Chartered in 1905, now rooted in Lakewood
Northridge Presbyterian Church sits at 6920 Bob-O-Link Drive in the Lakewood neighborhood of Dallas, where it has occupied its present campus for more than five decades. The congregation traces its origins to 1905, when members of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas and East Dallas residents asked the Dallas Presbytery to charter them as the East Dallas Presbyterian Church. Across more than a century of life, the church has known three sites, five buildings, and fifteen pastors. The name Northridge dates to the move to the Bob-O-Link campus, and the church remains a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) within Grace Presbytery.
At the rear of the sanctuary, the words "go out into God's world in peace" are branded above the exit doors, a reminder that Sundays are preparation for the week that follows. The same building houses the Northridge Child Development Center, a play-based preschool that operates as a ministry of the church.
Worship on Sunday: three shapes across the year
Worship is treated as the heart of the church's Christian life together, and Northridge offers different Sunday rhythms across the year.
From Labor Day through Memorial Day, the program year brings two Sunday morning services. At 9:00 a.m., worship moves outdoors to the lower parking lot on the back side of the building. The thirty-to-forty-five-minute gathering opens with the Cheers theme song each week, sings a gathering song, listens to scripture and sermon, reflects with a song, and prays for the community and world. Lawn chairs are common. The tone is casual, kids move freely, and a "pray-ground" near the front gives children a space to engage, including a children's moment early in the service.
At 11:00 a.m., worship moves into the Sanctuary. The order follows a reformed pattern, with hymns led by the Chancel Choir, scripture, sermon, and prayer, and a printed bulletin guides visitors through each element. Younger children can be dropped in the professionally staffed nursery, and kids in second grade and above can pick up a worship bag of activities to carry into the pew.
From mid-May through Labor Day, the congregation consolidates to a single 10:00 a.m. service in the Sanctuary. The format keeps the order, music choices, and bulletin of the traditional service but with a more casual feel; worship leaders do not wear robes in summer. The pray-ground moves indoors to the front of the sanctuary, and the nursery remains available.
Each Sunday at 11:00 a.m., the sanctuary service is livestreamed. A complete archive of past sermons is available on the church's YouTube channel.
The Charge: words recited at every service
At the close of every service, the congregation repeats a charge together, a set of lines that Northridge calls "The Charge" and seeks to embody through the week:
"Go out into God's world in peace; have courage; hold on to what is good; return to no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the suffering; honor all persons; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit."
These lines, posted at the back of the sanctuary, frame the church's identity as a community that pursues God's Kingdom beyond Sunday morning.
Music: five ensembles drawing from many traditions
Music is treated as a form of ministry in its own right. Five ensembles draw from classical, folk, jazz, gospel, Taizé, Iona, and newly composed music, all under the direction of Dr. Bryan Scott Page, Director of Music Ministries.
The Chancel Choir is the flagship ensemble. Open to youth and adults, it rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and on Sunday mornings, and leads the 11:00 a.m. sanctuary service during the program year. The Outdoor Worship Band, which includes vocals, guitar, bass, keys, percussion, and harmonica, leads the 9:00 a.m. service, rehearsing beforehand on Sundays. The One & Done Choir gathers on the last Sunday of the month (except in December and May), rehearses the music for the day, leads worship, and disbands; their motto is "No Robes, No Commitment, Just Worship." Chancel Bells rehearses on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. and plays four to five times a year in the sanctuary. The Children's Choir, open to ages 2 through sixth grade, rehearses on Sunday mornings at 9:45 a.m. and leads worship four to five times a year.
The sanctuary is acoustically primed for chamber choirs and smaller instrumental ensembles, and the church works with local and visiting musicians to host concerts throughout the year.
NCDC: a play-based preschool in the heart of the building
Sharing the campus with the church is the Northridge Child Development Center, a preschool serving two- to five-year-olds through a play-based program that emphasizes physical, social, and emotional growth.
Two-year-olds, the "Busy Bees," meet three days a week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with a 5:1 child-to-teacher ratio. Three- to five-year-olds, in the "Friendly Foxes" (3s) and "Outstanding Owls" (4s), meet four days a week, Monday through Thursday, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with a 10:1 ratio. A Marvelous Mornings option runs daily from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., and an Afternoons option runs daily from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Weekly specials include Spanish, yoga, music, movement, and chapel. Lead teachers and assistants are drawn from schools across Dallas, and the small size of the program lets each family be known by name.
Kids Connection Hour, youth group, and adult formation
Faith formation at Northridge is structured around a Sunday morning Connection Hour that runs between the two services during the program year, alongside weekly Bible study and recurring small groups.
Children ages 2 through fifth grade start the morning at 9:45 a.m. with music and move at 10:05 a.m. into age-specific classrooms. Base Camp 1 gathers 2- and 3-year-olds around Bible stories, snack, and play. Base Camp 2 hosts Preschool 4s, 5s, and Kindergartners working through the Shine curriculum. The Treehouse, for first and second graders, is a flexible room with crafts, games, and conversation around Bible stories. The Clubhouse, for third through fifth graders, uses Illustrated Ministry and encourages the kind of questions older kids bring to faith. Kids Music & More, a monthly offering for children in Pre-K 4 through fourth grade, meets on the first Sunday of each month for a one-hour mix of song, movement, craft or game, and play.
The nursery is open Sunday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and is staffed by trained caregivers.
