Updated Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007

Phil Stone: Mission to make a difference

By Melissa Lilley

BSC Communications

Thanks to Mrs. Perkins, Phil Stone had no choice but to take his music seriously.

Mrs. Perkins, minister of music at Home Branch Baptist Church in South Carolina, had her young pupil playing in church at age 12. She taught Stone to play the piano and organ and prepared him to tackle freshman music theory in college, which Stone said was no small feat.

Stone, Baptist State Convention (BSC) church building planning/church administration ministries leader and state Sunday School director, played piano and organ at Home Branch until he headed to Augusta State University to study music and vocal performance.

"Worship is my first love, and using music in worship is something I can get passionate about," Stone said.

Stone served as minister of music for churches in South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina.

During his seminary years at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Stone discovered his second love - Christian education. "I love to teach," Stone said. "I like using a variety of methods to help learners discover for themselves biblical truths."

Stone's personal mission statement, "make a difference," guides his ministry. For the last 25 years he has committed to making a difference through BSC Sunday School, church administration and church building planning ministries.

Stone envisions Sunday School being an "open, evangelistic small group."

"Sunday School is not dead," Stone said. "The principles are alive and well, but it has lost its purpose in many churches. I'm on a mission to open Sunday School back up."

Sunday School is a place for compassion, community and outreach. Stone helps churches "move Sunday School from a program that wants to sustain itself to a ministry strategy whose role is to sustain the mission of the church."

Stone has been married to Sherry for 38 years, and they have two children and two grandchildren. In recent years Stone and his wife moved away from the city and built a house in the country, fulfilling a lifelong dream for Stone.

"I built the oldest-looking new home you can find," Stone said. Making the country home complete is a wraparound porch and two Paso Fino horses.

When he is not feeding horses or mucking out stalls Stone enjoys hiking, biking and antiquing. "My house is full to the brim with antiques, but there's always room for one more," he said.