Cornerstone commissions members to launch Hope Church Tolworth

On Sunday 17th November 2024, a special commissioning service took place at Cornerstone Church Kingston, marking the exciting launch of Hope Church Tolworth.

A group of members from Cornerstone, alongside a team from Emmanuel Church in Tolworth, are coming together to plant this new church in South West London, with a focus on spreading the gospel and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Hope Church is a new addition to the Co-Mission network of London churches and is affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Churches (FIEC).

The new church now meets at Knollmead Primary School, located on the Sunray Estate in Tolworth. This marks a significant milestone in the life of Cornerstone Church, which has long served the Kingston area and now sends out gospel people to another local community.

The commissioning service was a bittersweet occasion, filled with both thanksgiving and sorrow. While there was joy in seeing people step out in faith to serve the new church, it was also a time of heartfelt goodbyes to many friends and fellow workers who had been part of Cornerstone for years.

Around 40 valued members of different ages, backgrounds and diverse skills and gifts volunteered to go from Cornerstone to serve this new church plant. The hope and prayer of Cornerstone is that these individuals will continue to serve both each other and the wider Tolworth community, shining the light of the gospel and pointing many to Jesus Christ.

At the commissioning service, Tom Sweatman preached from Revelation 3:7-13, a letter from Jesus to the church in Philadelphia. In this passage, Jesus commends the church for remaining faithful despite their weakness, and Tom reminded the congregation that Jesus holds the royal key — sovereign over salvation and judgment. This was a timely and encouraging word for both Cornerstone and Hope Church, urging them to hold firm to Christ as they embark on this new chapter. The sermon is available to listen again online.

Following the service, Tom Sweatman, Pete Woodcock, and the elders at Cornerstone officially commissioned Bart Erlebach as the new pastor of Hope Church Tolworth. The service concluded with a time of sung worship, followed by a lunch for those transitioning to the new church. It was a moving time of goodbyes and prayer, as everyone looked forward to what God will accomplish through Hope Church in the coming years.