Belong. Believe. Become.
Whether you’re new to church, have been a Christian for many years, or are looking for a fresh start, you are welcome here. We hope you find a meaningful connection to God and our church family. Everything we do is focused on helping everyone who walks through our door experience abundant life in Jesus Christ (John 10:10).
Our Church History...
We are a church of all ages and from every walk of life - all seeking to follow Jesus together. We want to worship passionately, grow continually and serve joyfully as we learn to love God and our neighbor. By God's grace at work in our lives, we believe are more than forgiven, we are being remade to reflect Christ to our world through self-giving love.
Our congregation first gathered to form a new church in 1903 as 11th Avenue Methodist-Episcopal Church, located in on the south side of Birmingham city. After eight decades of ministry, in 1989 the congregation relocated, building Aldersgate United Methodist Church on Lakeshore Drive. In 2012, after courageously answering God's call to redeploy as a community based church, the Church at Ross Bridge first began worshipping in the Hoover community in 2012. We became an independent Methodist Church in December 2022. In 2024 we are breaking ground on our permanent campus at 3200 Ross Bridge Parkway.
Lead Pastor
Dr. Nathan Carden
"Jesus Christ was crucified, dead and buried and God raised him physically from the dead to bring hope, forgiveness & healing to our world. By God's grace his story of death and resurrection is now our story too - in real life. Every day I get the chance to help others experience that hope, and I can't imagine being a part of anything better than that."
A native of Andalusia, AL, Nathan grew up in Alabama and Georgia as the son of a minister. He has served in churches in FL and TN prior to moving to the Birmingham area in 2010. He is married way out of his league to Kameron (Ph.D.), his girlfriend from high school who works as a Professor of Speech-Pathology at Samford University. They have three spirited children, J. Henry (16), Amelia (13) and Hanna (12). When not at work he can be found herding children, fishing, reading and building things.
Nathan Carden became the lead pastor of the Church at Ross Bridge in July 2017. He is a member of Forged Alabama, a network of independent Wesleyan churches and leaders called to greater Kingdom impact.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Preaching, Casting Vision, Caring for the Hurting and Leading our Staff Team.
EDUCATION:
- B.S. in Communication Studies, Trevecca Nazarene University
- M.A. in Religion, Trevecca Nazarene University
- M.Div., Vanderbilt Divinity School
- D.Min. in Preaching, Asbury Theological Seminary · Beeson Scholar