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The Stonegate Church of Christ is a group of Christians who strive to go by God’s inspired word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We believe that the New Testament is the standard of authority for our faith and practice.
What We Do.
Here at Stonegate, we go by the Bible. The apostle Peter commanded, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11, niv). We take those words very seriously.
Our intent is to speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent in all matters of faith and practice. This means that at Stonegate you will find people who care about what God says and who seek to live according to His will.
Our goal is the building up of the congregation through the growth of each member. This single goal is accomplished through three distinct avenues.
We make a sustained effort to preach the gospel to the lost (1 Timothy 3:15).
We put forth a vigorous effort to teach and exhort our existing membership toward spiritual excellence (Ephesians 4:11-16).
We care for each other’s physical needs as the occasion arises (Acts 11:29). The Stonegate church is aggressive in each of these programs of work as each is necessary to the accomplishment of our unified goal.
The Elders. (back to top of page)
The elders of the local church are commanded to “shepherd the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:2). This means that they tend to the spiritual needs of each individual member and are responsible for the souls of the church. The Stonegate church is blessed with five men who make up our eldership.
The Deacons. (back to top of page)
The word “deacon” means “servant.” The Stonegate church is served by our 15 deacons as they attend to the many non-spiritual matters that require attention (see Acts 6:1-4). The eldership delegates this work to them, which includes such tasks as building maintenance, the physical needs of the members and benevolence.
The Preacher. (back to top of page)
A preacher of the Gospel does just that: he preaches the soul-saving life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16; 2 Timothy 4:2).
A Brief History. (back to top of page)
In December of 1970, a group of 41 Christians from the Mid-Jefferson County area began meeting at the Nederland Municipal Building. In the fall of 1972 the congregation moved into its new facility and assumed the name Stonegate Church of Christ. Rapid growth made it necessary to expand those facilities in 1975 and again in 1986.
Several good men have served the church in the capacity of full time preacher. Ardie Brown worked with the congregation from 1971 to 1979. R. J. Stevens served from 1979-1982. Titus Edwards began his tenure of work from 1983 and ended in 1989. Don Swanson worked conterminously with two other preachers, laboring from 1983 to 1991. Mark Roberts labored with the church from 1989 to 1992. Lawrence Kelley’s span of work lasted nearly ten years, from September of 1992 until March of 2002. Marc Hinds worked with the church for two years until July 2004. Steve Dewhirst moved to the Stonegate work in November 2004.
