What we believe eldership to be
According to the Bible, the church is to be led by qualified and called men as elders and qualified and called men and women as deacons.
Simply put, a church elder is a man called by God to be an overseer.
According to the Bible, elders are to be known for their prayer life (1 Tim. 2:8), modeling Christ-like service (Matt. 20:26–28; 1 Pet. 5:2), and being practically responsible in their homes, as well as in the workplace (1 Tim. 3:4–7).
Not just any man can serve as an elder—they must be qualified to do so. The qualifications of elders are laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9. As a church we currently have men who are modeling eldership as discussed, and we are moving toward completing this process.
JOHN ERVINE, Teaching ELDER
johnervine@cornerstonerathfriland.com
My name is John Ervine, I am married to Julie and we have three wonderful children Isaac, Anna and Aaron. I have always lived in Rathfriland and can honestly say that I love the South Down area and long to see God move here in ways which we can only imagine.
Our vision for this Cornerstone church is that it will impact our community on every level. On a Gospel level we desire above all things to see the transforming power of Jesus reach people who would never have normally connected with any church. We also want to see those who are committed to following Jesus discipled in a manner where they see the whole of life through Gospel lenses and are able to apply the Gospel to every situation that life throws at them. We desire to see lives transformed by Jesus and therefore filter into every other avenue in society.
marcus somerville, elder.
My name is Marcus, I'm married to Jayne and we are parents to Jude, Georgia and Ella. We have lived outside Rathfriland for 16 years and are very thankful to serve the local church and community. I am one of the elders at Cornerstone Church and also part of the worship team. I enjoy drinking good coffee and doing the odd DIY project which Jayne usually has a list of!
As a family, we have been involved since the beginning of Cornerstone, where the vision has always been to create a space where people feel welcome to hear the Good News of Jesus and how He alone has the power to transform lives. Real community, where people are connected because of the grace of Jesus, was something we longed for in this area and we are amazed at what God has done up to now and how He has moved by His Spirit. Our desire is to see hearts drawn to Jesus, rejoicing in the hope that only He can bring and proclaiming His gospel to the world around them.
John Nixon, Elder.
My name is John and I am married to Jen, and together we have the privilege of parenting our wonderful girls Edith and Lilah, as well as looking forward to meeting our new born in December. I grew up in South Down and we currently live and work in Castlewellan Castle. I count it a blessing to be able to raise our family in such a beautiful part of the world. When I have a bit of spare time you will often find me running through the trails of the forest park.
In 2018, shortly after moving house Jen and I started attending Cornerstone Church. Very quickly we both felt at home at Cornerstone and were keen to commit to the church family. We found ourselves being regularly challenged and stretched by the emphasis the elders place on the expository teaching of the Word of God as well as enjoying the intentional community that makes the church feel like a family. We are passionate about people from the local community hearing about the amazing news of Jesus and are humbled that God chooses to use broken people to help reach broken people with the power of the Gospel.