Dear Cornerstone Family,
I have big news! But let’s review a little history first.
At the beginning of this year, following the recommendation of our Personnel Committee, the elders of Cornerstone voted unanimously to begin a search for another Assistant Pastor. At our last Cornerstone Family Meeting in early March, I gave an update on the search process mentioning that a job description for the position had been written and approved, and that the Personnel Committee, which was serving as the search committee, was collecting applications, resumes/CV’s, and ministerial data forms from qualified ministerial candidates.
Over the last three to four months, we conducted interviews, listened to sermons, called references, conducted more interviews, and prayed, prayed, prayed. We saw doors open and close. We saw candidates enter and depart from the process. But with each step, we sensed the Lord’s guiding hand leading us to his man.
Three weeks ago, one of our lead candidates and his wife were invited for an on-site visit. Over the course of three days, in a variety of formal and informal contexts, the search committee, the staff, and the elders met with the candidate and his wife. With each meeting, we felt more and more confirmed that this was God’s man for us.
After their departure, we took time to collect feedback, deliberate, and—you guessed it—pray, pray, pray. At the end of that process, the session voted unanimously to extend a call to Mr. Sebastian Bjernegård to be an Assistant Pastor at Cornerstone. In very short order, Sebastian and his wife, Ainsley, responded to our offer and accepted the call.
As you probably surmised from the last name, Sebastian ain’t from around these parts. Sebastian grew up in Sweden. While in high school, he was an exchange student and lived for a year in Fort Payne, AL. In God’s kind providence, he lived with a PCA pastor’s family, and over the course of that year, he came to know the Lord. Soon thereafter, he enrolled at Belhaven University in Jackson, MS, which is where he met his future wife, Ainsley, a Miami native. After graduation, sensing a call to ministry, Sebastian enrolled at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson and worked at First Presbyterian Church. After completing his MDiv, he crossed the pond again to begin work on a Ph.D. that he’s nearly finished with at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Sebastian and Ainsley have two young children, Felicity and Theo, and one on the way (due in September). They are eager to get to know the Cornerstone family! Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to meet them. If all goes according to plan, the Bjernegård’s will be on middle TN soil mid to late July! Needless to say, they have a big move ahead of them, and a lot to figure out in a short period of time. As timelines and needs become clear, we will share more with you. In the meantime, please pray for the Bjernegård family as they transition to Franklin and prepare to partner with us in the work of ministry.
Your servant,
