Ministry Experience

Pastor Jacob (“Jake”) Jones

Pastor Jacob (“Jake”) Jones was blessed to grow up in a Christian home where he regularly heard the Gospel through the faithful influence of his parents, Pastor Mike and Sally Jones. At the age of twelve, he recognized his need for salvation and trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

The Lord led Pastor Jake to attend Bob Jones University, where he graduated in 2004. About a year after graduating, God directed him and his wife, Lauren, to the Westerly, Rhode Island area, where they have now lived for over 20 years while they reared their family.

In 2012, Pastor Jake joined the pastoral staff of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Oakdale, Connecticut, where he has served in a variety of ministries including preaching, discipleship, biblical counseling, music, teen, and children’s ministries. Over the years, God allowed the Jones family to build many close relationships throughout the Westerly community. As time passed, Pastor Jake developed a growing burden to see a Christ-centered church established in the community where they lived and reared their family.

Pastor Jake is a certified biblical counselor through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and has counseled individuals and families through the church’s counseling ministry for many years. He also has a burden for disciple-making, strengthening families, and helping believers grow through the faithful teaching and practical application of God’s Word.

After much prayer and counsel, Pastor Jake shared this burden with the leadership and congregation of Cornerstone Baptist Church. Together, they are praying and preparing to plant Hope Bible Church in Westerly, Rhode Island, with Cornerstone serving as the sending church.

Pastor Jake and Lauren are grateful for God’s faithfulness and count it a privilege to serve the Lord together alongside their six children.

Lauren Jones

Lauren had the privilege of growing up in a Bible-believing church and with loving parents who served the Lord in it. As a child, she had the blessing of hearing the Gospel repeatedly and the truths of God’s Word. At the age of 7, after hearing a sermon about Hell and realizing she was unsaved, she prayed to receive the Lord Jesus as her Saviour. A year later she shared her testimony with the church and was baptized.

Although no one from her home church had gone to Bob Jones University, it was there that the Lord led her to attend. During her sophomore year she began to doubt her salvation. But the Lord sweetly reminded her through her daily devotions that she is kept by His power for all eternity. She graduated in 2002 with a BA in Creative Writing and returned home to New Jersey. Several years later she met and married Jacob Jones, and the Lord providentially led them to settle and build a family in the quaint town of Westerly, Rhode Island.