Since CrossPoint began back in 2015, we have held to the belief that the biblical ideal for a local church is humble, accountable leadership by a team of elders/pastors. However, since we were only a very small church, for many years we had only one elder and were praying for God to bring along someone else to join CrossPoint’s eldership team.
God has now answered that prayer.
Douglas was born in New Zealand and met his wife Satomi while teaching English in Japan. He is a father of three and has shown a love of God and a heart for connecting with people, helping them grow, and encouraging them in the gospel.
In the lead up to making a decision about choosing Douglas as an elder, Jason led the church through the book of Titus in a study looking at the biblical requirements for eldership so that we might be able to examine Douglas by these requirements. You can access those sermons here.
On 16 July, the church came together to vote for Douglas becoming an elder and the vote was passed unanimously. Douglas was subsequently officially appointed on the following Sunday on 23 July.
We are looking forward to seeing how God will use Douglas in this new role of spiritual shepherding and overseeing at CrossPoint and are grateful for his willingness to step forward and undertake this sobering responsibility. Please continue to pray for Douglas and for our elders at CrossPoint that God will give them wisdom, humility, and guidance.