Add your church or organization's name to the growing list of GoStark participants.
A Shared Sermon Series for November 2009
Forbes.com recently listed Canton, Ohio as one of the top 10 fastest dying cities in America—Ouch! But what if God has a different kind of list? Perhaps a list of counties that contain the greatest number of people who are dying to themselves. More...
One Life One Year is a challenge to followers of Jesus in Stark County to commit to investing in "one life" for "one year." More...
Days of Prayer 2010
In May of each year, Christians from different cultures and denominations gather in venues around the world to cry out to God for the healing and blessing of our nations. More...
A Brief History
GoStark is a community transformation initiative sponsored by many churches from all over Stark County. For the past several years pastors from area churches have been meeting together regularly to pray, encourage and build relationships with each other. Last year, a major step was taken in this process as dozens of churches met together for a community night of thanks and worship on the night before Thanksgiving. Over 2500 people attended this historic and exciting event held at First Christian Church located in Plain Township, and led by several area pastors.
Immediately after the service was completed the question was asked by local pastors and members alike, "What will we do next year?" The idea to have another time of worship together on the night before Thanksgiving again was a given—albeit there will need to be two services this year because of crowd size (get details here)—but a worship service alone seemed unsatisfactory and incomplete to meet the outpouring of support expressed by churches to partner together in Stark County to make "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven."
After prayer and discussions were held by many of the leading pastors in the area, GoStark was born. The idea was to take not just a night in November, but every Sunday in November 2008 to emphasize the foundational principles of spiritual formation and community transformation: Prayer, Service, Love, Giving, and Unity. These themes were the focus of sermons in the month of November in over 30 Stark County churches, beginning November 2. Each message was a call to engage our community in these fundamentals of building the Kingdom of God.
Purpose
GoStark is made up of over 30 Stark County congregations and does not have a formal organizational structure or officers. GoStark exists not to create new events or activities, but to provide a rallying point for the congregations of Stark County to pool their resources and efforts at making our communites and neighborhoods better places to live. The work of GoStark is primarily contributed by members of the congregations who share a common vision to see Stark County grow into the healthy, vibrant, and positive community that we believe it can be.
