Forty Years at the Crossroads of Hwy 78 and Killian Hill
Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain sits on McDaniels Bridge Rd SW in Lilburn, Georgia, near the crossroads of Highway 78 and Killian Hill. The church has been rooted in the Stone Mountain area for more than forty years, and its identity is built on a clear three-fold aim: teaching the Whole Bible to develop a Whole Christian who will in turn reach the Whole World.
"Calvary Chapel is a Church that worships Jesus - the promised Savior, the risen Lord, the Coming King," Pastor Sandy Adams writes. "We exist to glorify Jesus and edify His people." The congregation describes itself as a grace place where God's favor is received by faith and where everyone is welcomed just as they are.
Two Sunday Mornings, Both the Same
Sunday mornings follow a simple rhythm. Two identical services meet at 9:15 AM and 11:15 AM. Each service includes a time of worship and a message, most often from Senior Pastor Sandy Adams. The music is described as fresh and relevant, and the teaching walks through the Bible chapter by chapter.
The church livestreams every service on YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo, and the full sermon archive is available with downloadable study notes.
What Visitors Find on a Sunday Morning
The church is designed for first-time guests. Parking is available on site at 1969 McDaniels Bridge Rd SW, and directions can be opened in Google Maps or Apple Maps.
Children's Ministry is offered during both Sunday services for infants through fifth grade. Children are grouped by age into classrooms where they explore the Bible through stories and skits, with everything designed to point back to Jesus. Middle school students meet during the 11:15 AM service in a space called the Brook for games, prayer, and a teaching from God's Word. High school students connect during the week rather than on Sunday morning.
The atmosphere is warm and casual, and the congregation is described as diverse. People are welcomed as they are, and the church's hope is that every guest will find it easy to join in the worship.
Verse-by-Verse Teaching Through the Whole Bible
At the heart of the church's identity is the Through the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Sandy Adams. For years, Pastor Sandy has worked his way through Scripture verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and his steady diet of teaching is what Sunday morning services are built around. The Through the Bible series is joined by topical messages and guest speakers, including a regular rotation of associate pastors and ministry leaders who preach on Sunday mornings.
Beyond Sunday, Pastor Sandy hosts a daily radio ministry, Sandy Adams Radio, that airs across the country. His full teaching archive is hosted at SandyAdams.org, where visitors can stream or download sermons, follow study notes, and read along with the chapter-by-chapter series. A separate parenting series, Parenting on Purpose, speaks to moms and dads raising the next generation of believers.
Children, Middle School, and High School
The next generation is a major focus of the church.
Children are shepherded by Stacy Chapman, the Children's Ministry Director. The children's ministry partners with parents to teach God's Word so that boys and girls can come to a saving knowledge of Christ and grow in a personal relationship with Him. Classes are divided by age group, and small-group teaching uses stories, skits, and clear next steps to keep everything rooted in Scripture. A Special Needs Ministry is offered for families who need it, and the children's ministry maintains a library of training resources for teachers and volunteers.
Middle school ministry is called ROOTED, and it is led by Allen Mlendough Jr. Students meet on Sundays during the 11:15 AM service and on most Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, with additional gatherings throughout the month. The goal is to learn God's Word, build deep friendships, and grow deep roots in Christ.
High school ministry is called UNITED, and it is led by Andrew Taylor. The name comes from the picture in Ecclesiastes of a three-cord strand that is not easily broken. UNITED meets on Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 PM for worship and Bible study, with an active Instagram presence to keep students connected.
Men, Women, Young Adults, and Singles
The adult ministries give people a place to grow at every stage of life.
Men are led by Pastor James Chapman. The aim is to help men grow into strong leaders at home, at work, and in the body of Christ. Most Thursday nights, the men of the church gather for discipleship nights where they sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron. Once a month the men meet at the church for a prayer breakfast, with food, fellowship, and prayer for families, the community, and the world.
Women are led by Kathy Adams. The women's ministry seeks to fulfill Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:9-11 that believers would be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Bible study groups focus on the Word, and periodic Ladies Nights Out bring the women together for food, fellowship, worship, and a Bible study from a woman's perspective.
Young adults meet as THE AFTER, a ministry led by Jeff and Danielle Turpin. The group gathers on Monday nights at 6:30 PM in the Brook. Each evening starts with a meal, moves into a time of worship, and then settles into a verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter discussion of God's Word. Outreach opportunities and special events are added throughout the year.
Single adults also have a dedicated ministry of their own, with regular opportunities to connect through the church.
Backpack Buddies and the Special Needs Ministry
Outreach is woven into the life of the church. Backpack Buddies is a ministry of Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain that partners with Shiloh Elementary. Each week during the school year, backpacks of food are sent home with students identified by the school counselor as homeless or needy. During the school week those students are fed, but on weekends they are often on their own. Donations of approved food items can be dropped off at the church office during business hours, and a list of accepted items is available to print and bring along.
The Special Needs Ministry serves families with children who have disabilities and is part of the wider children's ministry effort. Training resources for volunteers and teachers are produced regularly so that every child who walks through the door is welcomed with care.
Deep South Worship
The worship at Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain is led by Matt Houston, the Worship Pastor, alongside Worship Leader Alli Taylor. The church's music has taken shape as its own expression called Deep South Worship. Deep South Worship releases songs that are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube, and the church encourages visitors to listen and sing along when the songs are used in services.
What the Church Believes
Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain holds to a clear statement of faith centered on the Bible, the Trinity, and the saving work of Jesus Christ.
- The Bible is God-breathed and God-preserved, the highest court of authority for Christian life and doctrine.
- There is one true God, eternal and self-existent, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- God created all things, and Jesus is the Sustainer, Ruler, and Redeemer of His creation.
- Jesus is both fully God and fully man, born of a virgin, crucified for sinless blood, and raised bodily from the dead.
- Salvation is by grace through faith, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit continues in the world today.
- The Church is universal and local, visible and invisible, gathered and scattered, purchased and built by Jesus.
- Jesus Christ will physically return to the earth, with eternal judgment for the righteous and the unrighteous, and the Church is called to be ready for that day.
Sandy Adams and the Team
Senior Pastor Sandy Adams leads the church alongside a team that includes:
- James Chapman, Assistant Pastor, who also leads the men's ministry
- Matt Houston, Worship Pastor
- Andrew Taylor, High School Pastor
- Allen Mlendough Jr., Middle School Pastor
- Stacy Chapman, Children's Ministry Director
- Kathy Adams, Women's Ministry Director
- Alli Taylor, Worship Leader
Jeff and Danielle Turpin lead THE AFTER, the young adult ministry.
Schools and Resources Beyond Sunday Morning
Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain's reach goes beyond Sunday morning services. The church partners with Calvary Chapel Christian School, a K-5 school that meets near the main campus, and with Calvary Bible Institute of the South for students pursuing deeper Bible college study.
Pastor Sandy's teaching has also grown into a family of resources. The Through the Bible archive at SandyAdams.org includes sermon notes, MP3 downloads, and a chapter-by-chapter video walkthrough. The Sandy Adams Sunday Morning podcast is on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and a daily radio program, Sandy Adams Radio, airs across the country. The Good Fight devotional resource and a testimonies video library round out the materials available to anyone who wants to keep learning between Sundays.
The church office can be reached at 770.736.2828, and online giving is available through Church Center.