Megachurch Seeks Zoning To Build Near Johnson Ferry, Shallowford

EAST COBB, GA — An Atlanta-area megachurch with a national reach wants to build a four-story church — along with retail, restaurants and townhomes — in the heart of East Cobb, and they’re seeking a zoning change to do it.

Northpoint Ministries on Oct. 1 filed a proposal to rezone 33 acres near the intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Shallowford Road currently used for single-family houses and offices, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle. The zoning change would make the land OI, or office and institutional.

Because of its impact on traffic, density and a variety of other reasons, the Cobb Zoning Office is advising against it, the Chronicle reported. The proposal will go before Cobb County’s planning commission on Tuesday and before the Cobb County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 15.

Northpoint Ministries is a nondenominational Christian megachurch based in Alpharetta. Since its founding in 1995 by Andy Stanley, the church has added multiple Atlanta-area campuses and claims on its website more than 30,000 attendees each weekend. Northpoint also broadcasts a weekly talk by Stanley, aired locally in more than 40 TV markets after NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and CBS’s “The Late Late Show.”