About

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OUR FOUNDER: Dr. Larry Cheek

For the past 25 years Dr. Larry Cheek has served as the Associational Missions Strategist of the Stone Mountain Baptist Association in Conyers, Georgia. His service has been to more than 150 churches worshiping in 35 languages and cultural groups in East Metro Atlanta.

Prior to this position he held a dual role as Interim Minister of Education and later Interim Pastor at Rockdale Baptist Church as well as Associate Missionary in the Stone Mountain Baptist Association.

Larry’s entire ministry has been among the Stone Mountain Baptist Association churches having served as Minister of Youth at Midway Baptist in Covington, Pastor of Macedonia Baptist in Oxford, and Associate Pastor of Eastwood Baptist Church in Conyers.

In addition, he has served several churches as Interim Pastor (Macedonia, Hope, North Rockdale, Highland Park, Grace, and Calvary). He previously served in Stone Mountain Baptist Association as a Church Starter Strategist from 1986-1990 under appointment of the Home Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention. Larry’s heart has always been in helping develop healthy churches that reproduce other churches.  

Larry holds degrees from Mercer University in Atlanta (BA, 1978), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (MDV 1981), and Luther Rice University (DMIN 2006). Larry and his wife Cathy have been married since 1978 and reside in Oxford, Georgia. They have two daughters, Amy and Dottie. Their oldest daughter, Amy and her husband Kevin, are parents to their first grandchild, Ashton (2006), and reside in Social Circle. Dottie and her husband, Kevin reside in Covington, GA. and they are parents to their second grandson, Lance (2008), and their first granddaughter, Emma, 2015).

OUR VISION

To help Churches and individuals to go “above and beyond” our expectations in kingdom service and to bring glory to His church.

The 3 Aspects of Above and Beyond

  • Church Consultations with a focus on church health
  • Coaching for church planters and pastors
  • Captial Campaigns through Ekklesia Essentials


Our Core Values

PRAYER
If we are going to become like Jesus, then we must pray! In Richard Foster’s book, The Celebration of Discipline, he wrote, “But whatever religious exercises we may practice, without the two basic ones of Emmaus, prayer and Bible reading, the others are empty and powerless.”

The main reason for a lack of godliness is prayerlessness. These excerpts from his words show us that he expects us to pray:

  • Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray…”
  • Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray…”
  • Matthew 6:7 “And when you pray...”
  • Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray…”
  • Luke 11:9: “so I say to you: Ask….seek…knock…”
  • Luke 18: 1 “Then Jesus told his disciples…they should always pray.”


WORSHIP

“You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know; for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is a spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:22-24)

Jesus Himself reemphasized and obeyed the Old Testament command, “Worship the Lord your God.” (Matthew 4:10) It is the duty and privilege of all people to worship their Creator. “Come, let us bow down and worship.” (Psalm 95:6) Worship is focusing on and responding to God.

W. Tozer said, “If you will not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him on one day a week.”


SCRIPTURE

If we would know God and be godly, we must know the Word of God intimately.

  • Hearing God’s Word
  • Reading the Word of God
  • Study God’s Word
  • Meditation and Memorization
  • Application of God’s Word
  • Evangelism: Is expected and we are empowered to evangelize!

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

“…and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47)

“So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Remember: Success is measured by the careful and accurate delivery of the message, not by the response of the recipient. All biblical evangelism is successful, regardless of the results.

 

SERVICE

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”(Mark 10:43-45)

  • Every Christian is expected to serve
  • Every Christian is gifted to serve
  • Serving is hard work!

The Lord Jesus himself was always the servant, the servant of all, the servant of servants. He said, “I am among you as the one who serves.” (Luke 22:27)