Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman
Dave Stone preached his last sermon at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., on Sunday. Stone retired after 13 years at the helm of the megachurch.
Stone handed over leadership to Kyle Idleman, passing to him the same baton he’d received from former Southeast pastor Bob Russell.
The Southeast Outlook offered some insight into Stone and his ministry, including tributes from Idleman (who met Stone at a Christ In Youth conference when Idleman was 16) and other ministers inside and outside Southeast. Another article included an anecdote about the time Stone, then in college, stayed with the Russells and had to borrow a pair of dress shoes.
Stone’s prophetic thank-you note: “Bob, I have honestly walked a mile in your shoes. It was kind of you to forfeit your ‘sole’ for me.”
A local columnist, Eric Crawford, said this about Stone:
“When Russell left Southeast, it had become what many would view as a behemoth, but in losing a leader who had been so much of its existence for 40 years, it also was an institution that may have been at its most vulnerable point in some time. Stone’s presence, his willingness to absorb more than his share of the difficulty of that transition, his good nature and faithful authenticity, went a long way toward preserving and building on all that had been accomplished there.”
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News Briefs
Point University is looking to add dormitory space for its student body in West Point, Ga.
The Christian college has seen its undergraduate program offerings grow from 20 to 80 since moving to West Point in 2012, and its undergraduate enrollment now stands at 600, said Rusty Hassell, executive director of enrollment management.
“When we were making the move down here from East Point, the expectation was that we would see a decrease in enrollment, or may have a plateau, but that number has shot up,” Hassell said in a story by the LaGrange Daily News.
Today, Point University is gathering funds for a new dorm, and construction could begin this year.
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Milligan College in Tennessee recently signed its first eSports recruit—Yhorman Prieto, of Caracas, Venezuela—according to the Johnson City Press. Milligan launched its eSports program this year; it is led by head coach Micah Ridley.
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Jason Fox, small groups pastor at First Christian Church in Elizabethtown, Ky., spoke about the value of small groups in a local news story about the small group ministries of several Elizabethtown churches.
“Regardless of the meeting location of our small groups, the purpose is to connect people so that they can truly do life together, serve as a support system for those in the group and make the journey of life feel a little less lonely,” Fox told the News-Enterprise.
Fox also called small groups “the antithesis of isolation” in that they give a support system to new Christians.
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The Center for Church Leadership will sponsor a three-hour workshop on “Building Staff into a Dynamic Team” at River Hills Christian Church in Loveland, Ohio, starting at 8:30 a.m. June 18. Learn more and register at www.eventbrite.com.
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Seymour (Ind.) Christian Church joined with four other churches to organize a free local youth event for middle and high school students.
The event, called “Collide,” included worship, games, and food. The idea was for churches to put doctrinal differences aside and to bring as many Seymour teens together as possible. It was planned by local youth pastors and students.
“Youth pastors in general need a community of support and encouragement and just a place where they can learn and grow with one another,” said SCC youth leader Keia Blair told the Tribune. “But then just being able to bring the youth students together to worship and just experience fun, I think that was kind of our heart behind that.”
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