2020…what can I say? It is been a crazy year to say the least. We have all used and overused some words this year such as: Unprecedented, Pandemic, COVID-19, Coronavirus, and more! I know you all experienced many things as a family and at your local churches.
First and foremost, we know that God is still on His throne and in control! Praise the Lord!! We also are very thankful for you, our prayer and financial partners. Without your prayers and gifts and the Lord’s multiplication math, we couldn’t do what He has called us to do. Thank you again!!
As the year kicked off and as we headed into March, we were trending towards excellent growth headed towards year 4 as a church. Based on our attendance numbers, we were all set to launch to two services towards the end of March. And then…the pandemic hit us all! We had to close our doors to the public just as many other churches did. This obviously put a halt on two services. Thankfully, we had already been streaming our services live to Facebook for a couple of years so we were ahead of the curve and were able to help many churches get going as they started online streaming.
After being closed to the public for almost 3 months, we were able to open back up for in-person services in June on Father’s Day. We went ahead and launched 2 services when we reopened to allow for social distancing and growth. We were thankful to be able to meet back in person but the pandemic and closure certainly hurt our growth.
In September, after much prayer, we decided to go from two services back to one service due to the lower numbers returning in person and the taxing on our worship team and volunteers. Within a month we began growing again and things were looking promising. Unfortunately, around Thanksgiving, many in our church, including all of our staff, came down with COVID-19. We closed the doors again to in-person services for 3 weeks and I preached online only. We are all better now and were able to reopen for in-person services again December 20th.
We also lost two special women in our church this year. In March we lost Nan Brown to her battle with cancer. Nan started coming to our church about 6 months after our launch and came to help her aunt find a church. She ended up falling in love with us and us with her. We were able to hold her funeral at StonePoint a week before the shutdown.
In November, we lost the wife of our former worship leader to cancer as well. Rebecca Rothenberger was a sweet young lady and mother of 2 boys. She gave her life to the Lord while at StonePoint and was baptized on our 1 year anniversary. She battled lung cancer a year and was in remission when the cancer came back very aggressively. Our church continues to minister to the Rothenberger family and has help set up a college fund for the boys.
Praises from 2020 – StonePoint is still reaching people, preaching the Word, discipling others, baptizing believers, helping in our local community, nationally and internationally!! We know God is still in control and He is still faithful so we must continue to be faithful to what He has called us to do and we know He will provide as we continue to step forward in faith! This year, we have helped more people and more ministries than ever before.
Locally, we have helped families affected by the pandemic through sickness or job loss/reductions. We still partner with The Place which provides food, clothing, job assistance, and financial assistance to those in need. We partner with Family Promise which helps local families that have found themselves homeless. We continue to provide backpacks for students in need as well as providing presents for children in need during Christmas. This year, we provided 40 electronic Bible Sticks to military personnel that didn’t have a Bible.
StonePoint is also partnering with the Risner Family in Romania, as well as sponsoring children in need in Indonesia and other areas. We are a Mission Church living out the Mission and supporting other Missions!!
God has worked mightily in the lives of many people since we moved to Georgia and starting meeting people and holding Vision Casting meetings in our house. What started from our family is now over 40 families representing over 100 people that call StonePoint home in 4 years is amazing!!
We have had nearly 60 Baptisms and many of those have been entire families! We’ve seen over 20 professions of faith, and countless lives have been changed! Marriages being healed, and families being restored through accepting and giving forgiveness. People have been released from the bondage of sin and the shame of their past. We have also seen the miracle of God’s healing touch as several people have been completely healed of many things!! Praise God and help us celebrate Life Change for Christ!! We Are Thankful for YOU!! Because of your faithfulness, StonePoint has been able to reach out to many people in North Georgia. Your investments have also helped us invest into the lives of hundreds of different people that have come through our doors. Lives have been transformed by the power of Jesus. People have been Saved, Baptized, Rededicated their lives, Addictions have been broken, Marriages have been healed and restored, families have gotten control of their finances, people have asked for and given forgiveness and shown grace. All this has happened through the combined efforts of everyone’s prayers and financial support and willingness to get involved and make a difference. Thank you for making a difference!!