The Northridge Youth ministry draws seventh through twelfth graders for monthly gatherings of mission projects, pool parties, fellowship time, and conversation about faith. Each summer, the youth take a week-long service trip; recent destinations have included Bell County, Kentucky, the Mississippi Delta, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Costa Rica. The youth also participate in regional Presbyterian events at Camp Gilmont, Mo Ranch, and Synod Youth Workshop.
Adults gather around a weekly Tuesday morning Bible Study on Zoom at 7:30 a.m., seasonal offerings during Advent and Lent, and Sunday morning Connection Hour classes at 10:00 a.m. during the program year. Past Connection Hour offerings have included "The Difficult Questions of Jesus" and a "Community Conversations" series. Northridge Women has two circles, an Evening Circle and a Day Circle, both running from September to May. A Men's Breakfast Group meets monthly at Chubby's off Northwest Highway for conversation and food.
Mission: local, national, and international partnerships
Northridge describes its mission as creating "a disproportionate impact for good," and supports long-term relationships in Dallas, across the United States, and abroad.
Locally, Northridge is a founding partner of Literacy Achieves, an English-as-a-Second-Language ministry that grew out of the East Dallas Cooperative Parish in 1994 and merged with the Vickery Meadow Learning Center in 2014; many Northridge members serve as volunteer tutors on the east Dallas campus. Northridge Without Borders, founded in 2012, partners with the International Rescue Committee to welcome refugees and migrants arriving in Dallas, ranging from grocery-store orientation and ESL tutoring to a "Pack the Pews" supplies initiative and apartment-furnishing moves for newly arrived families. White Rock Center of Hope is a coalition of more than fifty member churches providing food, clothing, financial assistance, transportation, Christmas toys, and school supplies. United to Learn is a Dallas ISD literacy partner; Northridge's partner school is Mount Auburn STEAM Academy. The Stewpot, a ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, serves a meal at its Second Chance Café on the third Friday of each month, with Northridge rotating in as host congregation.
Nationally, the church supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the PC(USA) response to communities affected by crises and catastrophic events.
Internationally, Northridge has long ties to Juarez, Mexico, through Arrow Outreach, supporting the Starfish Scholarship Program that helps students continue from middle school through university or technical school. Two Pencils, a campaign born from a 2003 mission trip to Juarez, gathers Advent offerings for partners including the Stewpot, the Wilkinson Center, the Coffee Trust in the Ixil region of Guatemala, and the Quillin Scholarship at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, named for Pastor Emeritus Roger Quillin. Congo Restoration focuses on education programs serving women and children in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Grace Presbytery connects the church to a wider ministry of witness, justice, and mercy across North, Northeast, and Central Texas.
Camp Northridge: summer week by week
Camp Northridge is a summer day-camp ministry of the church that has run since 2020. The program offers more than seventy-five themed weekly camps for children ages 3 through 10, with half-day camps for 3-year-olds and full-day camps for ages 4 through 10. The camp uses the church's Lakewood campus, draws instructors from local schools, and keeps low camper-to-teacher ratios. The mission is the same as the church's: opening the building to children and families who may not have a church connection yet.
Congregational care: a deacon-led ministry of presence
The Board of Deacons is described as the "caring heart" of the church, working with the congregation to make sure members feel genuinely cared for. Their ministries include a Zoom Share Café that meets monthly for online worshippers to reconnect; a Flower Ministry that delivers bouquets to members; transportation coordination for those who need a ride; home and hospital visits; in-home communion for members who cannot attend; meal ministry for surgery, loss, or new babies; handwritten Caring Notes; a "Journeying Through Grief" book series mailed to bereaved members; a Purls of Wisdom knitting group that produces prayer shawls and baby blankets for congregants and refugee families; Helping Hands for yard work and small home repairs; and a Support Team Ministry for members with deeper, often ongoing, needs.
The Pastoral Associate for Care, Bert Colter, joined the staff in 2024 after completing a Certificate in Ministry at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He is part of the Grace Presbytery Commissioned Pastor program.
Weddings, baptisms, memorials, and a columbarium
Baptism is celebrated in the context of Sunday morning worship, weddings are treated as worship services, and memorial services can be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person. A columbarium in the courtyard provides a consecrated site for the interment of cremated remains and the memorialization of church members and their families.
Sharing the campus with the neighborhood
Northridge invites neighbors to use its facilities, including Quillin Hall (the fellowship hall across from the Sanctuary), the Education Center, and the church grounds, for community events. The sports field is popular with local youth soccer teams. The church welcomes both members and non-members, and any fees depend on the nature of the event.
A welcoming front door
Northridge describes itself as an open and affirming congregation that welcomes all people authentically as they are, with "no need to check your mess at the door." Visitors can sign up through a form to be added to the newsletter and to set up a meeting. Those wishing to join may transfer by letter from another church, reaffirm their faith, or come by Profession of Faith and Baptism.
The pastoral team is led by Rev. Rebecca Chancellor Sicks, who has served Northridge since 2023 and now serves as Pastor and Acting Head of Staff. She holds a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and previously served Presbyterian congregations in Austin, Portland, Salina, and other Dallas-area churches. She and her husband James are raising two young children in Dallas. The Director of Faith Formation, Leah Lucas Egure, joined the staff in 2024 after earning a Master of Divinity at SMU; she coordinates the children's, youth, and adult formation ministries. Dr. Bryan Scott Page has led music at Northridge since 2016; Maria Markevitch serves as organist; and Suzanne Haynes is the Director of Operations.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The address is 6920 Bob-O-Link Drive, Dallas, TX 75214. Giving is available online through Realm, by text, and by mail.