Since the beginning of Cornerstone, we have had the wonderful opportunity to invite young people to participate in various ministries—in formal and informal ways—for the purpose of identifying gifts and encouraging the call God has placed on their lives. I asked Greg Wilbur to talk about this aspect of the ministry of Cornerstone.
In the midst of a full and busy ministry, the Apostle Paul invested time, instruction, encouragement, and himself in the discipling of Timothy. Paul understood his role of shaping and developing the gifts God had given Timothy for the good of the Church. Furthermore, in 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul exhorts Timothy to do the same: to take what Paul taught Timothy and entrust it to faithful men and women who would be able to teach others. The description we see here is four generations of discipling and equipping—Paul to Timothy, to faithful men and women, to others.
Paul also speaks of the presence of gifts within God’s people as a “manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12). We utilize our gifts not for ourselves but for the good of the Body— both as individuals and as a Church. As Jesus instructs us in the parable of the talents, the stewardship of what has been entrusted to us is a matter of faithfulness and joy (Matthew 25). As a church community, we have the opportunity to develop and nurture gifts for the good of the Church—not just here and now but also for later and in other parts of the Body of Christ.
Throughout the years at Cornerstone, we have intentionally identified young men and women to serve within the church for the purpose of discerning gifts under the oversight and discipling of pastors and staff. These interns have worked with women’s ministry, missions, youth, worship, and discipleship. And we have stewarded our own gifts and resources to share wisdom, ministry opportunities, and our own failures and obstacles in order to assist them in the pursuit of God’s call on their lives and to train them for a life of serving others as a successive generation.
Some of the practical ways that works out in our life as a church is encouraging younger musicians to grow in their ability to play in worship, to take extra time in helping a less experienced teacher prepare a lesson, to provide feedback and helpful critiques. You may have noticed our Psalm for May was written by our worship intern, Noah Aikens—this is another example of our commitment to give space in our Body life for the development of gifts.
As a church, this allows us all to play a discipling role by recognizing that the experience of actually doing ministry work—such as write a Psalm for worship, teach a lesson for Vespers, instruct the youth, participate in leading the liturgy—is a more effective means of instruction than just talking about it conceptually. We have a long-term, kingdom-minded approach to raise up those to follow us and prepare and outfit them for faithful service.
I am personally thankful for the patience church families had for me: when I started playing piano for worship at the age of 16 and when I took over as worship leader/choir director at my church in college at the age of 20. Their encouragement and loving exhortations helped to shape me, overcome my deficiencies, and move forward after failing.
We are thankful for the opportunity Cornerstone has with our current interns, Ethan Vroom and Noah Aikens, as well as for past interns who are completing seminary training, degrees in counseling, serving overseas and in missions, and moving into roles to serve the Church for the life and hope of the Gospel in the world. God has blessed the Cornerstone body with gifts and talents, and we prayerfully seek to steward those and train faithful men and women who can teach others for the common good.