AUSTIN STONE WORSHIP
By Bruce Adolph
From its humble beginnings and with a heart to show the city of Austin , Texas the love of Jesus , The Austin Stone Community Church was born . Their church bio says it well … “ the church began in Matt and Jen Carter ’ s small south Austin apartment . Ten people gathered together for that first meeting , longing to see a church rooted in the gospel , marrying the richness of theological truth with deep compassion for the city ”.
From there the story is remarkable . When we heard about the rich culture they have also developed there for worship leaders , songwriters and creatives honoring various music genres as well - we knew we had to dig deeper . Let ’ s welcome two of the key architects of this unique musician centric “ Creative Collective ” of over 300 artists … Aaron Ivey and Kyle Lent .
[ WM ] Aaron , can you tell us about how The Austin Stone started and how it got its name ?
[ Aaron Ivey ] Our church started in 2002 with a few people gathering in an apartment complex .
There was a longing for God to begin a church that would exalt the name of Jesus , and also be a blessing and light to the city of Austin . The tiny congregation prayed Ephesians 2:20 and asked the Lord to do far more abundantly than anything anyone could imagine . And God did . The Austin Stone has continued to grow since 2002 , and now has six congregations meeting all around the greater Austin area . The name came from a desire to see Jesus Christ be the cornerstone of Austinites , so the simple name stuck from the very beginning .