Frequently Asked Questions

Our church convened its first community worship in July, 2005, after meeting several months as a thriving and rapidly expanding Bible study in the home of one of our founding elders. The founding families desired to provide the Monument / Tri-Lakes / Northern Colorado Springs area with:

• In-depth, expositional Bible teaching.
• A worship service format that would allow a greater amount of interaction and participation by the church body.
• A biblical pattern of shared leadership that eliminates the professional-laity distinction, demonstrating a plurality of gifts and mutual service.

Our goal as a church is to foster our relationships with Jesus and build Christ-like relationships with each other.

NorthWord is a non-denominational church.

We wanted a name that gave a little inkling of where we were located, but that also gave a sense of the fact that we were committed to teaching the Bible. Since we are located in the north part of the county, we thought NorthWord was a good image of how we get our bearings in life (from God’s Word) as well as a hint of the fact that most of our members reside in the Tri-Lakes region including northern Colorado Springs, Gleneagle, Jackson Creek, Monument, and Palmer Lake communities. “Out of the north comes golden splendor; Around God is awesome majesty.” – Job 37:22

We do not distinguish between the role or title of “pastor”, “overseer”, or “elder”. The Bible uses those terms interchangeably, regardless of remuneration, spiritual gifting, or specific role.

Current pastoral/elder leadership consists of Ted Cox, Ivan Anthony, Ron Hindmarsh, and Duncan Bremer. NorthWord’s lead teaching pastor is Clayton Grissinger. (See more about NorthWord’s leadership here.) Contributing and visiting pastors/teachers are invited to preach at different times of the year.

Our governing follows the biblical model of plural elder leadership.

Leadership decisions require unanimity. Elders individually and collectively are responsible before God for the oversight of the local flock under their care and charge. Qualifications for eldership primarily concern character (not gifting), and are detailed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. An elder must have previously demonstrated effective ministry within our church family.

Although we recognize the value of various church programs, we also highly value leadership and participation directly from our members. As a result, we strive to wait upon God’s timing for providing the appropriate resources for any ministries we undertake. We also desire not to be inappropriately focused on merely our own needs & desires, but also looking toward needs in our community and in other places around the world.

Active ministries include:

• On Sunday mornings:
  Coffee Service
  Set-up Team
  A-V and Sound Team
  Worship Team
  Greeting and Fellowship Prior of Worship Service
  Worship Service (for all ages)
  Bible Message and Discussion Session
  Communion
  Nursery Care
  Children’s Sunday School for K-6th
  Optional Community Lunch & Fellowship After Service, every other Sunday
• Men’s Bible Study and Support Group that meets every Wednesday morning. Although predominantly comprised of men from NorthWord, this group is blessed to include men from other area churches.
• Community Prayer Ministry meets every Wednesday evening.
• Women’s Bible Study groups meet on Thursday mornings and Thursday evenings.
• Ladies’ Retreat
• Young Christian Men’s Group meets after worship service, every other Sunday.
• Various small groups convene throughout the week.
• An exclusive Community Website is maintained for NorthWord participants, its support teams, and its small groups. The site is used for administrative and internal communications and to facilitate church activities and communication. You can get more information on these church-wide ministries and how you might participate in their activities from any NorthWord leader or by visiting the Community Website.

NorthWord Church is committed to the idea and action of reaching the world for Christ. The Bible clearly teaches there are several principles in WHO to reach, but leaves much flexibility in the METHODS used. One thing the Bible does clearly emphasize is the MANNER in which we communicate the Good News about Jesus – in a caring, loving, and sacrificial manner, looking to the needs of others first.

As a result, our emphasis is on encouraging one another to develop caring individual relationships with people who don’t yet know Christ, not on promoting broader social or political issues.

We desire to reach out to people both in our own community, as well as beyond in other domestic or international areas.

Our chosen methodology is to support a small number of organizations, individuals, or projects in a more substantial fashion, as opposed to a large number of activities in a small fashion. Our desire is to help focus our congregation on a few places where we can have significant impact and also have deeper and more involved relationships with the ministries and missionaries we support.

See NorthWord’s formal Doctrinal Statement)

Get more information on church-wide ministries and how you might participate in their activities from any NorthWord leader or by visiting the Community Website. You also could stop by the information table before or after service on Sunday; or, talk to one of our leaders about your areas of interest. 

Look over the information on this website and read the intro to our private Community Website. Then, visit us one Sunday and talk to a few of our members, one of the church greeters or leaders. You can email us at info(at)northword.org, or call 719-651-9310.

We meet and begin our weekly for worship every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in the commons at the Lewis Palmer High School, 300 Higby Road, Monument, CO 80132..

Fellowship with coffee and pastries begins 30 minutes prior to and continues after service.