12Stone

12Stone Church (also known simply as "12Stone") is an American multi-site church with multiple locations in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Kevin Myers is the founder and senior pastor of 12Stone.

12Stone Church
12Stone Church
Location	Lawrenceville, GA based with various physical campuses and online.
Country	United States
Denomination	Wesleyan
Website	12stone.com
History
Former name(s)	Crossroads Community Church
Status	Active
Founded	November 1, 1987
Founder(s)	Kevin Myers
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)	Kevin Myers (Founding Senior Pastor) Jason Berry (Co-Senior Pastor)
Pastor(s)	Dr. Dan Reiland (Chief of Staff) Paul Nieman (Lawrenceville) Mark Eiken (Hamilton Mill) Josh Ivy (Flowery Branch) Barry Lusk (Sugarloaf) Todd Nicholson (Bethlehem) Dan VanderWal (Braselton) Steve Walton (Buford) Trey Hildebrant (Snellville) Travis Billman (Online)

As of March 2017, there are eight physical 12Stone "campuses" located in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Hall County, Georgia, and Barrow County, Georgia, along with messages available on-demand online. 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.[1] 12Stone is the daughter church of Kentwood Community Church.[2]

History

1987 - On November 1, 12Stone Church was founded as Crossroads Community Church by Kevin Myers, his wife Marcia, and three other couples that relocated from Michigan to Greater Gwinnett County to plant a church that would be relevant, fun, challenging and impacting for generations.

1993 – After 5 years of worshiping in several temporary facilities, 12Stone relocated to 1625 Collins Hill Road, in Lawrenceville, GA. The Collins Hill worship center allowed 12Stone to put down roots and serve hundreds in the community.

1995 – Doug Edwards, who did not attend 12Stone Church, donated 13 acres on the corner of Calvin Davis Circle and Highway 20. 800 people relocated onto the new campus and attendance doubled in size within months of moving in.

1999 – 12Stone purchased 69 acres (280,000 m²) adjacent to the donated property.

2001 – 12Stone built a new 1,000 seat worship center, renovated the original building into a Children's Ministry Center, and paid off the $2.6M mortgage on the adjacent 69 acre property.

2003 - 12Stone opened the Edwards Center and renovated the Collins Hill building into a Student Center for the expanding High School, Middle School and College Ministries.

2007 – In March, 12Stone opened their first satellite campus in the Hamilton Mill community. The 350 seat worship center, with video teaching and a live worship band brings a small church feel to big church.

2007 – The church is officially renamed from Crossroads Community Church to 12Stone. Additionally, 12Stone took possession of their Highway 20 Campus and their expanding mission.

2008 – In January, 12Stone opened their Central Campus at the Highway 20 location. The campus includes five worship environments: a 2,600 seat worship center for the adults, a 450 seat high school worship center, a 300-seat middle school worship center, and two additional worship centers for younger children.[3]

2010- The online campus launched. live.12stone.com The online campus experience includes worship music, teaching notes, a live chat feature, and prayer opportunities to connect with a pastor.

2011 – Average weekly attendance surpassed 10,000, making 12Stone the first Wesleyan Church to surpass this milestone.[2]

2012- In January 2012, 12Stone opened the Sugarloaf campus in a temporary location - Peachtree Ridge High School. In May 2012, the church broke ground on the permanent Sugarloaf location, and home of the John Maxwell Leadership Center.[4] Also in 2012, 12Stone broke ground on a new Hamilton Mill location.

2013- May 17, 2013 12Stone celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Gwinnett Arena, and announced plans to launch 5 new campuses in 5 years.[5]

2014- The Sugarloaf location opened doors in February. The location has a 1,000-seat worship center and large spaces for children's and student ministries. In March 2014 the John Maxwell Leadership Center officially opened. In April, the Hamilton Mill campus opened doors to its new facility while converting the old facility into a space for offices and a student center.

2015- In January, 12Stone simultaneously launched 5 campuses.[6] The campuses, in Bethlehem, Buford, Braselton, and Snellville, are housed in local schools in each of the areas, with fully functioning adult, student, and children's worship areas at each service.

Worship

12Stone features a casual dress code, with many attendees wearing jeans and casual attire. The worship service includes coffee before and after the services, the music style is pop-rock and praise-worship, with the performances amplified concert style and lyrics shown on projector. The worship team writes and records their church's music and released their album "Greater Than Life" on November 16, 2012 www.worship.12stone.com. The lobby of the Central Campus has its own Starbucks Café.[7]

Locations

There are currently six physical 12Stone campuses in Gwinnett and Hall counties and 2 temporary locations in Gwinnett and Barrow counties.[8]

1. Lawrenceville (Central Campus) - 1322 Buford Drive, Lawrenceville, GA -33.99967°N 83.9900°W
2. Hamilton Mill - 3858 Braselton Hwy, Buford, GA -34.071930°N 83.899809°W
3. Flowery Branch - 4256 Martin Road, Flowery Branch, GA -34.19343°N 83.8846°W
4. Sugarloaf - Location: 2050 Sugarloaf Circle Duluth, GA 30097 [phone]
5. Buford - Temporary Location: Lanier High School, 918 Buford Hwy, Buford, GA 30518 [phone]
6. Bethlehem - Temporary Location: Apalachee High School, 940 Haymon Morris Rd, Winder, GA 30680 [phone]
7. Braselton - 2675 Old Winder Highway, Braselton, GA 30517 [phone]
8. Snellville - 1709 Scenic Highway S, Snellville, GA 30078 [phone]

Affiliation

12Stone is a congregation of the Wesleyan Church and its pastors are licensed/ordained under Wesleyan, Lutheran, Baptist, and Independent denominations and their spiritual authority.[9]

12Stone is aligned in ministry style and philosophy with the Willow Creek Association, which is an umbrella organization of churches who are dedicated to turning irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.[9]

Controversies

In 2014, 12Stone church was involved in the arrest and false conviction of David Justin Freeman, who had been a volunteer minister at the church. Freeman was arrested after 12stone pastor Jason Berry claimed Freeman had given him the middle finger, but Berry's testimony was impeached at trial.[10] Freeman's conviction was ultimately overturned in 2017 on free speech grounds.[11]

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."[12]

Articles

• "Lawrenceville church seeks families in need of presents". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 9 December 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
• "12Stone Church Uses Riedel Artist Intercom For Multicampus Live Video System". Live Design Online. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
• "12Stone not suing Buford; picks temporary site". Gwinnett Daily Post. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2015.

References

1. "The Largest Churches in America -2010". Outreach Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
2. "12Stone Attendance Makes History". The Wesleyan Church. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
3. "12Stone History". Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
4. "Church Facility to Train Leaders in Duluth".
5. "12Stone Church Celebrates 25 years of Ministry at Gwinnett Arena". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
6. "12Stone Church Launches Five New Campuses This Sunday". Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
7. "A church with its own Starbucks". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
8. "12Stone Locations/Times". Retrieved 9 May 2011.
9. "12Stone Beliefs - Our Accountability". Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
10. "Is pastor Jason Berry of 12stone church a liar and a perjurer?". Archived from the original on 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
11. http://www.dailyreportonline.com/home/id=1202799449435/Flipping-the-Bird-Was-Protected-Speech-State-Justices-Rule?mcode=1202617074542&curindex=0
12. http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/police-investigating-vandalism-at-two-stone-church-sites/article_b7f8a09e-488e-57e0-a996-27849bbede62.html

External links

• 12stone.com 12Stone Official Website
• 12Stone FAQs 12Stone Frequently Asked Questions