In North Scottsdale, Arizona, North Scottsdale United Methodist Church stands at 11735 N Scottsdale Road, near the corner of Shea and Scottsdale Road. The congregation is known for joining time-honored Methodist worship with a progressive view of the world while making room for families, people in recovery, choirs, and service beyond the church building. A 17,000-square-foot sanctuary anchors the ministry.
A Sanctuary Along Scottsdale Road
Every Sunday at 10 a.m. MST, people gather in the sanctuary for worship that intertwines Methodist tradition with meaningful reflection on contemporary life. The service includes hymns, prayers, scripture readings, and sermons. It is also livestreamed, and recorded services are available through the church's YouTube and Facebook presence, allowing worshippers to participate from home or wherever they may be.
North Scottsdale United Methodist Church describes itself as an affirming, faith-filled environment for people seeking peace, purpose, and community. Lead Pastor Christopher Wurpts frames the purpose of gathering simply: to connect with God and with each other through authentic relationships. That emphasis helps explain the mix of traditional worship, open questions, family formation, and practical service that defines the church's ministry.
Your First Sunday at 10 A.M.
Visiting a new church can feel intimidating, so the church has made its first-Sunday expectations straightforward. The main gathering is at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the sanctuary at 11735 N Scottsdale Rd. A visitor will hear a blend of time-honored hymns and thoughtful liturgy, with messages that address contemporary issues. The atmosphere is intended to be both grounding and approachable.
- Location: The sanctuary is at 11735 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85254.
- Parking: Guest parking is on the south side of the campus.
- Clothing: Come as you feel comfortable; a suit and jeans are both welcome.
- Recognition: No visitor is singled out or asked to introduce himself or herself during the service.
- Giving: An offering is received as an act of worship, but visitors face no pressure to contribute.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. MST, with in-person availability on Mondays and Thursdays or by appointment. Online worship begins at the same 10 a.m. hour as the sanctuary service through YouTube. Families do not need to choose between participating in worship and caring for young children: children begin beside their parents, then move to age-specific learning.
Discover, Connect, and Grow
Spiritual growth is not a one-size-fits-all process at NSUMC. The church presents a three-part introduction that begins with worship, expands into personal relationships, and continues in the life of the community.
- Discover: Attend a Sunday service in person or online to feel the rhythm of worship and the spirit of the community.
- Connect: Arrange a casual meeting with a pastor or staff member to discuss questions or simply talk about life.
- Grow: Continue spiritual growth while building deeper connections with the community.
Everyone is welcome whether they have attended church for many years, are returning after time away, or are new to Christianity. The approach emphasizes discovery, dialogue, and a community that values each person's journey and questions.
From a High School Lunchroom to Scottsdale Road
The Methodist roots run to 1736, when John Wesley founded the Methodist Church. The movement emphasized personal holiness, social reform, and the power of small-group fellowship. Those principles still guide North Scottsdale United Methodist Church, which holds a progressive view of the world while remaining rooted in the practices that shaped more than two centuries of Methodist history.
The local story began in the autumn of 1977, when families in North Scottsdale felt called to continue Wesley's vision in their own neighborhood. They first gathered in the lunchroom at Chaparral High School. Each Sunday ended with clasped hands and songs echoing through the room. Potluck dinners, family craft nights, and service projects soon formed a community centered on support, encouragement, and growth.
In 1982, the congregation established its home at Scottsdale and Jenan Roads. As the church family grew, the property expanded. A new 17,000-square-foot sanctuary was completed in 2004, creating the worship setting now used for Sunday services, baptisms, weddings, and memorial gatherings.
Traditional Roots, Progressive Commitments
North Scottsdale United Methodist Church is united by shared values and faith rather than identical opinions. Its beliefs are presented as a foundation for connection and open dialogue, with room for people to explore difficult questions, interpret Scripture, and grow together.
- Wesleyan foundations: Personal holiness, social reform, and fellowship remain central. These principles support continual spiritual growth, service to others, and small groups where faith is practiced in daily life.
- Jesus and shared faith: Jesus Christ is affirmed as the embodiment of God's unconditional love and grace and the conduit of the Holy Spirit's guidance. Faith is understood as a shared journey strengthened by community.
- Scripture in dialogue: The Bible is approached as a living document. The church encourages deep reflection, meaningful discussion, open questions, and the application of Scripture to life rather than a claim that every question already has a simple answer.
- Service, justice, and kindness: The community seeks to love kindness, pursue justice, work for peace, and make a positive difference in local and global communities through action, both large and small.
- Open participation: The church affirms LGBTQIA+ people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Church roles are open to everyone regardless of gender or orientation, and unconditional love is treated as the foundation of community.
That combination of conviction and openness shapes how the congregation receives people. It presents itself as a place where tradition can enrich the present and where people are encouraged to seek understanding together.
At the center is a generous account of grace. NSUMC holds that God's grace reaches every person, and the church's affirmation of that grace extends through worship, baptism, community roles, and service. Its beliefs are described as a compass rather than a map, offering direction without prescribing one path for everyone.
Worship With Room for Reflection
The Sunday service is built around a deliberate blend of tradition and contemporary relevance. Time-honored hymns and liturgy provide continuity, while prayers and messages engage contemporary issues. The resulting worship combines grounding tradition with insight for people navigating work, family, and an uncertain world, including young professionals and families seeking a firm foundation.
Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, in keeping with Methodist tradition. Everyone is welcome to participate regardless of age or denominational background. The service also gives room for prayer, personal reflection, congregational song, scripture, and sermons intended to provoke thoughtful introspection.
