Dear Cornerstone family,
At the end of last year, your session erected a search committee for a Minister of Youth and Families. Ruling elder, Randy Allen, led an all-star cast of search committee members––Liz Taylor, Matt Suits, Lauren Smith, Elle Terrell, and Tony Giles––who have been hard at work collecting names and interviewing qualified candidates for the position.
Nearly two months ago, I asked you to pray for the work of the search committee as they narrow their list of candidates and take several important steps in the process. Suffice it to say, the Lord heard your prayers!
I’m pleased to announce that this week Mr. Drew Abercrombie accepted our call to be Director of Youth and Families. Drew grew up in Florida but spent his college years down the road in Dayton, TN, at Bryan College studying English. After college, Drew spent seven years on the mission field in Korea where he served in an international church doing campus ministry, teaching Bible studies, and leading home groups. It was also in Korea where he met and married his lovely wife, Kelly.
In 2019, the Abercrombies moved to Atlanta, GA, so Drew could begin his studies at Reformed Theological Seminary. Two weeks ago, that journey came to an end when Drew graduated from RTS with a Master of Divinity degree. While in seminary, Drew was a part time Student Director at Sojourn Church in Marietta, GA. In working with youth and families at Sojourn, Drew gained valuable ministry experience while his sense of call to pastoral ministry continued to grow and mature.
Drew is thoughtful, wise, and ministerial. He has a passion to see people grow closer to Jesus Christ and grow more into his likeness. He feels a particular call to work with youth and youth families, but he is grateful that this particular role provides regular opportunities for service to the whole Cornerstone family.
As you may have noticed, Drew is being called as Director of Youth and Families not a Minister of Youth and Families. That is because Drew is not yet ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America. Drew will begin the process of ordination in the PCA – a process that could last 18 months – when he arrives at Cornerstone. Upon completing the ordination process, Drew will become Cornerstone’s first Minister of Youth and Families.
Drew, Kelly, and their two little boys, Samuel and Silas, are planning to transition to Franklin in mid-July. In the meantime, remember them in prayer. They have a myriad of details to figure out––including finding a place to live. Furthermore, they will be giving many tearful goodbyes to their loving community in Marietta over the next several weeks while preparing to say hello to a whole host of new smiling faces at Cornerstone. It will be a whirlwind of a season, and your prayers will most certainly be a tremendous blessing to them.
Your servant,
