Elaine Jones is commissioned for Pioneer Ministry
Warmest congratulations to Elaine Jones who was commissioned as a Pioneer Minister on Monday 2 November 2026. Bishop David commissioned and licensed Elaine in Ballygowan Village Hall where she will focus her ministry as part of Moneyreagh Church.
Pioneer Ministry Director, Revd Rob Jones, also took part, along with Archdeacon Jim Cheshire and the leader of Moneyreagh Church, Revd Rory Blake-Knox.
Natalie Trainor gave the address. Natalie leads The Grove, Newry, and is in the third year of her Pioneer Ministry training.
Preaching from Isaiah 6:1-8 she said that commissioning was an ongoing journey of seeing God, becoming honest before him and being sent by him.
Reflecting on Isaiah’s call, Natalie said that ministry began with encountering God rather than trusting personal ability. She described her own experience of pioneer training as learning deeper dependence, not greater self-sufficiency.
Natalie encouraged Elaine not to carry the burden of guaranteeing success, having every answer or controlling outcomes, but to depend on the God who called her.
Emphasising that ministry was sustained by grace, she urged Elaine to remain available, faithful and willing to go where God sent her. Her prayer was that Elaine would keep her eyes on God, receive his restoring grace and respond obediently through both clear and uncertain seasons.
Meet Elaine
Elaine is married to Micah, and together with their three children, they live in Ballygowan, County Down. Since 2018, her family has been part of Moneyreagh Community Church, which meets in the local community centre and runs HOST, a shipping-container coffee shop right next door.
Looking ahead to her pioneer focus in the parish's steadily growing village of Ballygowan, which is just a few miles down the road, Elaine shares:
“We’re right at the start of this journey, and I’m excited to explore what this pioneer project will look like. My focus is on building relationships across the community, discerning and partnering with what God is already doing here, and seeing what shape it will take in the future.
Through the training, I’m really looking forward to getting to know other pioneers, having my thinking stretched, and discovering fresh, creative ways to engage with people who have no connection to church.”
Please pray for Elaine as she trains and explores her new calling in Ballygowan, and for Moneyreagh Church as they discern future outreach opportunities.
