12 Stone Church

Last weekend I had the chance to visit a church called 12 Stone in Atlanta, Georgia. It was an awesome trip! I've never seen a church so spiritually alive before. Every worship service we went to I was amazed at how excited the people were to worship God.

Beyond that I just love the heart beat of the church. Everything they do, everything they have is to reach the lost. Everything they have is seen as a tool to that end. And if what they're doing doesn't work than they'd try something different.

The DNA of the church is based on prayer and scripture. Specifically the scripture of Gideon. There are battles going on in people's lives. And you know even Gideon felt unsure and afraid when he was told by the Lord, "You are a mighty warrior". He felt like he was the least, but God said "I am with you". In the battles we face, just like the ones Gideon faced we need to remember that yes we often feel like the least, we are afraid and we feel weak, but God is with us and that makes all the difference. We need to start living like God is with us. 12 Stone is founded on this and when they pray over the service Saturday nights, and pray over the people, they carry swords as they pray. It's such a cool representation.

12 Stone is also a very artistic church. They use art worship...paint and dance. They're children's ministry is full of art. And they hired an artist from Israel who created a couple sculptures representing Gideon. One sculpture shows the moment the angel came to Gideon. On the one hand the angel gently cups Gideon's head in his hands. In the other the angel is pressing the sword into his hand. Gideon however still appears asleep. In the statue next to it Gideon is drinking the water cupped in his hand. he's gripping the sword in his hand and he's peering intently back at who he once was. However in this scene he is fully awake and knows that he is a mighty warrior. The stained glass that connects the two sculptures represents the heavenly battle that's taking place.

The church is awesome! Check out the pictures...