Love God, Love People, Make Disciples
Tucked along the East Sam Houston Parkway in the North Channel area of northeast Houston, Sterling Wood Church has built its identity around a single, repeated line: Love God. Love People. Make Disciples. The motto shows up across the church's own materials and shapes nearly every program on the campus, from Sunday morning worship to a Wednesday night meal served to neighbors experiencing homelessness.
The church's vision is to see the North Channel area, East Harris County, and all of Houston transformed by the power of the gospel, and to do that it leans on a four-stage discipleship strategy: Reach, Engage, Equip, and Send. The Reach phase introduces people to Jesus; the Engage phase draws them into community through small groups; the Equip phase shapes them into Christlike character; and the Send phase releases them as missionaries where they live, work, and play. Pastor Aaron Morris, who has led the church alongside his wife Sarah, is the one who first greets visitors with an invitation to come by this Sunday.
Sunday Mornings on the Parkway
Worship gathers at 10:15 am in the Worship Center, and the service is built around a mix of live music and a Bible message. The atmosphere is intentionally casual, and the people are described as friendly, with Sundays designed to make faith practical at every stage of life.
Around that 10:15 gathering, two small-group hours wrap the morning. At 9 am, adult Sunday school classes meet for those who do not need childcare, including Adult I (Senior Adults) led by Sharon Griffith, Mike Ditta, and Candy Hall, and a Parenting Class led by Dan and Brenda Watts along with Bill and Sherrill Ubernosky. After the worship service, the 11:30 am hour opens up a full menu of classes for adults, students, and kids, including a second Adult class taught by Dr. Warren Smith and David Kester, a 40+ group led by Candy and Bruce Hall, a Marrieds Class with Greg and Melanie Ayers, a Ladies Class with Sherrill Ubernosky, and the College and Career small group led by Rachel Ubernosky. Omega and SWAT, two more adult groups, meet in the evening at 4:00 and 5:00 pm respectively.
Families can walk through a Plan a Visit experience where a greeter meets them at the front door, helps with kid check-in, introduces them to a few people, and saves seats. Free childcare is offered during select next-step classes, and the church uses a text-to-connect line at 281-864-3056 so newcomers can ask practical questions before they arrive.
Rocket Town: Kids From Six Weeks Through Sixth Grade
Children's ministry at Sterling Wood, branded as Rocket Town, runs year-round and is free for every program. The Nursery welcomes infants from six weeks through toddlers two years old across two suites: a quiet Infant Nursery and a cheerful Toddler Nursery. Parents bring labeled diapers, a change of clothes, a pacifier or comfort item, a bottle of milk, formula, juice, or water, and wipes. The church provides Goldfish and cookies as snacks, and live video monitors in the secretary's office let parents peek in if a child becomes inconsolable for more than fifteen minutes.
The Preschool ministry, for children three years old through Kindergarten, meets in Building B. Lil Kidz Church at 10:15 am fills the room with praise music and dancing, and Sunday School at 11:30 am centers on a Bible lesson, crafts, and snacks. Children are grouped by age as of September 1.
Kidz Rock-It is the program for first through sixth graders, and it partners with families to grow kids' faith. Kidz Church meets at 10:15 am in the Rocket Town Room with worship, dance, games, and object lessons, while Kidz Sunday School meets at 11:30 am in Building C in smaller grade-level groups. Check-in for both programs happens in the Conference Room in the Office Building near the toddler nursery.
AWANA Clubs round out the week on Wednesdays from 6:15 to 8:15 pm for children Pre-K through sixth grade. The program is run by a global nondenominational ministry and is free to register, with games, Bible lessons, and discipleship activities woven into the evening. The Kidz Rock-It team notes that AWANA is active in over twelve thousand churches across more than one hundred countries.
RISE: Students in Middle and High School
Students in grades six through twelve belong to RISE Youth Ministry, whose name stands for Reach Others, Inspire Disciples, Serve Others, and Extol the Lord. RISE gathers for small group on Sunday mornings from 11:30 to 12:30 in the Youth Building, and RISE at Midweek runs Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 pm with games, worship, a Bible message, and grade- and gender-based small groups.
Two major student events anchor the year. Summer Youth Camp takes students who have completed sixth through twelfth grades to PineyWoods for a five-day week of worship, teaching, games, and friendships, with the 2026 dates set for June 30 through July 4. Disciple Now, or D-NOW, is an overnight weekend retreat hosted at Sterling Wood where students stay in host homes, hear a guest speaker and worship band, complete a mission project, and compete in friendly recreation. The student pastor can be reached at studentpastor@sterlingwood.org.
College, Career, and the Ladies
College and Career young adults meet in two settings. On Sunday at 11:30 am they gather in Building A-3, and on Monday at 6:30 pm they meet in the Youth Building. The ministry is led by Ethan Smith and Rachel Ubernosky, who describe the group as a judgment-free community where young adults in every season of life are invited to grow in their walk of Christ. The group also maintains an Instagram presence at @cnc_sterlingwood.
The Ladies Ministry gathers Sundays at 11:30 am in Building A Room 1 under the leadership of Sherrill Ubernosky, with the goal of encouraging women to connect deeply with God, grow stronger in faith, and empower others. A private Facebook group and a year-round calendar of Ladies Events extend the connection beyond Sunday morning.
Ministerio en Español
Sterling Wood's Spanish Ministry, coordinated by Kelly and Gloria Christmas and Eleana Vasquez, meets the growing Hispanic community in the North Channel area. The 10:15 am worship service is offered with Spanish translation, and a Spanish Bible study for adults follows at 11:30 am in the Office Building's Rocket Town Room. The ministry also hosts ESL classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 am for neighbors learning English. Worship services and devotionals are shared on the church's YouTube channel so the community can engage in Spanish online as well.
