About Us

Our Story

How It Started

In the fall of 2009, a handful of men began to meet in a local Cracker Barrel restaurant for Bible Study and accountability. It wasn’t long before that group of men grew into a few dozen people gathering for worship in a living room in Prattville, Alabama. This group of believers were looking for something more than their normal church experience- they wanted to experience authentic relationships, to engage in meaningful worship, and to embrace God’s purpose like never before. 

In just a few weeks, this new spiritual family outgrew that living room. A fledgling church, without a name and without a pastor, began to gather in a local hotel conference center. The people knew the church was more than a building, more than a name, and more than a personality. The church was the people of God with the purpose of loving God, loving others, and making disciples of Jesus Christ. 

<span style="font-weight: normal;">The Story Continues</span>

The Story Continues

Rooted in God’s Call

Shortly after the church began worshipping at the hotel conference center, the church called John Schmidt to be their pastor. God had something amazing in store when He joined this new church family together with John’s teaching, passion, and vision. This was a defining moment for what would become Centerpoint Fellowship Church. Together, God focused their vision to be a church that would expand and multiply by releasing “ordinary” people to do more ministry- wherever God led. In fact, the name Centerpoint was chosen to represent this vision of the church in Prattville being a “center,” from which the people and ministries of the church would move outward. 

Today Centerpoint has become a family of congregations that continue to follow God’s Word, to develop authentic relationships, and to keep ministry simple so that together we can share the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere we go. Though we meet in multiple locations- living rooms, restaurants, hotel conference centers, YMCA gyms, and traditional church buildings- we strive to share the same spirit of community, worship, and mission as those early home group gatherings. We are still ordinary people trusting that God will use us to impact the world for His glory and, hopefully, to fulfill the Great Commission in our generation. 

We still believe the last words of Jesus should be the first concern of His Church, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) 

The Great Commission was not recorded for Jesus’ 12 disciples. It was preserved in Scripture for us. Every Christian is responsible to this call and this purpose for His church. We are not called to simply be disciples- each of us are called to become disciple-makers. For everyone willing to respond to God’s call and purpose, we invite you to join with us.

Our Mission

To help people live Christ-centered lives by loving God, loving others, and making disciples.

Our Vision

To be a multiplying church of small groups that equips ordinary people to serve their communities, to share the Good News of Christ, and to gather for worship wherever God leads.

Our Values

Our lives are shaped by the choices and decisions we make. Values are what inform our decisions. If we value everything the same, how can we choose one thing over another…one purpose over another…one direction over another? Without values we would be paralyzed over almost every decision. Since our mission is clear, we need values that allow us to fulfill our purpose intentionally and faithfully.

Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. (Proverbs 2:11)

Biblical Authority

The Bible is our guide in all matters of faith and practice, meaning what we believe and what we do.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Authentic Relationships

Relationships are at the center of Christianity- our relationship with God, our relationships with others, and our relationships with those who need to know Christ. They are essential for us to fulfill His commands to love one another and to make disciples. We also believe that our relationships become more authentic when they reflect the grace and truth that God gives us. At Centerpoint, strengthening relationships is at the heart of every part of our ministry- that’s what we mean when we say, “It’s all about relationships!”

John 13:34-35

Outward Focus

We must keep our “arrows out,” reaching new people and moving forward into new areas and opportunities for ministry. As the Scriptures say, we start in Jerusalem (where we are) and then move out into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Selfless Service

Life is not about you. Jesus taught that real life is found in serving others- not being served. We want to continually serve others in our relationships and through the ministries of the church. In fact, we keep ministry simple so “everyone can play.”

Mark 10:45

Spirit-Empowered Living

Apart from the power of the Spirit we can do nothing! Through the Spirit, God is working in us giving us the “the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”

Philippians 2:13

Transformational Prayer

We pray about everything! We believe that God is always more willing to listen than we are to pray; and that praying doesn’t change God, but it does change us. Through prayer we exchange our will for God’s will- just how Jesus prayed in the Garden, “Not my will, but Your will be done!” Our world and our lives can be transformed by praying for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Philippians 4:6-7

Growing Generosity

Our Heavenly Father is generous- everything we have comes from Him, especially, the gift of Jesus. It is His nature to give freely and sacrificially. As we grow in our generosity, we develop a heart like His and become more like Him. We remember that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

2 Corinthians 8:7

Our Beliefs

There is an often quoted saying, “In essentials- unity; in non-essentials- liberty; in all things- charity.” Our Doctrinal Statements provide the essentials for our beliefs and keep us unified as a people on mission.