Music is not a side activity but part of the worship rhythm. Chancel and handbell choirs contribute regularly, alongside solo performances and special musical numbers. People are invited to sing, play an instrument, greet arrivals, or serve in other ways, whether or not they consider themselves musically gifted. The same service is live online, and past worship remains available for later viewing.
Learning and Membership Beyond Sunday
NSUMC 101 is the church's membership class, an hour-long conversation after service with a pastor and the membership committee. Participants hear the congregation's story, consider where God is calling the church, and explore what the community cares about. The class is open to newcomers, long-time visitors, and those in between, making the church's story and shared commitments part of joining the community.
Study groups and special events create additional ways to connect. Volunteers can serve by greeting arrivals, singing in a choir, performing a special song, assisting with children, joining mission teams, and helping at gatherings. A Church Center app supports registration, volunteering, online giving, recorded worship, and connections with small groups. These practical paths make hospitality visible through participation rather than requiring newcomers to have every answer before they arrive.
Children Begin Beside Their Families
Children are welcome in the main worship setting from the start. After about twenty minutes with their families, they move into age-specific programs led by staff and volunteers. Children from age three through second grade and those in grades three through six have dedicated classes with activities designed for their age and spiritual development.
For children ages one through three, a nursery is available from the beginning of the service and remains open throughout the morning. A check-in system is used so that only the person who checks in a child can pick the child up. First-time families are helped with registration, while returning families can enter a phone number on a check-in iPad to receive a drop-off tag.
Safety shapes the children's ministry. Volunteers undergo thorough vetting and background checks, and the congregation follows Safe Sanctuaries guidelines. The church also offers Compassion Day Camp, a Christian day-camp program combining faith, creativity, movement, science, gardening, and service. Its mission activities include support for the Paiute Family Resource Center through donated diapers or gifts.
Youth Take Their Place in the Worshiping Life
Youth in grades seven through twelve are integral members of the congregation, not a separate audience. They help in NSUMC Kids, serve on volunteer teams, and participate in worship through music and teaching. Junior High students, grades seven through nine, meet during the 10 a.m. service and are then dismissed for worship. Senior High students, grades ten through twelve, have a separate Wednesday evening meeting, and the two groups join for a monthly event.
Several staff members give particular shape to these ministries. Terry Wright directs children's ministries, Darin Read directs worship, Lindsey Johnson serves as organist and bell choir director, and Brandon Huenemann directs congregational life. Their work spans age-specific learning, music, churchwide participation, and the groups and events that help people connect beyond Sunday morning.
Support for Recovery and Life's Milestones
The church hosts various support groups focused on addiction recovery and on families of people with addictions. These groups offer a safe setting for sharing, learning, and comfort through mutual experience. The pastoral team provides prayer, conversation, and community, while Pastor of Congregational Care Leah Bergstrom brings extensive experience in Christian education and church care.
Bergstrom earned an MDiv from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and served 32 years at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in a Pittsburgh suburb, moving from Diaconal Minister to Deacon to Elder. She considers education in the faith essential for following Jesus and living an abundant life, an emphasis that connects with the church's children's and youth ministries.
Baptisms
Baptisms are held on select Sundays during worship and are celebrated by the whole congregation. The church embraces prevenient grace, God's unconditional love extended before a person is aware of it, and therefore welcomes baptisms for people of all ages, including infants and children.
Weddings
The sanctuary can host weddings for different group sizes, and pastors can officiate at off-site locations within the region. The pastoral team helps couples shape a ceremony that reflects their spiritual path and personal preferences. Personalized premarital counseling is also offered to help build a strong foundation for marriage.
Memorial Services
For times of loss, the pastoral team can provide an officiant and the sanctuary can accommodate memorial gatherings of varied sizes. These services are intended as compassionate, respectful settings for remembrance, healing, and hope, shaped around the life and preferences of the person being honored.
Service Beyond the Sanctuary
A Missions Committee opens opportunities for discipleship and service-oriented life beyond the church walls. It links individuals and groups with mission opportunities, encourages people to use their gifts and passions, and plans mission teams that work outside the Phoenix metropolitan area.
- Local hunger work: Members serve monthly at Wesley United Methodist Mission in South Phoenix, United Methodist Outreach Ministries on East Van Buren Street in Phoenix, and numerous Valley of the Sun food banks.
- CarePortal: The church supports families with vulnerable children by helping connect them with holistic care through the family's church and community.
- Matthew 25 Ministries: A long-running partnership provides pen pals and funding for a prison ministry that offers educational scholarships and re-entry assistance to incarcerated people in Arizona.
- United Methodist Committee on Relief: NSUMC contributes funds and people to disaster-relief work responding to conflict and severe weather.
This ministry joins local service to a wider expression of faith. The church does not present missions as a separate activity from worship; it treats service, Scripture, personal gifts, and fellowship as parts of one Christian life.
Investing in the Work That Continues
Incorporated in 2021, the North Scottsdale United Methodist Church Foundation helps sustain spiritual education, preserve welcoming community spaces, and prepare infrastructure and technology for future ministry. Its commitments include honoring donors' wishes, investing wisely, and being transparent and trustworthy in its work. Giving options can be explored in alignment with supporters' financial and philanthropic goals.
Beyond Sunday worship, the church offers camps, getaways, weekly meetups, study groups, special music, and events for different ages and interests. The work is sustained by people who give, serve, teach, sing, provide pastoral care, and join mission teams, making the congregation's activity a practical expression of its calling.
The church acknowledges Scottsdale as the traditional territory of the Akimel O'odham (Upper Pima), O'odham Jewed, and the Hohokam people. At 11735 N Scottsdale Road, North Scottsdale United Methodist Church's identity lives in the combination of traditional worship held with openness, education that reaches children and adults, support offered in times of struggle, and service carried from the sanctuary into the wider community.