The Schwartings | SovHope Member Spotlight

When I think of the Schwartings, among other things I think warmth. And hospitality. And humor. And genuineness. In fact, one of the reasons Ben and Andrea were interested in helping begin Sovereign Hope was their desire to share life with believers whose faith is genuine, whose faith is lived out with no pretense in the everyday.  They were tired of the facade of so many who seemed to be merely "playing" church.

Little did they know that when they went to a church conference in Phoenix in 2010 that the emphasis for the weekend was going to be on church planting.  But, God knew.  Church planting never had even been on their radar! That weekend began a "stirring" in their hearts.  And, it was very soon afterwards that Adam Vinson contacted Ben about helping begin Sovereign Hope.  Needless to say, the Schwartings were prepped in advance to prayerfully consider it.  And, thankfully for all of us, they decided to jump on board. 

How did the Schwarting family begin? Well, more than 20 years ago, our Ben Schwarting was a young student at Liberty University as was Andrea Corley.  And, on one providential night a group of students decided to go see the movie Sabrina.  Ben took one look at Andrea and the empty seat next to her, and said to the guys with him, "Back off, guys! That seat is mine. That girl is taken." (Or something like that.) Ben chose Andrea that evening, pursued her in the next few months, and finally won her over (much to a poor guy named Peter's dismay).

Leaving his large family in Virginia behind, Ben transplanted to Georgia after he and Andrea married 19 years ago.  His geographical roots explain his being a die-hard Washington Redskins fan and being a bad influence on his family in that area---a fact we must all choose to overlook.  (Of course, given the recent Falcons fiasco, maybe he is the wise one after all.)

For those who do not know, Ben is the manager of IT at Coweta-Fayette EMC, president of the GA EMC Technology Association, plus he owns his own business, Ben's Odds & Ends, with Andrea.  Whew! Their business has been richly blessed, and their basement is presently bursting at the seams with the odds and ends! Pray that God will provide another facility for their business soon.

After only a short time with Andrea you realize the depth of her love for her husband and her children. She runs her household WELL.  As she chooses to say, she is the cleaner, chef and baker of her home (if you have never had Andrea's food, make it a priority to do so---I've never had anything she has made that is not delicious!), taxi driver for her kids, kisser of boo-boos, hostess extraordinaire (okay, those are my words), and keeper of the pantry/storage closets for Sovereign Hope. In her gentle way Andrea is one of those women who is definitely "given to hospitality."

We are thankful for the example the Schwartings present for both marriage and parenthood.  They truly enjoy one another and their children. God has blessed them richly with those 3 miracle children, who were not even supposed to be here based on the world's viewpoint and diagnosis.  But God . . .

After 6 years and lots of prayer, Luke was born.  He is 11 years old and in the 6th grade at Trinity.  Luke is quite the athlete; he played football in the fall and will be playing soccer with the Lasers this spring! Also playing with the Lasers this spring is their daughter, Libby, who is presently 9 and a 4th grader at Coweta Charter Academy.  Following in her mom's footsteps as a sports person, Libby also played softball for the first time last fall and is considering basketball in the future.  And, lastly, they have spectacled Logan, who will turn 6 on February 18th (Happy Birthday, Logan!) and is in kindergarten at Coweta Charter.  Logan throws a mean football and baseball. It has been difficult for them to see their last child head off to school, but one of the pleasures in all of their lives is spending time together and playing as a family.

Ben and Andrea are headed to Uganda in a week to bring encouragement to Chris and Melissa and to find out anything we need to know as a church to help and pray for the Ugandan ministry.  Ben became a member of the Board of Directors for Grace for Education just a few months ago.  Pray for all the details of their trip to go smoothly, pray for the 3 children left at home and their caretakers, pray for safety, and pray for wisdom.

God has richly blessed us with the Schwarting family. Get to know them---they make it easy. Pray for them. Eat Andrea's cooking.