The sole basis for our belief is the Bible – the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. It is God’s word to all people in all times. The entire Bible is uniquely God-breathed, without error, and the final authority on all matters of faith and practice.

(2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12)

As the Bible teaches, there is one God, infinite, almighty, and eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each fully possesses all the attributes of deity – they are co-equal and one God.

(Deuteronomy 6:4, 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Our only Lord, Jesus Christ, is God in the flesh – the Good News revealed to man on earth. He is the eternal Son of God who became man while remaining fully God. He was before all things and through Him all creation came into being. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and was the only person to have lived a sinless life. He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for all mankind, shedding His blood and dying on the cross to atone for everyone’s sin. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of God the Father, and will return again to reign as King of Kings in glory.

(John 1:1-5, Romans 5:6-11, 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21)

The Holy Spirit is equal as God with the Father and Son. He makes mankind aware of its need for redemption through Jesus Christ. He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He empowers believers to grow in their relationships with Christ and in service to others.

(John 14:16-17, 16:8-11, Ephesians 5:18)

God made humanity in His image, as the crowning achievement of His creation, so that humanity could live in love and fellowship with Him and each other. Tempted by Satan, humans rebelled against God and became estranged from Him, radically and pervasively depraved, subject to divine wrath, and utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. People exist forever and will be resurrected in the body, either to live eternally separated from God in hell or eternally in union with Him in heaven.

(Genesis 1:26-27, Isaiah 53:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10, 20-24, 1 John 5:11-13, Revelation 20:11-15)

Salvation is the free and unmerited gift from God to humanity. It is maintained by the grace and power of God, not the result of any works or human efforts. Christ’s sacrificial death accomplished humanity’s redemption once for all who accept and trust in Him as their Lord, turning from sin in repentance, as He commands. There is no other name given under heaven by which people may be saved than Christ Jesus.

(John 3:16-17, 14:6, Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Peter 3:18)

Repentance is turning away from sin (which is rebellion against God and His Word) in every area of life and following Christ as Lord. Repentance allows believers to receive Christ’s redemption and new life through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the active agent in the process of yielding to God’s will and creating a Christ-like character in each believer. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to witness and serve and imparts His gifts supernaturally to confirm the power of the Gospel and equip believers to accomplish God’s work in the world. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life and saving faith is evidenced by love for others.

(Acts 3:19-20, Galatians 5:16-25)

The Church is the body of Christ, created by His Word and Spirit, uniting the whole human race into fellowship with Christ. The Church is not a religious institution or denomination, but is made up of all people everywhere and in every time who are born of the Spirit. The Church exists to worship and glorify God and to serve Him by faithfully doing His will on earth. All members of the church are called to ministry and service.

(Romans 12:4-10, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11-13)

The Church on earth observes two sacraments given by Jesus Himself. Baptism symbolizes Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. While not required for salvation, it is an outward demonstration of having accepted Christ’s saving grace at the beginning of a believer’s journey with God. Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on behalf of humanity. It is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life in remembrance of Christ and to signify unity with other members of Christ’s Body.

(Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 6:1-6, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. God’s design for Marriage is the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in covenant relationship for a lifetime. Marriage is God’s unique gift to provide the means for intimate companionship, for sexual expression according to biblical standards, and for procreation of the human race. Marriage reveals to us the mystical union which exists between Christ and His church.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a gift from the Lord. Children are to honor and obey their parents. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage and model what it means to have a personal relationship with Him. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make wise choices based on Biblical truth.

(Genesis 2:18-25, Psalm 127:3, 139:13-16, Proverbs 6:20-23, Matthew 19:1-15, Ephesians 5:21-6:4)