12Stone
| 12Stone Church | |
|---|---|
| 12Stone Church | |
 | |
 | |
| 33°59′59″N 83°59′24″W / 33.99967°N 83.9900°W | |
| Location | Lawrenceville, GA based with various physical campuses and online. |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Wesleyan |
| Website | 12stone |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Crossroads Community Church |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | November 1, 1987 |
| Founder(s) | Kevin Myers |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Jason Berry (Senior Pastor) |
| Pastor(s) | Kevin Myers (Founding Pastor) Dr. Dan Reiland (Chief of Staff) Paul Nieman (Lawrenceville) Mark Eiken (Hamilton Mill) Frank Haynes (Flowery Branch) Michael Lumpkin (Sugarloaf) Matt Lewis (Braselton) Steve Walton (Buford) Trey Hildebrant (Snellville) Travis Billman (Online) Coye Bishop (Jackson County) |
12Stone Church (also known simply as "12Stone") is an American Wesleyan[1] multi-site megachurch with multiple locations in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Kevin Myers is the Founding Pastor, having transitioned out of the Senior Pastor role in 2023. Jason Berry currently serves as the Senior Pastor of 12Stone.
As of July 2024, there are nine physical 12Stone campuses located in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and Hall County along with several home churches called "12Stone Home". 12Stone was listed in late 2010 as the #1 fastest growing church in America and as the fortieth largest church in the United States with an attendance of 9,636.[2] 12Stone is the daughter church of Kentwood Community Church.[3] In 2011 the average weekly attendance surpassed 10,000, making 12Stone the first Wesleyan Church to surpass this milestone.[3]
Locations
[edit]There are currently nine physical 12Stone campuses in Gwinnett and Hall counties and one temporary location in Jackson county.[4]
- Lawrenceville (Central Campus) - 1322 Buford Drive, Lawrenceville, GA -33°59′59″N 83°59′24″W / 33.99967°N 83.9900°W
- Hamilton Mill - 3858 Braselton Hwy, Buford, GA -34°04′19″N 83°53′59″W / 34.071930°N 83.899809°W
- Flowery Branch - 4256 Martin Road, Flowery Branch, GA -34°11′36″N 83°53′05″W / 34.19343°N 83.8846°W
- Sugarloaf - 2050 Sugarloaf Circle Duluth, GA 30097
- Buford - 2565 Buford Hwy NE, Buford, GA 30518
- Braselton - 2675 Old Winder Highway, Braselton, GA 30517
- Snellville - 1709 Scenic Highway S, Snellville, GA 30078
- Athens - 395 Research Drive Athens, GA 30605
- Jackson County - 1952 Winder Hwy, Jefferson, GA 30549
Wednesdays
[edit]Wednesdays, youth group, occurs on every Wednesday of the year, excluding some holidays and weeks after big church events. It starts at about 7:00 PM each Wednesday night, arrival usually range-ing from 6:20-6:59 PM. Middle schoolers and high schoolers get to play games and talk to friends until drop off ends. Then everybody moves into worship, and following worship, either a sermon or small groups.
Controversies
[edit]In 2014, 12Stone church was involved in the arrest and conviction of David Justin Freeman, who had been a volunteer minister at the church. Freeman's conviction was ultimately overturned in 2017 on free speech grounds.[5]
In 2016, 12Stone church was struck by vandals (whom the church reports did $10,000 worth of damage). The vandals left behind pamphlets describing their displeasure with the church's operations, and spray-painted scripture references suggesting that 12Stone church had turned God's house into a market.[6]
The church and Kevin Myers (head pastor) have also made headlines for criticizing Colin Kaepernick's decision to protest by kneeling during the national anthem during a sermon,[7] as well as a sermon in 2010 comparing acceptance of homosexuals to acceptance of pedophiles.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "12Stone Beliefs - Our Accountability". Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ "The Largest Churches in America -2010". Outreach Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ a b "12Stone Attendance Makes History". The Wesleyan Church. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ "12Stone Locations/Times". Retrieved 9 May 2011.
- ^ "Flipping the Bird Was Protected Speech, State Justices Rule". Daily Report.
- ^ Wells, Erika. "Police investigating vandalism at two 12Stone Church sites". Gwinnett Daily Post.
- ^ Rossino, Greg (2016-09-14). "12Stone Church pastor message on Kaepernick goes viral". 11alive. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ^ Porter, Steven (2016-04-27). "IWU Has An Anti-Gay Problem; Boosting Gov. Mike Pence Doesn't Help". Retrieved 2022-06-25.
External links
[edit]- 12stone.com 12Stone Official Website