October 1, 2026
BLACKSHEAR, Ga. — Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, said his 18-year-old daughter, Sarah, has entered hospice care at home after nearly a decade of serious health struggles, but her family says the hope of Christ and the promise of the resurrection are sustaining them in the days ahead.
“After a long and courageous battle with numerous physical illnesses, our precious Sarah has officially entered Hospice Care in our home,” Stone wrote in a Saturday Facebook post signed by the Stone family. “She joins our entire family in facing the days ahead with faith in Christ, confidence in the resurrection, and the blessed assurance that our Sovereign God does all things well.”
Stone and his wife, Andrea, said Sarah’s health struggles began when she was in grade school, first with a loss of appetite and chronic pain. Like any parents, he said, they began a long journey of taking her to specialists in every field of medicine.
After years of feeding tubes and numerous painful surgeries, Stone said, Sarah’s official diagnosis has been "intestinal failure."
Through each season, he said, Sarah has not complained. Instead, she has focused on her favorite passage of Scripture, 2 Corinthians 12, and the promise that God can display His strength in human weakness.
“She believes God can use this difficulty in her life to glorify Himself and to prove His strength in her weakness,” Stone said.
That perspective has been evident in Sarah’s own words. In a Facebook post earlier this year, she wrote, “Maybe your miracle isn’t a healing. Maybe your miracle is God showing you how to have faith, contentment, and joy in spite of your circumstances. That my friend, is even better than a healing.”
Stone said that has been Sarah’s perspective every day.
Sarah also has used social media to encourage others facing chronic illness. In one post, she wrote that “the beautiful thing about suffering as a Christian” is that the truths of God’s grace apply to any circumstance. “No matter what trial you’re facing, His grace will be sufficient,” she wrote. “Rest in that.”
In another post, Sarah thanked those who had prayed for her family and said she was grateful for her parents, care teams, and others who had supported her through illness.
“Thank you, Jesus,” she wrote. “For absolutely everything.”
Stone said Sarah’s question to others has often been, “How can I pray for you?” Many people have responded online by sharing screenshots of text messages from Sarah, he said, showing her concern for others even while she was suffering.
“It is a testament to her selfless attitude and love for others,” Stone said.
Because of Stone’s outside preaching ministry and his involvement in the broader work of Georgia and Southern Baptists, Sarah has had congregations throughout Georgia and across the country praying for her regularly. Stone said the Facebook post announcing that Sarah had entered hospice care has drawn more than 1.2 million interactions, and her music videos have received tens of thousands of views in recent days.
Following Stone’s post, Southern Baptist leaders and pastors from across the country responded with prayers and words of comfort.
Willy Rice, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla., wrote, “Please join me in praying for my friend Mike Stone and his precious family.”
Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote that he and his wife, Mary, were praying for Sarah, Mike and Andrea Stone, and the entire family. “May the grace and mercy of our blessed Lord be your comfort,” Mohler wrote.
Ronnie Floyd, a former SBC president, wrote on X, “All our SBC Family around the World, please pray now for @PastorMikeStone’s daughter, Sarah, as well for Pastor Mike and his wife Andrea, and family. Grace. Peace. Hope.”
In the Facebook post, the family urged others to be in church on Sunday.
“Our sincerest desire is for you to be in church somewhere this Sunday,” Stone wrote. “Rejoice, laugh, sing, clap, and shout. And with an open heart and an open Bible, praise our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is our only hope in life and death.”
Stone said Sarah, a pastor’s daughter who has spent all 18 years of her life in the same congregation, understood that the announcement would be felt deeply by her church family. Because the hospice announcement was posted on a Saturday, he said, it was important to her that her church family and online followers be reminded of the blessing of corporate worship.
Stone said the hope his family has in Christ, especially the hope of the resurrection, has sustained them.
“As Paul told the Thessalonians, we grieve but not as those who have no hope,” Stone said. “We have a hope that is steadfast and sure, an anchor for the soul, that is the Lord Jesus.”
Stone said he and Andrea have walked with many families through times of death, but nothing could prepare them to walk this road with their own child except the power of the gospel.
Sarah, he said, has joyfully described her expectation of heaven by comparing it to the anticipation she felt as a child waiting for Christmas morning.
“Sarah’s desire is that Jesus would be glorified through this chapter in her life,” Stone said. “In the words of one of her favorite songs, Christ is her hope in life and death.”
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