diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/GenericMessageEndpoint.java b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/GenericMessageEndpoint.java
index cff57abed8..9d9a07e913 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/GenericMessageEndpoint.java
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/endpoint/GenericMessageEndpoint.java
@@ -128,7 +128,10 @@ public class GenericMessageEndpoint implements MessageEndpoint {
 		if (replyChannelName != null && replyChannelName.trim().length() > 0) {
 			return this.channelRegistry.lookupChannel(replyChannelName);
 		}
-		return this.channelRegistry.lookupChannel(this.defaultOutputChannelName);
+		if (this.defaultOutputChannelName != null) {
+			return this.channelRegistry.lookupChannel(this.defaultOutputChannelName);
+		}
+		return null;
 	}
 
 }