Dr. Byrd was born in Fayetteville, NC. He attended East Carolina University for three years and received his undergraduate degree from Campbell University, majoring in Religion and Philosophy. After college he entered Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas where he earned both a masters degree in theology and a doctor of ministry degree.

Dr. Byrd’s first fifteen years of ministry were in west and east Texas. God moved him back to North Carolina in 1992. He has been at Cornerstone since 1997. Pastor Rick, as he likes to be called, has been married to his wife Nancy for 28 years. They met while in college serving as summer missionaries in the Grand Canyon. Nancy was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She is a certified Occupational Therapist and works with special needs children at McIver Elementary School. Pastor Rick and Nancy have two children: Trent, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina, and Hannah, a freshman at Liberty University.

Pastor Rick is an expository preacher. He usually preaches series of sermons from whole books of the Bible. He recently completed a series through the Book of Romans. During his tenure he has led our church to be very active in missions both at home and around the world. He serves on our Southern Baptist International Mission Board as a trustee.

“I will praise the Lord all my life, I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.” Since answering the call to music ministry over 30 years ago, Dave has served 4 congregations in Texas, Florida, West Virginia and North Carolina. Dave meet his wife, Terry while serving his second church, Calvary Baptist in West Palm Beach. Married in 1986, Dave and Terry have 1 son, Joshua who is an undergrad student at Liberty University. Dr. Terry is assistant professor of Education at Elon University. Together, Dave and Terry minister to all ages of the church through music, teaching and leading the J.O.Y. Senior Adult group.

“Mobilizing God’s people for disciple-making and being a witness is a deep passion that God has given me. I love seeing people connect with God, become energized by His Spirit, and fulfill the purpose He has designed them for.” God called Forrest to salvation as he was approaching twenty years old. From that time, God continued to grow him, began to use him, calling him into ministry, and giving him a bride who loves the Lord and is called into ministry as well.

Kristin, who is originally from Miami, and Forrest have spent most of their lives in Mississippi. Both graduated from Mississippi State University and Forrest continued school and graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Kristin and Forrest feel extremely blessed to not only be in The Kingdom of God but to be called to minister to people full time at Cornerstone. “May God take each of us deeper with Him, use all of us to bring others into His Kingdom, and help us to ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’”

Acts 1:8 speaks of having the power to witness for God all over the world. In 1981 that verse was used by God to change Jim Scott’s life forever. It was in that year that Jim was playing defensive line for Clemson University and was exhibiting strength and power everyday by taking on 300 pound linemen; however, off the field he was losing the battle against sin because he lacked the necessary power to overcome temptations. Jim came to discover that the thing he lacked most was a relationship with Jesus. Jim accepted the Lord that year and then competed on the 1981 National Championship team.

After college, Jim competed in the NFL and the USFL for four years. Once his professional football career was concluded he went on to become a police officer in Fairfax County VA. He served in that capacity for 10 years reaching the rank of Lieutenant. In 1998 Jim resigned from the police department to follow God’s call on his life and became the Area Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Hampton Roads Virginia.

After 4 years of service with FCA, Jim accepted the call from Cornerstone Baptist Church to serve as the Youth Pastor. Pastor Jim’s philosophy for youth ministry is to “encourage students to become followers of Christ who are equipped and prepared to not only defend their faith but are committed to living it out”. Jim’s wife Kim serves along side of him assisting him with the ministry by serving as a Sunday school teacher, small group leader and a variety of other roles. Both Jim and Kim are the proud parents of four wonderful children. Amber is 22 and is a student at UNCG, Adam is 18 and a student/athlete at Appalachian State University, Ashley is 17 and a junior at Northwest High School and Austin is 11 and is in the 5th grade at Pearce elementary school.

I have always been active in church. I have memories of helping park cars at a large downtown church with my father as a preschooler, helping clean the nursery rooms as an elementary student, and later helping to copy (on a mimeograph machine) the newsletter and then help fold, label, and stamp. I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 7. By middle school I was playing the piano for our small country church. In high school a friend and I convinced a parent to step up and be the “youth director,” but the catch was we had to do all the work. We then later started a children’s church and continued to teach or coordinate the program until I graduated. This created a life style that just felt empty if I was not involved in church. It was not until my adult years that I discovered that I needed to not just be busy for God, but to have him as a personal savior and depend on him for everything.

When my family joined Cornerstone we knew this was where God wanted us, but the children’s ministry was still very young. I wanted my children to have the memories I had and the only way to make this happen was to jump in and help. Little did I know that this time, the volunteer work, would lead to an entire change in my life’s direction. I knew that once my youngest child began school I would return to work and always assumed it would be teaching. I loved working with the children, but there just was not an excitement about spending the rest of my life in the classroom, so I spent my days searching for what God really had planned for me. It was during a quiet morning that of Bible study and prayer that I heard God ask me “where do you find your greatest passion?” The answer was working with children at church. This led to a new excitement about the future. I committed myself to full time children’s ministry and then began the long path to a seminary degree.

I graduated in May, 2006, with a Masters of Arts in Christian Education at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Over the years God has molded and shaped that call to ministry to include not only the children of Greensboro, but the people of foreign fields. He is teaching me every day what it means to make His name known to every language, tribe, nation, and land.I wake up every morning excited that He has chosen to allow me to be a part of His work. My desire is to allow every child I encounter to see a glimpse of who Christ is. He is not their parent’s God, He is their God. They can know Him and depend on Him beginning now. They can learn now what it means to have their own relationship with Christ.

Sherri accepted Christ at eight years old. She surrendered to His will for her life in 1997 when she felt the call to teach preschoolers rather than continue her career in law enforcement. Sherri joined the WEE School staff in 2002. She feels truly humbled to be a part of this ministry as WEE School strives to teach preschoolers and their families about Jesus Christ. On a personal note, Sherri has been married to her best friend, Kelway, for over 15 years. They have one daughter, Cameron, who would rather live at the barn with the ponies than in her own home.