Andy Stanley announced during the Oct. 18 church service that his Andy Stanley North Point Ministries transition will begin in May 2027, when he plans to step down as Senior Pastor of North Point Ministries and hand leadership to Joel Thomas. He said the change follows more than 30 years in the role.
The handoff is set to move through a January 1, 2027 vote, after which Thomas is expected to assume the role of Senior Pastor. Stanley said he and Sandra began talking about his departure about four years ago, and that they decided to set a departure date for 2027.
Joel Thomas and North Point Ministries
Stanley introduced Thomas as the person nominated to take over. Thomas has been with North Point Ministries since 1998, served as Senior Pastor of Mission Community Church for nearly seven years in Arizona, later led Buckhead Church for five years, and also served as Executive Director of North Point Ministries.
Stanley founded North Point Ministries in 1995 with the vision of creating churches that unchurched people love. The ministry has grown from one church to eight in metro Atlanta and now has a global network of more than 150 partner churches.
Stanley's continuing role
Stanley said he is not retiring from ministry. He said, “I'm retiring from my job, but I'm not retiring from ministry. So I will continue to be part of the preaching rotation at our local churches,” and added that he wants to be able to say yes to his grandchildren without having to check his schedule.
He also said, “We love this church, but I am absolutely convinced that the best thing for this next iteration of what we're going to do together is a younger leader who can project a vision further out than I can because of my age and season of life,” and said the move would come on his 69th birthday. After the vote, the practical change is a leadership transfer with Stanley moving to the Board of Elders while Thomas takes the top pastoral post.