- Denise

John Mark | SovHope Member Spotlight

I feel like I could write a biography on John Mark because he has done more at his age than most people do in a lifetime. If you've ever read John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life and thought "Yeah, I'm doing a pretty good job," then you obviously haven't talked to John Mark long enough to feel the full affect of how much of your life you've actually wasted. It's sobering to hear him talk of everything he's done and continues to do. I am encouraged that there is a man like John Mark (and hopefully more like him) in this world. 

When John Mark was an overseas missionary in Poland, him and his team were trying to connect with and serve the surrounding Jewish community that had been rocked to its core by the holocaust and never truly restored. God brought them an opportunity to restore a Jewish cemetery, and I'm sure that at the time they had no idea how it would change their lives. The act of caring for the dead is considered the highest expression of true mercy in the Jewish culture, and by restoring and maintaining the Jewish cemeteries, John Mark and his team had found a way to bridge the gap between Jews and Christians in this community.

What started off as an act of kindness has become a growing Non-Profit known as "The Matzevah Foundation" where John Mark serves on the Board of Directors and is also the website designer. The foundation now plans multiple trips each summer where several board members and volunteers will go to Poland and work with locals to help maintain these cemeteries. They are currently in the planning stage for five or six trips this summer, and John Mark has asked for prayer over their team and those they come in contact with as they work side by side with local community members. If you would like to learn more about the work they are doing, you can check out the website John Mark created www.matzevah.org. 

When John Mark finally decided to stay put for a while he bought his childhood home from his mom. The house was a dump (his words), and it seemed like it would take a lifetime to renovate. Slowly but surely, John Mark worked to restore his childhood home into something beautiful again, and that's exactly what he's done.

From installing the wood floors to the tile shower, John Mark painstakingly put this house back together piece by piece, and now all that is left to finish is the landscaping. He just hosted his first SovHope singles party this past Saturday the 21st, and I would be lying if I said that Jordan and I didn't discuss separating in order to attend. I'm sure that those went can attest to the hard work he's put in to rebuild this home. 

I remember when John Mark came back from Poland after doing a two year mission trip with IBM. I was in the youth group at Mount Gilead and had never met him, but the way people talked about him made John Mark sound like THE MAN. Here was this young man who left everything for two years to be a missionary. Everyone would say "Wow, that's hardcore. Not many people can do that." And others would respond, "Yeah, but John Mark did because ya know, he's John Mark." I imagined an extroverted, boisterous, blond haired guy that would make you want to dye your hair and change your personality just to be like him. He would tell us his tales of leaving his family behind on the mainland in hopes to win souls in Poland, and we would all sit listening in wide eyed wonder. John Mark walks in and I thought "Huh, he's a normal guy." That was a mistake because John Mark is anything but normal. There are not many people I know, if there is any, who can renovate a whole house by themselves, serve as a Board of Directors for a Non-Profit, be a store manager working 45 hours a week, go hunting, play indoor soccer, faithfully attend Sunday service and maintain his Christian walk, keep up with The Walking Dead, and kick my butt at Mario Kart! He is not some extroverted, boisterous, blond haired guy, but the people I had heard talking were right; John Mark is THE MAN just quietly and humbly, which is exactly what makes him THE MAN.  

The Mercers | SovHope Member Spotlight

Before Thom and I married, we went to Gatlinburg with a group from UGA skiing.  Not having real snow but manmade instead, I felt like I was skiing downhill on ice way too fast with very little control.  That's basically a picture of the Mercer life for the last 3 months. It's been a busy, wild ride.

Thank you to our very own Daniel Kaufman for getting us these animal outfits to demonstrate this fact. (Eleanor loved seeing this greeting on Christmas morning, Dan!)

We DO apologize to all of you, our church family, for being AWOL for a while now. But, hopefully, through this blog we'll bring you up-to-date on our lives.

Before Andrew's wedding on October 1, we were busy with preparations galore, mostly for the rehearsal dinner.  Here, you see my first attempt at painting a sign to greet our guests at the Mexican Fiesta (Melissa, I believe you would be proud).