Small Groups, Faithwalking, and Bible Study Tools
Small groups are the backbone of the Engage stage in Sterling Wood's discipleship strategy, and the church publishes a downloadable catalog each year listing the classes, locations, and leaders. Beyond the Sunday morning offerings, the catalog includes evening groups like Omega and SWAT, a Parenting Class, a Marriage Class, and short-term courses like Faithwalking 101 and 201 and Financial Freedom. The church offers free childcare with registration for several of these classes and provides RightNow Media as a member resource, alongside Bible Project videos, Bible Gateway, Bible Hub, Blue Letter Bible, and an OICA study booklet that walks through Observation, Interpretation, Correlation, and Application.
Faithwalking is a two-stage discipleship process designed for personal transformation. Faithwalking 101 runs as a seven-week, two-hour-per-week class taught by the Faithwalking team, mixing solitude, reflection, and small-group discussion. Faithwalking 201 deepens the work over twenty-four weeks of biweekly meetings, paired with a dedicated coach and a weekly notebook of assignments, and is open to anyone who has completed 101. Childcare is provided for 201.
Local Outreach: GROW, Lafayette Village, and Clothes for Cuties
Outreach is woven into the church's identity, and three ongoing ministries anchor the local work. GROW Homeless Ministry partners Sterling Wood with the Houston Sheriff's Department Homeless Outreach Team, and serves hot meals on Tuesdays and Sundays at 6 pm and sack lunches on Thursdays at 1 pm, reaching around eighty-five people each time. Volunteers aged seventh grade and above are welcome.
The Apartment Ministry at Lafayette Village, run by Nancy Young, provides school supplies, transportation, and clothing for residents in the apartment complex right next to the church, and partners with Helping Hands to provide food for hungry children Monday through Thursday from 3 to 5 pm during the school year, with summer lunch coverage as well. Clothes and Coats for Cuties partners the church with a local nonprofit that supplies essential clothing for elementary children in need.
Beyond these, Sterling Wood supports food pantries, public schools, Houston Responds for hurricane and disaster relief, Youth Reach Houston, and Hope House, and the church keeps a Harris County resource guide available online.
Global Outreach: Guatemala, Shoe Boxes, and Lottie Moon
Global missions are an extension of the Send stage. Sterling Wood partners with a nonprofit called Christ4Guatemala to run mission trips that build stoves, host children's Bible schools, and operate medical clinics, and the church provides financial support for a young pastor and a new church plant in the country, as well as secondary education for children. Each year, the church packs hundreds of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes through Samaritan's Purse and supports international missionaries through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, funneled through the International Missions Board.
Baptism and Membership
Baptism is described as a public celebration of new life in Christ, and Sterling Wood practices believer's baptism by immersion. The church's teaching is that baptism does not save; it is an outward symbol of an inward commitment, just as a wedding ring symbolizes marriage. Anyone who has put faith in Jesus may be baptized, and placing faith in Christ followed by believer's baptism by immersion is a requirement for membership. Those who were baptized by immersion at another church do not need to be re-baptized at Sterling Wood. Baptisms are scheduled by the church secretary, and the pastor meets with the candidate thirty minutes before the service to walk through the day.
What to Expect on Your First Sunday
Visitors who sign up for Plan a Visit are met at the front door, helped through kid check-in, introduced to a few people, and seated together if they want. Small groups start on the hour at 9:00 am and 11:30 am, with the 9:00 am hour for adults who do not need childcare, and worship follows at 10:15 am. Dress is casual, and the service includes live music and a Bible-centered message. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 8 am to 4 pm and Friday from 8 am to noon, and the church can be reached at 281-457-5730 or office@sterlingwood.org. Prayer requests can be sent any time, and a weekly prayer gathering meets Wednesdays at 6:30 pm.
Giving, RightNow Media, and Online Life
Giving is available online, in person on Sundays, by mail to the church office, or by texting an amount to +1832-979-7228. The church describes its giving as supporting the mission of sharing the hope of Jesus with the community, the city, the nations, and the generations, with funds directed to ministries like Youth Reach, North Channel Assistance Ministry, and GROW. Members also receive free access to RightNow Media, an online library of Bible-based content for every age, by signing up through a custom link or texting STERLINGWOOD to 49775. Worship services and other messages are streamed on the church's YouTube channel, and a sermon archive going back several years is available online with messages by Pastors Aaron Morris, Warren Smith, Joshua Hoag, and Larry Hargraves.
Pastors and Ministry Leaders
Aaron Morris is the Senior Pastor and has been married to Sarah since 2003. Both graduated from Houston Baptist University, where Aaron earned a BA and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, and the couple has six children. Sarah serves as the Worship Pastor. Melanie Ayers leads the church as Administrator and Small Groups Pastor, while Dan Watts oversees children's ministry and Mike Ditta serves as Prayer and Care Pastor. Dr. Warren Smith leads Evangelism, Assimilation, and Discipleship, and Josh Hoag is the Student Pastor. Sherrill Ubernosky coordinates women's ministry, Araceli Villalobos directs the nursery, Danny Clough is the Tech Producer, and Christina Hill leads the Content Team. The church secretary is Christie Phillips, and the team at 4910 E Sam Houston Pkwy N also includes the staff that coordinates global partnerships, outreach, and the church's small-group catalog.