Ekklesia: A quarterly email of the Georgia District featuring church plants that are here to stay

Merry Christmas Georgia Ministers!

As a District, our goal is to see a healthy church in every Georgia community. To that end, we offer guidance, resources, assessments, and prayer to help church planters successfully launch a congregation. It is a daunting challenge to plant a church, so we want to acknowledge the new works in our state that have taken root. This Ekklesia quarterly email will help us do that. Ekklesia is a Greek word that means a gathering of Christians called out from their community by and to Christ. In each edition we will feature a new Georgia District church that has shown it is built to last.

In this edition of Ekklesia, we are featuring Refuge Church in Waverly Hall, Georgia, pastored by Kevin and Stacey Baker. Pastor Kevin and Stacey have been married 23 years and have two children: Emma, who is 18 years old and is currently attending CLC at North Highland Church, and Josiah who is 5 years old. Prior to launching Refuge Church, they served in ministry faithfully for over ten years at North Highland Church.

Pastor Kevin was called into full-time ministry in 2012. Unsure of what their next steps were or what the Lord had in store, in 2013 he and Stacey totally trusted the Lord and took a leap of faith by walking away from his full-time secular job and seeking full-time ministry opportunities. By 2014, a church plant opportunity presented itself in Waverly Hall, and they began putting together a launch team, upgrading the building, and casting vision for the future of the church.

Launching with 108 people, Refuge Church was born in 2015 and is now approaching its ninth year in the community! Pastor Kevin and Stacey report that it has been "an amazing journey" and throughout those nine years they have witnessed people saved and set free, countless lives changed and they have welcomed many new members. Many have also taken the important next steps of water baptism, as well have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, including their own daughter, Emma, who was baptized in the Holy Spirit at 9 years old during a workday before the church opened.

Pastor Kevin and Stacey like to say they are "just walking each other home to heaven", and Refuge Church has truly become a refuge for many people, regardless of where they are on their journey with Jesus. We are thrilled for the work the Lord is doing through the ministry of Refuge Church and the Bakers and we are looking toward and praying for their continued success in in reaching their community.