by demonstrating the grace and truth of Christ in the context of redemptive relationships.
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Equipping one another so that each member is ministering to others.
Our Organization
Jesus Christ is the Head of his church, variously described in Scripture as a body, a flock, a temple, and a family. Just as a body has bones, a flock its shepherd, a temple its blueprint, and a family its roles, so also the church is not without its God-designed structure and authority.
New Albany EFC is led by a group of elders who, through studying the Word and praying, seek the spiritual health of the congregation. A team of deacons serves the elders and the Body by administering the operational affairs of the church. The true ministers of the church are its members who, equipped by the elders, serve others in grace and truth.