The wedding was beautiful, fun, and a blessing.  Maddi is an excellent addition who fits right into the family (I'm not sure if that's a good sign for her, however).  Here you see our family, which is increasing by leaps and bounds!

After the wedding, later in October, Thom ran the Savannah Marathon.  What a man! As most of you know, his recorded time in this marathon was faster than in the one he ran when he was in his late 30's.  He never ceases to amaze me with his positive attitude, commitment, and his steady faith in the Lord.  This year has been a blessed one with no heart problems --- thank you, Jesus!

Speaking of blessings, as most of you know I (Denise) have a rich spiritual heritage.  Thanksgiving for us is, therefore, always a wonderful time with my family.  Thom and I do a LOT of prep before the weekend, which for the last 2 years has been spent at Camp Rockridge in Franklin, GA (a cousin of mine runs it).  This year was absolutely amazing!  We all shared communion on Friday evening (Andrew's idea), followed by singing and then a beautiful prayer time (a nephew's idea) as a family. Needless to say, many tears and hugs were shared.  We were all reminded of the eternal blessings to come and also the possibilities of love which we can share with church "family" here on earth. 

To all of you "young-uns," Thom and I want you to know that we have witnessed firsthand God's promise in Deut. 7:9:  "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God Who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations." PERSEVERE in your faith, beloved family, and in the training of your children.

Immediately after Thanksgiving weekend, Thom and I left for Kansas to visit his mother and sister for a week.  Even though the visit was sweet, it was also bitter.  As we shared with you on a Sunday a.m., we tried to share our faith with Thom's mother, but the enemy has her totally blinded, veiled, and closed to the Truth.  Please pray for her (and the rest of Thom's family) that God will work the miracle of salvation in their lives. As soon as we got back from Kansas (no joke), we all ran/walked in the Callaway Gardens Santa Claus Classic 5K/10K.  Thom got first place in his age group (woohoo!). It was really neat to see their Christmas lights up close and personal. But . . . Denise's body shut down finally and was sick for a solid 4-5 days! Anyway, it was not good.  Not as young as I used to be!

We then went to Houston the weekend before Christmas for a nephew's wedding (really, who plans a wedding the week before Christmas?!?).  Our sister-in-law was very sick with a bug, so we ended up doing a lot of the rehearsal dinner prep. Whew! One beautiful part of the trip was staying with my discipler and friend from days of yore and her husband --- always a HUGE blessing --- and lunching with our first pastor and his wife (he is CEO of a ministry called CERI - check it out - sounds wonderful).  Moral of this story: cherish those people in your life who mean so much to you.

And then we celebrated Christmas, which is always a huge hoopla --- had a great time with friends and family. We spent Christmas Eve and morning with Kyle, Lydia and the girls.  Eleanor's excitement did not disappoint us!  For those of you who have asked, Lydia and Kyle are enjoying living in Lawrenceville close to T.J. and Kate and many longtime friends.  They're attending a church they believe will end up being "home."  Continue to pray for them and for Eleanor's continued illnesses.

Ehren has a broken leg from soccer (I'm beginning to re-think this soccer participation.  Watch out, John Mark!).  Andrew is loving married life and has begun an Assistant Manager position at QT. Being low man on the totem pole, he has to work five over-nights a week.  His desire is to be involved in praise and worship, so pray that he will patiently await God's timing and walk in His will.  And, Caroline keeps us laughing, of course, but also maintains her quiet ministry behind the scenes one-on-one with so many people --- pray that she and Ehren will find their church of ministry.

Finally, you see here one of my favorite Christmas gifts that Lydia drew for me.  It's based on one of my favorite Scripture verses (and prayers), Philippians 3:12 (NIV).  I pray this for all of you this coming year:  "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that FOR WHICH CHRIST JESUS TOOK HOLD OF ME."

Blessings to all of you in the New Year!

The Mitchussons | SovHope Member Spotlight

Hello SovHope family, and welcome to our first installment of the SovHope Member Spotlight Blog! We are excited about this opportunity and that it helps us create another way to stay connected and build unity as a body, as well as keep Chris and Melissa updated by sharing what has been happening in the different lives of SovHope families and individuals. To start us off, I will be recounting two trips Jordan and I just took back to back. Enjoy!

