On the behalf of the elders, it is my distinct privilege to announce that we have extended a call to Rev. Ben Griffith to be our new Assistant Pastor. Ben hails from Hattiesburg, MS. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg (Go Eagles!) and Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. Ben is married to Rebekah, and they have three children—Margaret (10), Owen (8), and Elizabeth “Libby” (5).
Over the last twelve years, Ben has served in a variety of ministry roles at The First Presbyterian Church (FPC) in Hattiesburg. From 2007-2014, he was the Director of Student Ministries. In that role, he led large and small group gatherings for youth, equipped and trained youth interns, and worked collaboratively with the presbytery for youth trainings and retreats. In 2014, Ben was called as an Assistant Pastor at FPC, and in 2017 he was called as an Associate Pastor. In both of these roles, he exercised gifts in preaching, teaching, discipleship, and pastoral care congregation wide with particular emphasis in the young adult ministry.
Ben will be ministering broadly to the congregation, assisting weekly in worship, teaching weekly, and preaching on a regular interval. In addition to these broad pastoral duties, he will give vision and direction to our youth ministry, equip and train youth volunteers, and be the lead teaching voice for our youth on Wednesday nights.
Ben and Rebekah can’t wait to meet you! In fact, they wanted to send along a brief greeting to all of you: “Greetings from the Griffith’s! We are thrilled to be joining the Cornerstone family, and can’t wait to begin life and ministry with you. We are excited about making Franklin our home and are looking forward what the Lord has in store for us together.”
Before Ben can join us officially, the Nashville Presbytery must approve his transfer. Lord willing, the presbytery will examine him on Tuesday, Aug. 13th. Once the presbytery approves him, he can officially join our pastoral staff at Cornerstone.
If you would, please begin praying for the Griffith’s. This is a bittersweet time. Though excited to throw their lot in with us at Cornerstone, they’re saying many tearful goodbyes over the next few weeks to family and friends in Hattiesburg. Let’s also ask the Lord to go before us and knit our hearts together in love with theirs as soon as they arrive in Franklin.
Finally, I want to thank you for the trust and support you showed to us through the search process. God used your prayers and encouragements to get us to this point, and for that we are thankful. Now, let’s rejoice together! Our God is once again showing His faithfulness to our church!