Please take a moment to share how your life and faith have been impacted through the relationships and ministry at Mount Ararat. Just share a sentence or two with your name so we can celebrate God’s goodness. Thank you, in advance!
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Connect with Todd!
Todd Gaston is a Senior Pastor at Mount Ararat in Stafford, VA.
As a woman who was a new mom in a new place, Mt Ararat saved me. I found women who nurtured and loved me. I found teens who knew how to grow in God. I found a family that made life richer and better. God is at Mt Ararat. We miss being a part of that fellowship.
Our family and our walk with Christ has been deeply touched by MABC. The preachings, teachings and life lessons we endure are easier to cope with as we look around the FLC on Sunday morning to find we are not alone. We are not perfect and our problems are ones that others face too. We are forever grateful for SS teachers and life group leaders who touch our hearts and minds with love unconditionally. Thank you.
The Brazell Crew
I think I posted my blog comment on the wrong blog…. this is the blog I meant to comment…
Mt. Ararat has greatly impacted my life, before I came to Mt. Ararat, i had never been involved in any sort of small group, no real sunday school, not even youth group. I would come to church on sundays and walk away with a heavy heart thinking, “Wow that church needs work!” “That is not how church is supposed to be”. Then slowly last year I began realizing that the church wasn’t made for me, I was made for the Church, and that I needed to be a part of that body of Christ. Through the 40 days of community, I got involved in small groups, and sunday school, I experienced true fellowship, and the care and concern I recieved from my new friends only stirred my passion to show that care and concern to others. I now love being a part of the church rather than the church being a small part of what I thought was me.
GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!
Great comments! Keep sharing!
My husband and I have found wonderful adult Christian fellowship and Bible study with lively discussions through our fun small group (Friendship 4). The main reason we started coming to Mt. Ararat was for our daughters to have a Bible-teaching church enabling them to make Christian friends and grow in the Lord and knowledge of the Bible. We found such a church!
We started coming to Mt. Ararat in 2006 after we moved here from Ca. We asked around and were told that Mt. Ararat was a wonderful place to be. IN 2007 we lost a baby to a genetic chromosomal disorder called Trisomy 18. Through Pastor Todd’s words, helped us heal and be at peace with the loss of our baby girl. I feel that we belong here and are apart of the Mt. Ararat family.
The fellowship of the believers and the worship through song, media, arts, preaching/teaching and corporate worship with believers is very encouraging and meaningful in our lives. When you, Pastor Todd, gave a run down of the series of the past year it felt like hearing journal entries from the year. Our hearts were touched in such an encouraging and life transforming way. The series of Raise Him Up had a divine effect on our family. God used that time last summer to build relationship in our family, encourage us to continue to grow together and just be blessed. I am so thankful we get to be a part of the conversation. One of the best parts was the generations choir. Singing with 3 of our four men in the choir was so amazing! Two of them had’t really sung in a choir. Wow. We memorized the Shema and it continues to bear fruit. Our small group experience has been so up lifting as well.
Please know that it is such a blessing to be a part of a body of believers who encourage transperansy and love of each other and the word. I know we are not perfect but we sure are working on walking side by side and learning to love in God sized ways. It is obvious to me that God is doing a mighty work…great things for sure. He adores us. Todd, thanks for being our pastor and loving us in Jesus. I will end by simply saying YEAH! God. As Jeffrey would say, HOORAY!
My family and I are no longer in the Stafford area, but MABC has still had an impact on my life. I started my MABC journey 22 years ago when I was 10. I accepted Jesus at Mt Ararat and was baptized by Pastor Dee in the chapel. My husband and I were married there and Trey was baptized by Todd. All 3 of our kids were dedicated in front of our Mt. Ararat family. We learned so much about what a christian community should be during our time at MABC and knew what to look for in a church when we moved away. We are greatful for our time at The Mount and always look forward to visiting when we are in town.
I am very new to MABC having come for the first time on 01/04/09, for a very long time I have been without a church home. About November of last year I began to feel like something was missing and I went through book after book thinking that if I read the right thing I could figure it out, still nothing. At Christmas time the feeling became over whelming again I went to the Christian book store still thinking that all I needed was to read the right thing, a lady who worked at the store asked if she could help me I told her I don’t know I just know something is missing and I don’t know what it is, she kind of looked at me like I had lost my mind. Without even thinking about it I told her maybe it’s as simple as needing to go back to Church, she acted like she didn’t think that would solve my problem (I’m sure she really thought I had lost it). I struggled with this for a while longer and then decided I would just go to church and here is where I ended up. After that first service I went on the website and found the pod casts from Christmas of 2007-Nov of 2008, I downloaded them and listened to all 54 of them in a 5 day time frame. I was so enthralled that I knew I had to get more so I came back. Pastor Todd took sometime out of his busy schedule to listen to me tell him my story of my past experiences with church unfortunately I have been to several different church’s which I won’t go into. One of my favorite sermons has been the series on coming home and now I know why as I have found my home. I understand that Pastor Todd has only been the senior pastor of MABC for 3 years I was really surprised as he is phenomenal, believe me I have some horror stories I could tell you about prior heads of churches I have attended but won’t go into that here either. The change that has come over me in this month has been amazing I feel like a completely different person, people at work have commented on it as well they think I have some secret man in my life I just smile and tell them there is no secret its GOD and a little church called MABC, they don’t believe me either but it’s true. The size of the congregation is still a bit overwhelming but I figure I will get used to that after awhile. So I just wanted to say again thank you Pastor Todd and MABC for helping me find my way back home. God has truly blessed this church.
I can totally relate with Sharyn about missing something. I call it my “terrible 20’s”. I tried doing things my way, without God or His guidance, despite being raised in a religious home. My Mom would always tell me that I needed to get back into church whenever I would call home with my latest woes. After I hit the bottom, so to speak, I finally gave up and listened to my Mom and God. I had a hole that I needed filled that I wouldn’t find on my own. About three years ago, I decided to try to find a church but was worried. I grew up in a small church in Texas where everyone was like family and had never been to a large church. I was afraid of being lost in the crowd – just another face. However, that was never the case. I found MABC online and heard Pastor Todd’s sermons and knew I had found the place; he was someone who spoke to me in a way I understand, helping me to better understand God and his purpose for me. Then when I came to MABC, I never felt like I was alone. Everyone I’ve met has treated me like I’ve been there for years. Best of all, I started dating my current husband at about the same time I started going to MABC and when I invited him to go to church with me, he told me that he used to go to MABC years before but had fallen out of church too. Long story short, he and I were married by Pastor Todd and we love this church and everyone in it. We have been lead by God to help with the Sunday school and be a small part in their success and all they do. MABC does great things and you can feel God’s presence everywhere. I am honored to be a witness (and my Mom’s prayers have been answered too!).
Thank you Pastor Todd and everyone at MABC!