our story
Shawn & Merrily York
"FOR WHAT WE PREACH IS NOT OURSELVES, BUT JESUS CHRIST AS LORD...THIS ALL-SURPASSING POWER IS FROM GOD AND NOT FROM US." 2 COR. 4:5, 7
Shawn York never thought he'd be a pastor. He and his wife, Merrily, owned a custom homebuilding business. However, after visiting Haiti immediately following the earthquake in 2010, Shawn and Merrily began to feel the nudge toward ministry. Along a journey they could never have predicted, which included years of church ministry training and seminary, the Yorks moved to Gulf Breeze in 2013 where Shawn took a ministry position within his denomination. Through a series of personal health challenges, tragedy, joy and frustration, God positioned the York family to take their biggest leap of faith ever in 2020. They resigned from their church - right in the middle of the pandemic.
2020 was a difficult year for literally the whole world, but also a time of joy for the Yorks as they adopted their fourth child. However, they were tired of being isolated from other believers, and when restrictions across the country began to lift, they imagined a Christmas Eve worship service. A friend suggested a vacant storefront, and they set up chairs, unsure if anyone would come or not!
The Yorks were dumbfounded when 250 people joined in that first worship gathering. Believers, but also many people outside the church, were hungry for human contact. People began offering help, finances and encouragement, and Shawn and Merrily decided to jump in with both feet. Highpoint Church was born.
Since that time, the Yorks have watched God bless and rapidly grow the church beyond what they could have imagined. God is changing hearts and lives and creating something from nothing! They look to the future with great hope and expectation that God will continue to bring people into a saving relationship with him and will use Highpoint Church for generations to come.
Christmas Eve 2020 & Highpoint's first service.