Humor. Music. JoAnn. Above all, Jesus Christ.

That’s the life and ministry of Rob Raynor touching lives since the mid-1970s from Virginia down to Lake Country in Georgia. It could have all ended by the touch of a stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic, when his last church venture – Lakepoint Community Church in northern Putnam County – was on the verge of a major expansion into a new fellowship hall. But before the first service could be held in what used to be a Bodyplex, Rob Raynor was back, not quite ready to call it quits.

That would come when Lakepoint Community Church reached another milestone, its 15^th anniversary, that was celebrated the same weekend (June 10-11) as his retirement from showing up to work everyday in the senior pastor role with lead pastor Jonathon Dawson and a staff that includes one of his four daughters, Madison, the Children’s Director.

Briarpatch Farm on Pea Ridge Road was the site for the June 10 “This is Your Life” type celebration of the Raynors with all five children, their spouses and the 14 grandchildren all present. One son-in-law, Jason Dees, served as Master of Ceremonies introducing four gentlemen who played an integral part of Raynor’s service to the Lord. In fact, Jim Irby, a youth minister in Decatur at the time, was the one who brought Raynor out of a dark time in his life at the urging of Raynor’s mother.

Raynor attended Atlanta Christian College (now called Point University) and became “brothers” with another guest, Steve Lay. Since 1975 the two have been playing music, and their spouses shared many an experience as well.

Rob Raynor is originally from North Carolina, and his first ministry was in Virginia. Another speaker was Dwight Milliam, who was youth minister at First Christian in Cumming when Raynor pastored there. Raynor made his biggest mark, as the speakers would day, in Covington for churches called Grace Fellowship and East Ridge.

It was from there the idea came to build a church in the Lake Country. Part of that planting group was Dennis LeMaster. In 2008, Lakepoint Community Church began, bouncing from a couple of locations before settling on Harmony Road near the intersection with Greensboro Road (Hwy. 44). Lakepoint also established a campus in Madison, where the Raynors now reside, and that church seen large growth.

Raynor would never burn your ears with his preaching, and it will intentionally bring out a chuckle. Lakepoint’s motto is pointing people to a life-changing connection with Jesus. In his calm, but still tinged with emotion, manner, Raynor said as part of the Sunday anniversary celebration that you can never go wrong trying to talk to somebody about Jesus.