We are disciples of Jesus Christ, growing in his likeness, reflecting God’s love and generous service to others, and embracing God’s diverse creation which we embody in joyful worship. Our values are Serve, Love, Give, Worship, and Grow. Our emphasis for 2025 is Grow. 2 Peter 3:18 says, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever, amen.” We will seek to grow spiritually, committed to prayer, increasing in wisdom and knowledge through the regular study of God’s word, earnestly desiring to live like Jesus.

Your Shepherds and ministers have continued to strive to improve spiritual practices by doing and sharing with others. Brian Hickman, our educational ministry leader, includes classes with some aspect of spiritual growth and practices. Each quarter, at least one in-depth biblical study will be included. We have age-appropriate curriculum with an emphasis on spiritual growth and practices in all activities. David Sessions and John Hodges include spiritual practices in our worship and praise services. As Shepherds, we continue to make the spiritual maturity of Northside a priority in our planning, pastoring, leadership, and service.

Kristin Hickman leads our Northside Preschool, which has expanded its focus to better engage our community and serve more non-Northside families. This ministry has produced positive results! Tom and Laura Zimmer have visited with all of our lifegroups to assess where improvements can be made and how to better incorporate them into our growth and outreach. This has resulted in two additional life groups being formed.

Your leadership team has recently read and studied “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,” authored by Peter Scazzero, which aids us in monthly meetings to discuss our family’s progress toward spiritual maturity. We recently participated in a retreat and we each will follow through with our own spiritual growth through prayer, study, confession, fasting, and other spiritual practices. Our aim is to lead our church toward growth in these and other areas.

Our prayerful desire is for each disciple of the Northside family to grow in the areas I’ve mentioned in this video. We have a number of resources outlined on our webpage, such as The Bible Project, RightNow Media, and the YouVersion Bible app. Additionally, you may seek guidance or suggestions from any shepherd, minister, teacher, or other member. Let’s grow as disciples of Jesus Christ in 2025 and beyond!

Barry Allison
From the Shepherds