CC Begin

45-58 Pomeroy Terrace, PO Box 203
Northampton MA 01061

413-586-0057

begin in trust

We all begin somewhere; designed with a longing in our hearts to be fully known and fully loved, and to be brought into a renewed, invigorating relationship with our Maker. Whether we are called out of crisis or in celebration, there is a moment in time, a growing awareness, when we are drawn to Jesus, to trust Jesus ... to believe that God is who He says He is ... to trust what Jesus makes real in our relationship with God.

And so we begin.

Grace Abounds

We are dependent on Jesus Christ alone for our relationship with God. In other words, we trust Jesus, not ourselves, for our relationship with God. Not worrying about our performance but trusting Jesus, we are resting on God’s grace. Depending on Jesus alone, standing in God’s grace, we are learning to put down our masks and to be honest about who we are and where we’re at; to come alongside one another to build each other up; and together we are learning to follow Jesus and become transformed by His love. Shaped together by God’s love for us in Christ, we seek to offer this same grace-relationship with God to our neighbors, near and far, that they may know God’s love in Christ and be transformed to reflect Jesus through truth, trust, humility, and love.

About College Church

College Church is not limited to one particular Christian denomination. We seek to work with many other churches to share our faith in Jesus Christ, our commitment to love others, and our goal to bring the message of God’s grace in Jesus Christ to the world through hospitable conversation, proclamation, and service.

We hope you will become a part of our College Church community and ministry and that together we may learn to trust, love and follow Jesus Christ in significant, relational, ways. The College Church has numerous training programs and opportunities that hope you in your walk with God and in your relationships with others.

“College Church is not a building, it’s a people.”

Our Mission

The College Church exists to glorify the God of the Bible by knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and making Him known through a believing community to an unbelieving world with complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Recognizing that life is a spiritual journey, the mission of College church is to give our lives so that others can experience Jesus Christ; to build a caring community of faith; and to develop mature followers of Christ.

Our Vision

In the next five years, College Church will be a well-shepherded and well-equipped community of growing Christians who...

... Worship God in unity and diversity as devoted disciples of Jesus Christ (Psalm 100; John 4:23-26; Col 3:15-17)

... Visibly embody their faith in Jesus and exhibit authentic life in Christ (Matt 5:14-16; Gal 2:19-21; Phil 2:12-13)

... Cultivate a culture of grace which nurtures healing and Christlike holiness as we sacrificially extend to one another the love that God extends to us (Rom 12:6-21; Gal 6:1-10; Titus 2:11-14))

... Join with other Christ-centered churches in the region to strategically advance the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Pioneer Valley and the world beyond, creatively endeavoring to lead more and more people to trust Jesus and to experience new life through worshipful obedience to Him (Matt 28:18-20; Luke 14:23; Acts 1:8).

Our History

College Church was founded in 1972, during a time when the area's college students were filling a small local church to overflowing. New facilities were sought to contain their numbers and allow for their contemporary worship style. On April 16, 1972, the first worship service of the newly-formed College Church was held in the Whittaker-Bement Auditorium of the former Northampton School for Girls. In 1974, the church was enabled to purchase the auditorium and the adjacent Logan House for its offices, together with approximately seven acres of land. These facilities were renovated in 1991 in order to increase their multi-purpose use and flexibility for ministry. We see them as a mission to our community, and therefore have an obligation to maintain our facilities as a stewardship of what the Lord has given. In 1994, the congregation purchased the house to the north of the auditorium and named it the Kirkpatrick House in memory of James Kirkpatrick, a much-beloved pastor who had died a few years prior. It now serves as the church office and pastors' studies.

On April 21, 1996, College Church officially commissioned the planting of our first daughter church, the Stony Brook Community Church of South Hadley, MA. Also, on January 9, 2000, we officially commissioned our second daughter church, Christ Church, in the Greenfield area. It is our desire not to expand our facilities any further but to continue to begin churches in the regions from which our people come.