12Stone

12Stone Church
12Stone Church
12Stone Church
	33°59′59″N83°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.com
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); Josh Ivy (Flowery Branch); Michael Lumpkin (Sugarloaf); Matt Lewis (Braselton); Steve Walton (Buford); Trey Hildebrant (Snellville); Travis Billman (Online)

Last updated August 08, 2023

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 September 2021, there are seven 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] Each campus location has a Phoenix Roasters Coffee shop inside the church.^[4]

Locations

There are currently seven physical 12Stone campuses in Gwinnett and Hall counties and one temporary location in Jackson county.^[5]

Lawrenceville (Central Campus) - 1322 Buford Drive, Lawrenceville, GA - 33°59′59″N83°59′24″W / 33.99967°N 83.9900°W / 33.99967; -83.9900
Hamilton Mill - 3858 Braselton Hwy, Buford, GA - 34°04′19″N83°53′59″W / 34.071930°N 83.899809°W / 34.071930; -83.899809
Flowery Branch - 4256 Martin Road, Flowery Branch, GA - 34°11′36″N83°53′05″W / 34.19343°N 83.8846°W / 34.19343; -83.8846
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

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.^[6] Freeman's conviction was ultimately overturned in 2017 on free speech grounds.^[7]

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.^[8]

The church and its head pastor have also made headlines for criticizing Colin Kaepernick's decision to protest by kneeling during the national anthem during a sermon,^[9] as well as a sermon in 2010 comparing acceptance of homosexuals to acceptance of pedophiles.^[10]

Related Research Articles

Jackson County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 75,907. The county seat is Jefferson.

Hall County is a county located in the northeast portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 203,136, up from 179,684 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Gainesville. The entirety of Hall County comprises the Gainesville, Georgia, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, Combined Statistical Area.

Gwinnett County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia. Its county seat is Lawrenceville. The county is named for Button Gwinnett, one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence.

Braselton is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately 43 miles (69 km) northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,652.

Buford is a city in Gwinnett and Hall counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,144. Most of the city is in Gwinnett County, which is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area. The northern sliver of the city is in Hall County, which comprises the Gainesville, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area and is part of the larger Atlanta-Athens-Clarke-Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area.

Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Atlanta.

Grayson is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The 2020 estimated population of Grayson, GA is 4740 people. The population was 2,666 at the 2010 census, up from 765 in 2000.

Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately 30 miles (50 km) northeast of downtown. As of the 2020 census, the population of Lawrenceville was 30,629. In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city population to be 30,834.

Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. Its population was 20,573 at the 2010 census. It is a developed exurb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and is located roughly 33 miles east of downtown Atlanta via US 78 and Interstate 285.

State Route 316 (SR 316), also known as University Parkway, or Georgia 316, is a 38.9-mile-long (62.6 km) state highway that exists in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It links the Atlanta metropolitan area with Athens, home of the University of Georgia.

The Gwinnett County Public School District is a school district operating in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. GCPS is the largest school system in Georgia, with over 120 school buildings and an estimated enrollment of over 188,000 students for the 2017–2018 year. GCPS is estimated to be the 14th largest school district in the U.S. The district has its headquarters in an unincorporated area near Suwanee.

State Route 13 (SR 13) is a 49.5-mile-long (79.7 km) state highway in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia, that travels through portions of Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Hall counties.

The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, with jurisdiction over middle and north Georgia. It is in Province IV of the Episcopal Church and its cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Philip, is in Atlanta, as are the diocesan offices.

North Point Community Church is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch located in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. North Point currently averages more than 38,589 people in attendance across eight locations in the north metro Atlanta area. The senior pastor Andy Stanley serves as the church's lead pastor and, in turn, leads the North Point Community Church staff.

Georgia's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is currently represented by Democrat Lucy McBath. The district's boundaries have been redrawn following the 2010 census, which granted an additional congressional seat to Georgia. The first election using the new district boundaries were the 2012 congressional elections.

Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the state of Georgia and the eighth-largest in the United States. Its economic, cultural, and demographic center is Atlanta, and its total population was 6,144,050 in the 2021 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yellow River is a 76-mile-long (122 km) tributary of the Ocmulgee River in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Northside Hospital Gwinnett is a hospital with 353 acute care beds in Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States. The hospital was previously the main operation of the overall Gwinnett Medical Center system of hospitals and medical centers serving Gwinnett County, Georgia, until it merged in 2019 with the Northside Hospital system of Atlanta, Georgia. It was renamed at the time of the merger, with Northside Hospital Gwinnett and the other former Gwinnett system facilities being dubbed as Northside Hospital system's "Gwinnett health care campuses".

Melvin Everson is an American minister and politician from Georgia. Everson is a former Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 106th District, serving until 2011.

David Justin Freeman is a Christian minister, private educator and conservative political activist from the state of Georgia. He is best known as the teaching pastor at Clarkesville Reformed Baptist Church. In the mid 2010s and 2020, Freeman was involved in publicized legal challenges after expressing disagreement toward a pastor and police officers via a hand gesture and expletives, respectively. In 2023, hundreds of recorded sermons on East Jordan Church Online were identified as his, previously credited with a UriahWhitestone screenname.

References

↑ "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.
1 2 "12Stone Attendance Makes History". The Wesleyan Church. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
↑ "Phoenix Roasters | 12Stone Church". Facebook .
↑ "12Stone Locations/Times" . Retrieved 9 May 2011.
↑ "Is pastor Jason Berry of 12stone church a liar and a perjurer?". Archived from the original on 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
↑ "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

12stone.com 12Stone Official Website

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[accountability-1] "12Stone Beliefs - Our Accountability". Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 9 May 2011.

[2] "The Largest Churches in America -2010". Outreach Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.

[10k-3] 1 2 "12Stone Attendance Makes History". The Wesleyan Church. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 18 July 2011.

[phoenixroasters-4] "Phoenix Roasters | 12Stone Church". Facebook .

[5] "12Stone Locations/Times" . Retrieved 9 May 2011.

[6] "Is pastor Jason Berry of 12stone church a liar and a perjurer?". Archived from the original on 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2019-01-21.

[7] "Flipping the Bird Was Protected Speech, State Justices Rule". Daily Report.

[8] Wells, Erika. "Police investigating vandalism at two 12Stone Church sites". Gwinnett Daily Post.

[kaepernick-9] Rossino, Greg (2016-09-14). "12Stone Church pastor message on Kaepernick goes viral". 11alive . Retrieved 2022-06-25.

[homosexuality-10] Porter, Steven (2016-04-27). "IWU Has An Anti-Gay Problem; Boosting Gov. Mike Pence Doesn't Help" . Retrieved 2022-06-25.

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