Alumni Spotlight – Rev. Dr. George Wasson
By Kari Lutes, Alumni Office Intern
George Wasson (1996, MDiv & 2002, DMin) described himself as, “just a church attender” before he came to a crossroads on his twenty-fifth birthday. George, who worked in merchandizing at the time, was having a birthday celebration and no one came.
“It was a time to evaluate where my life had been,” George said. “I realized what I was doing wasn’t giving me a lot of fulfillment. I thought, I just really need to get back into church.”
George decided to make church a priority and soon started working with the youth in his church in Indiana. George went with the youth to a camp in Minnesota, and came back from the camp changed. At the end of the camp, George went with a group of kids who wanted to make a profession of their faith, and ended up joining them in the confession.
“I sat in that room, hearing the testimonies of all these kids, and I realized I had never made a profession of my faith,” George said. “So I did, with a whole bunch of junior high kids.”
After returning home, even George’s mom noticed that something had changed for him at camp.
“My mom looked at me and she said, ‘What happened? You look different,’” George said. “My faith started to take off like crazy.”
George continued to be involved in the church and started a single’s ministry that grew to be one of the largest in the city. A few years later, however, George got offered a job and moved to Houston, Texas. While looking for a home in Texas, George found an area called The Woodlands, and decided to try a church in the area to see if he would like the commute.
George walked into the church and, “it felt like, ‘Welcome Home,’” he said.
George met Ken Werlein (1992, MDiv & 2002, DMin) the associate pastor of the church and a recent Asbury graduate, and Ken quickly became his mentor. One night as George was once again beginning to feel unfulfilled in merchandizing, the two prayed for direction in George’s life.
“That night Ken and I got down on our knees, and he just prayed for me and asked God to give me a really clear direction of what I should do,” George said.
A few hours later, while George was in his room, the answer came.
“In the quietness of the middle of the night, I literally felt the voice of God say, ‘Now are you ready to do what I want you to do?’” George said. “And I knew I was supposed to go to seminary—I was supposed to be a pastor.”
George applied to Asbury, though he had never been on the campus before.
However, “When I drove on campus,” George said, “it was that, ‘welcome home.’ I just knew that was where I was supposed to be.”
George, who served as a resident assistant and in student government, among other leadership positions, thrived in the community of Asbury.
“I got to do everything I always wanted to do,” George said. “It was such an amazing community for me. That community formed me for that next season of my life.”
After graduating, George went back to Texas and served three years as a pastor before returning to Asbury for the Beeson program. George then approached the Indiana conference, who called him back when they heard he was participating in the program. George become a pastor of a rural church before moving to Floyd Knobs, Indiana to plant a church—Faithpoint.
George based his church plans on the life verse he claimed at Asbury—the promise of abundant life in John 10:10.
“That Abundance has so described what I have experienced since coming to Jesus,” George said. “That really has been my guiding influence. To be a church that takes down the barriers, where you can come as you are. I wanted to be the kind of place where people come and experience real community, which is what I got at Asbury, I wanted to transfer that to the church I was going to be pastoring.”
The name of the church, Faithpoint, also comes out of the call to abundance.
“The cool thing about that is it flows out of the mission of our church to be a point,” George said. “We want to point people toward Christ, we want to point people towards a family, we want to point people towards a relationship of abundance, and that all happens in the context of faith.”
George is excited for the future of Faithpoint. “We’re in a period of discernment to say, ‘what’s next?’” George said.
Alumni can pray for Faithpoint and, “Ask God for a vision of what’s next for us,” George said.
George continues to see Asbury as one of the most influential experiences of his life, and values the opportunity to serve on the Alumni Board.
“One of the real honors I have had has been to serve Asbury,” George said. “I have a continual opportunity to go back to the well.”
Great article George! Blessings as you and your family minister in “The Knobs”.
I LOVE your story, George. I guess I had never heard about your experience of becoming a Christian; great story. There are times I really miss Faithpoint; however, I know that Mike NEEDS us in Palmyra. His attendance gets less all the time. Your children are precious. I have a red headed great granddaughter and she remind me of Bree. Love that red hair. God bless you and your fabulous family.
God is Amazing and when He says, I want to do things you never thought possible, He DOES because that is Who HE IS!!! Blessings!!!!
It’s exciting to read your story George! God bless you as you continue to serve and lead at Faithpoint!
It is a blessing to know you, Rev. Dr. George Wasson. You lead with your heart and it shows to those around you. God has much more to accomplish through your good works. Blessings abound!
Love this testimony and the faithfulness of God and you, George! So proud for you! God bless you, friend!
Thank you George for sharing your testimony. God is good and abundant life is real. Blessings on you, your family, church and Asbury.
Good to connect with you George and learn of your journey so far. Surely Beeson days were a great experience. Greetings from Ghana
Congrats Rev, Dr. Wasson.
I’m curious if you have looked into or know your lineage? I stumbled onto this article as I was searching for the name that you have as it appears in my family tree many times. There is also a Rev George A Wasson 1869 – 1945, burried on Grand Lake New Brunswick.
I’d be interested in chatting with you at your convenience.
Derek