Faithful Worship, Caring Community, and a Campus in Renewal at North Park Church in Wexford, PA
On Ingomar Road, just outside Allegheny County's North Park, North Park Church gathers around a three-part rhythm captured in its motto: Faithful Worship. Caring Community. Global Impact. With roughly 250 members, the mid-sized congregation in Wexford, Pennsylvania offers a blended Sunday worship service alongside deep programming for children, students, adults, and seniors, and an extensive network of local and global mission partners. A current three-year campus revitalization is reshaping the building so it can serve the church and its neighbors for another generation.
A Sunday Built Around Coffee, Welcome, and Blended Worship
Sunday mornings at North Park are designed to put first-time guests at ease. The doors open early enough that visitors can stop by the Great Awakening Café in the lobby for a free cup of coffee or tea, then visit the Welcome Counter to meet the hospitality team and pick up a small gift. Worship itself begins at 10:15 a.m. and typically runs 75 to 85 minutes, blending prayer, scripture reading, Biblical teaching, joyful and reflective music, occasional testimony, and the warm liturgy of a historic Protestant church.
The musical style is best described as blended. The congregation sings traditional hymns, psalms, and the best of contemporary music, drawing from resources a like, including some classic Reformed liturgical forms while keeping them fresh for the heart. The preaching focuses on the exposition and application of God's word, and the Lord's Supper is observed every four weeks and is open to all believers.
Sunday School for all ages meets at 9:00 a.m. from September through May. Children's classes use the Dwell Curriculum from Faith Alive Christian Resources, a Bible-based Reformed overview that walks students through the whole Bible over two years. Adult electives rotate by semester, with recent offerings including a study of the Sermon on the Mount and a two-part class on the Sabbath and the sojourner. Visitors are encouraged to arrive about fifteen minutes before worship to get oriented.
What to Expect, What to Wear, and Where to Park
Worshippers at North Park come in all styles, and the church's guidance is simple: wear what makes you comfortable. The building sits on Ingomar Road, with two parking lots available. Visitors are pointed to the lower lot and the main entrance for the worship service, and to the upper lot when attending an event in the Blue Room. Inside, the lobby, Great Awakening Café, and Welcome Counter all open well before the service so newcomers can settle in without feeling rushed.
Children are welcomed from the moment families arrive. A secure check-in station on the second floor signs children into nursery care, three-year-old programming, or Kids' Worship, with matching parent safety tags and child ID tags issued at drop-off. Nursery care is offered for children from birth through 36 months during the worship service, Sunday School, and other church events, staffed by paid workers who hold current clearances and certifications in CPR, First Aid, AED, and babysitting. Every adult working with children at North Park must submit up-to-date Child Abuse and Criminal History clearances and complete an annual application. Three-year-olds are cared for throughout the Sunday morning hour with a blend of playtime, storytime, Bible reading, prayer, and snack, helping them move from the nursery into the preschool program.
Children and Students: Building Disciples from Preschool Through High School
Children's ministry at North Park is organized around three commitments: helping kids love God, love others, and love the world. Sunday School runs from September through May, and Kids' Worship is offered year-round during the worship service for ages three through second grade, using Lifeway's Explore the Bible Kids curriculum. Classes meet in age-appropriate rooms on the second floor, and a separate Trekkers group gathers monthly for third through fifth graders, combining games, meals, and a deeper look at God's Word, with a recent focus on the Lord's Prayer.
The student ministry extends that same discipleship pathway into middle school and high school. On Sundays during the school year, students meet for Discipleship Hour at 9:00 a.m. in Room 306, working through the New City Catechism and learning the core doctrines of the Christian faith through fifty-two questions and answers. Youth Group gathers on the second and fourth Sundays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the third floor for fellowship, food, and teaching, while Small Group nights on the first and third Sundays offer gender- and age-specific study and discipleship for middle schoolers and high schoolers. Summer Sundays shift the rhythm outdoors, with the group rotating between different houses for fellowship, games, and a message from one of the leaders.
Kelly Laird serves as Director of Children's Ministry, with Andy Stites and Alex Treser leading the student ministry alongside their team of volunteers.
Women's, Men's, and Senior Adult Ministries
Women's ministry at North Park centers on a Monday morning Bible study from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. in Room 112, running September through May and welcoming women at every stage of faith. A separate Women's Evening Small Group meets on the first and third Mondays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., and the calendar also includes casual Mugs & Muffins gatherings on Wednesdays during July and August, focused on spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible reading, and meditation. Women's interest groups add another layer of community, with current offerings in hiking, walking, a book club, and shared meal prep.
Men's ministry gathers on Thursday mornings from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. in Room 106 for a year-round Bible study, with interest groups for trap shooting and disc golf rounding out the schedule. Senior adults find their home in Tuesday JOY (Just Older Youth), a Tuesday morning Bible study that meets from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in Room 112. Led by Pastor Doug Runyan and Scott Shriver, the group walks through the New Testament together and shares lunch on the last Tuesday of every month. The church has also partnered with Ashton Commons, a nearby senior living community, hosting Tuesday JOY at the residence, helping with Ashton events, and running a Vacation Bible School for residents. Pastor Doug Runyan and Scott Shriver shepherd this ministry.