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Virginia:

To many, Thanksgiving brings fond memories of family bonding, turkey, football, and afternoon naps. To some, it may be pushing a small child out of the way while you grab the last flat screen TV at Walmart. Either way, everyone has their own traditions at Thanksgiving and that’s fine, but maybe every once in a while the old bones of tradition start to stiffen up and you just need a change.

That’s how I felt this year, and when Jordan’s good friend Livy asked if we wanted to spend Thanksgiving with her family in Virginia, we decided to go against the grain of our usual festivities and try something different. In preparing for our trip, there were a couple of things that we knew. One was that it was going to be cold, and the other was that it was going to be a long, eleven-hour drive. That’s about it. What we didn’t know was what the family dynamic would be even though we knew they had to be somewhat gracious to allow non-family members into their house to partake in their family traditions. We also didn’t know that the Schwarting’s were just minutes away, which helped just in case things got crazy and we needed someone to crash with. Thankfully, things didn’t get crazy.

We had a great time getting to know the family and one of Livy’s brothers had invited another married couple to stay the weekend as well, so the pressure as the only outsiders was off. We did some black Friday shopping, site seeing in beautiful historic Harper’s Ferry, and even met up with an old high school friend of ours that lived in a neighboring town. Those were certainly some fun things to do, but the best part of our stay was partaking in their family traditions that took place around the dinner table. They went around the table, each person giving one thing they were thankful for, and they were not allowed to say friends or family. This isn’t unusual right? Many families do that same tradition. They did this three times. Around and around and around, and what I found is that because you had to do it more than once, you had to really dig deep. At round two I blew it and said I was thankful for God’s sovereignty, which is a real “drop the mic” moment because who tops that, but now what was going to be my third? They didn’t tap out. Some of the things that these members of the family were saying in front of us were weighty and even tear worthy, which to be honest I could have possibly succumbed to. Jordan and I both walked away from that experience convinced that that’s what we want one day. So if I had to recommend anything from this experience, I would recommend reaching out to have others join your Thanksgiving traditions. You never know the impact you might have on them.

Nashville:

After Jordan and I got back from Virginia, I surprised her with a trip to Nashville for her birthday. Now, I know what you’re thinking. How do you both look so amazing after traveling so much this year? Hard work my friend. Hard work. Anyways, on to Nashville we went, and I think we learned a lot of lessons.

First would be to always keep your coat in the car, just in case. It was very cold and overcast and as I looked at Jordan shivering in her thin sweater, jeans, and bare feet in flats, I couldn’t help but feel…like she had made a terrible mistake not bringing her coat. Thankfully, she had left a jacket for me in the car, so I was doing pretty good. The second thing we learned was that Nashville is not just Nashville. It’s a bunch of different sections that are not all that close that people just call Nashville. You have the west side, the east side, Sobro, Germantown, The Gulch, downtown, and the list goes on. To Uber to all those places is expensive, but so is parking at eighteen different parking garages! Thirdly, is that Nashville, while usually thought of as being a big music scene, is really more of a foodie scene. Jordan is convinced that all people expect you to do when you’re in Nashville is go from one restaurant to another, and I agree with her. Now, maybe that’s not all true. They do have a street called Broadway that has live bands, but they are all in restaurants and you can’t get into any of them anyways because the road is so congested at night that you can’t park! The last and most important thing we learned is that maybe Jordan and I aren’t Nashville people, and I’m using Nashville here as an example. We discovered that while we like the idea of Nashville, we really like low-key cities that have a good vibe, good shops, and good restaurants kind of like the one we are living in now. We did have some good times though. We saw an amazing reconstruction of the Pantheon, bought some records at an awesome record store, crashed some rich guys birthday party on accident and witnessed what two million tons of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer carved ice looked like. Was it a terrible trip? No, not at all, but I did get food poisoning the day we left, so that has to say something.