On Wednesday April 13, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce held an official ribbon cutting for Ascent Church, which meets on Sundays at 10:30 at the Holiday Inn Express in Dawson County.
According to Mark Pfaller, lead pastor of Ascent Church, the goal for the church is to not just be in the community but be a part of it too.
“Our vision as a church is that we can experience God’s grace and build community together, and part of building community for us is how can we as a church really be involved in building our community, giving back, serving and in particular being a blessing on the business community side,” Pfaller said during the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Pfaller, who comes from a business background in addition to a ministerial one, said that one part of this vision is to be able to support the business community in Dawson County.
“I come from a business background; my actual background is not only in pastoral ministry but also as a business professional,” Pfaller said. “So for me, being able to bless our business community and being a part of serving this Dawson community has been something that we as a church have wanted to do.”
Ascent Church started meeting in April 2021 out of Silver City Elementary School in Forsyth County, and moved into the hotel in the beginning of 2022. Since then, Pfaller said that the support he and his church have gotten from the community has been strong.
“We’re really thankful for the turnout today as well as the support we’ve gotten since as a church being here in the Dawson community,” Pfaller said.
In return, Pfaller said that it’s his goal for his church to be able to support the community in any way possible. This has included partnering with fellow Chamber of Commerce members, serving with The Place of Dawson County and hosting community events including an upcoming professional development event.
“It’s open to anyone here in our Dawson community and it's basically for those trying to understand how to build a career and how to make decisions around building a career,” Pfaller said.
The event will be at the Holiday Inn Express on Sunday April 24 at 6 p.m. and feature special guest speaker David Stein.
Mandy Power, president and CEO of the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce, spoke during the ribbon cutting ceremony, welcoming Pfaller and his leadership team to the community and to the chamber.
“I love to see community is what it’s all about — that is what we embody at the chamber is being the voice of business and having businesses that support other members,” Power said. “What a great place for y’all to have services because you really transformed it and it’s really beautiful; we’re very happy to have you as part of the chamber.”
Before cutting the ribbon, Pfaller read one of the church’s formative verses, Jeremiah 29:7, in which God tells his people to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have sent you”.
“Really that’s something that we think about as a church is how can we seek the peace and prosperity of our city,” Pfaller said, “and how can we be a part of giving back and blessing our community and be a part of building our community.”
For more information about Ascent Church, go to https://www.ascentdawson.com/.