Pray, Bless, Jesus: Three Missional Disciplines
North Park has spent several years encouraging every member to adopt three simple disciplines: Pray, Bless, Jesus. Church members commit to praying daily for a deeper knowledge of Christ's love and opportunities to share it, to sharing one tangible kindness a week with someone in their community, and to meditating on the truths and promises of scripture about Jesus so those truths overflow into everyday conversations. The framework shapes small groups, care groups, and the church's broader engagement with the North Hills of Pittsburgh.
Care Groups are central to that effort. These small groups meet at various times and locations throughout the week and are organized for people at different life stages, including men, women, young couples, singles, and empty nesters. Care Groups are framed as the primary on-ramp into community at North Park, where disciples of Jesus can connect, grow, and pray together. A Mercy Deacon team also runs a meal ministry that organizes home-cooked meals from local providers for new parents, those recovering from surgery or illness, and families grieving a loss.
Next Steps: Lunch Together, Baptism, and Membership
For those exploring faith or considering church membership, North Park offers a clear pathway. Visitors who want to learn more are invited to Lunch Together, an afternoon of food and fellowship that introduces newcomers to the church's leaders and ministry. From there, those who wish to join the church can enroll in a New Members class, meet with the elders to affirm their faith in Christ, and be received as members during a Sunday worship service.
Baptism is offered to anyone who makes a profession of faith that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, and to the infants of confirmed members. Pastor David O'Leary oversees baptisms, weddings, and the membership process. Couples interested in being married at North Park can submit a Facility Use Request Form to check building availability; if a pastor is to officiate, premarital counseling is normally required.
Global Impact: Local Outreach and Worldwide Mission Partners
North Park's missions strategy reaches from the North Hills of Pittsburgh to communities around the world. Locally, the church has supported ongoing Hurricane Helene relief efforts through coordinators Phil Van Sickel and Gary Miller, and partners domestically with the Coalition for Christian Outreach and International Students, Inc. The church also helps fund a campus ministry position that works alongside the Presbytery of the Alleghenies and the CCO to reach and disciple students at Grove City College and Slippery Rock University.
Internationally, North Park supports missionaries and organizations including Agape Unlimited, Latin America Missions, World Outreach, Beyond, United World Mission, Ethnos 360, Leadership Development International, and Mission to the World. Long-term partnerships include EduNations in Sierra Leone, where the church has helped build a school, medical clinic, and church in the village of Rokassa; the Philemon Project in Beirut, Lebanon, which provides affordable Christian daycare for children of refugees, migrant workers, and the working poor; ongoing support for a medical missions agency in Russia; and Living Stone Reformed Mission in Gonaives, Haiti, where North Park has helped complete a school, seminary, and church.
Beliefs: Reformed, Evangelical, and Presbyterian
North Park belongs to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a young and growing denomination that takes the authority of Scripture seriously and holds to the Reformed tradition. Members affirm the historic doctrine of the Trinity, the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, His sacrificial death and bodily resurrection, His reign in heaven, and His promised return. The church believes the Holy Spirit gives life to those who believe and empowers Christ's followers to keep His word and fulfill His mission. Humans are made in God's image but are lost through sin, and are reborn through grace by turning from sin and trusting in Jesus alone.
The denomination's motto, 'In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity,' guides the church's approach to secondary doctrines. As a Presbyterian body, North Park is led by a plurality of elders, and its teachings are summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith, with the EPC's Essentials of Our Faith statement offering a more concise overview.
A Three-Year Campus Revitalization
North Park is in the middle of a three-year, $500,000 campus revitalization designed to refresh the building for the next generation of ministry. The project includes more than fourteen improvements, beginning with the preservation of the church spire, upgrades to the elevator operating system, a refurbished roadside sign, and repairs to the front stairs and walkways. Year two brings an electronic messaging center on the roadside sign, refreshed main foyer paint, replacement of the upper building's cedar shakes, flat-screen TVs in the sanctuary, and phased installation of automated door openers across the breezeway, restrooms, main entry, and the Blue Room. Year three will replace the education building's flat roof, clean and paint the church exterior, repave the parking lot and driveway, and complete the final phase of automated door openers on the first and third-floor restrooms. Members can support the work by giving online and selecting Campus Revitalization, or by mailing a check with the same designation to the church office.
Worship Online and Get Connected
For those who cannot attend in person, North Park livestreams its worship services on YouTube and keeps an archive of past services and sermons available online. The church also shares a weekly student ministry email newsletter and publishes a quarterly newsletter called FYI that highlights how God is working through the congregation and the wider community. Anyone who wants to get involved can reach out to Amber Stites, the Director of Engagement, who helps newcomers find a Care Group, a serving opportunity in children's ministry, student ministry, music and worship, media, or missions and outreach, or simply a Sunday School class to call home.