Georgia Pastor Mike Stone Announces Death of His 19-Year-Old Daughter Sarah

Southern Baptist pastor Mike Stone announced Tuesday, November 3, that his daughter, Sarah Ellington Stone, had died at age 19 after living with multiple illnesses. Stone, who pastors Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia, shared the news in a social media statement that spoke of both the family's grief and their hope in Christ.

"With heavy hearts upheld by our Christian faith, we want to share that our precious Sarah has gone to be with the Lord," the family wrote in the announcement, as reported by ChurchLeaders. Stone said Sarah became a Christian at age six. In remembering her, he pointed to her faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

"Christ was her hope in this life. He is now her hope in death," he wrote.

In August, Stone told friends and followers that Sarah had entered hospice care at the family's home. At the time, he described her struggle with several physical illnesses and said the family was facing the days ahead with faith in Christ and confidence in the resurrection.

Sarah's mother, Andrea Stone, had also shared updates about her daughter's health. According to ChurchLeaders, those updates described Sarah's experiences with neuromuscular weakness and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, commonly known as POTS.

The family returned to the hope of the resurrection in Tuesday's statement. They also included words from Job 1:21, "The Lord gave. The Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."