Meet Our Newest Elder Candidate: Ruban Monu

News | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Downtown Cornerstone,

On Sunday, we presented Ruban Monu to the church as an elder candidate.

Therefore, we are taking the next month to give you time to meet with him, ask questions, and/or express any encouragements or concerns you may have. One of the over-arching qualifications for a pastor is that he must be “above reproach” (1 Tim. 3:1). While we have done our homework, this waiting period is an additional step to ensure all bases are covered and you have an opportunity to speak into the process.

The office of pastor (or elder) was created by God, for the leading, feeding, and protection of his flock, the local church. Therefore, we treat the testing, equipping and installation of such men with great seriousness—and joy!

Ruban will not be on DCC’s pastoral staff, but will serve as an elder in a volunteer capacity (i.e. non-staff pastor). Therefore, by necessity, the scope of his pastoral involvement will be limited when compared to a staff pastor. However, his service will be equally significant. As a non-staff pastor, Ruban will be involved with preaching, teaching, counseling, officiating weddings and funerals, elder meetings and practical leadership (which currently includes leading a Cornerstone Community).

Our aim is to raise up many non-staff pastors, like Ruban, as it helps diversify and strengthen the elder team and, therefore, the church. Ruban will be our third non-staff pastor.

Ruban is a good man with integrity, love for Jesus, and for Jesus’ church. As elders, we believe he is called, qualified, and ready to be appointed as a pastor. However, we are taking this time in case you know something that we do not.

That said, would you pray for the Ruban family in this season? Would you also pray for our church? It is a sign of God’s grace to us that we have men, like Ruban, being raised-up to lead, feed, and protect Jesus’ flock. Let’s ask Him for more.

Provided nothing arises that would cause us to pause the process, which we don’t foresee, we will vote in our Members’ Meeting to install Ruban as a pastor on Sunday, April 14th. It will be a great celebration and a joyous moment.

What follows (below) is a short interview with Ruban so that you can get to know him a bit better.

If you have any questions, comments, encouragements, or concerns, you can email me directly at .

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam
On behalf of the elders of DCC

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Q: How did you meet Jesus? How has he changed you?

RM: I met Jesus when I was 19. Growing up, I innately knew that there is a God who created me and whom I’m accountable to, and that something is “not right” with us as human beings, evidenced by our sin and brokenness. Attending church as a kid with my parents, and seeing God’s saving work in their lives, the gospel became clear over the years: No one else offers what Jesus offers—redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Change and spiritual growth were gradual, and there was a long season of lackluster faith that followed after I moved from India to the US for school and for work.

Fast forward to 2016, I was a lukewarm Christian when I first came to DCC. I knew and accepted the truth of the gospel, but I was not living it out in any tangible way. I was doing well in my career but I was passive when it came to my spiritual walk, not heeding to the Spirit’s convicting. And so, in a twist of irony, it was theology (knowledge of God) that moved me from mere knowledge and mental assent to a fuller submission of my heart and hands. At DCC, coming alive to the wonders of God through expositional preaching, being part of a church that sees God as living and active, living in community with others—all led to a renewal of my faith. I also realized that when I accepted Jesus years ago, it wasn’t merely a decision that I made in light of facts and evidence. It was God sovereignly and lovingly pursuing me in Christ.

Q: Tell us a little about your family.

RM: I am blessed with a beautiful and kind wife, Jaime, and two boys, Jonah (4) and Ezra (2). We celebrated seven years of marriage last fall. We’re also getting ready to welcome another boy this summer. (Fun fact: Jaime and I met online through an Indian “matrimonial website”, at which time she was living in Florida where she grew up.) My parents and extended family live in India, and I have a younger sister.

Q: What are you most passionate about?

RM: I’m passionate about serving the local church—Jesus’ people and fellow sojourners that God has providentially placed me with. I’m passionate about community and discipleship, and God’s word being savored and seen in our lives, from the pressing trials to the seemingly trivial.

Q: How did you get involved with DCC?

RM: My wife found DCC in the 9Marks directory when we were looking for a church in 2016. We started attending regularly, joined a community, began serving in CKids and Sunday cleanup, and became members. A couple of years later, I started leading a community. I also came on staff at DCC, right before the Covid pandemic hit. Those were hard years for ministry but the time grew me in a deeper appreciation of all that our elders and leaders do to love and care for the flock.

Q: What are your current areas of oversight?

RM: I’ve been serving as a community lead for the past four years, and occasionally teaching classes and preaching. I also had the privilege of previously serving on DCC staff as a deacon of communications and technology for almost four years.

Q: How did you determine you were called to be a pastor?

RM: As I spent more time at DCC, I became curious and interested in eldership. Pastor Adam invited me to join an elder development cohort in the fall of 2019. It was a rich time and gave me a foundational understanding of what it means to be an elder.

Over the next few years, I intentionally pursued this desire and aspiration for eldership. God used this time to grow me in Christlikeness. He transformed a passive introvert, disinterested in the lives of others, to someone desiring and striving to make and mature disciples for Christ. Throughout this process, hearing positive affirmation and evidences of grace from others in the church has also served as a great encouragement to me.

I’m by no means perfect. I’m a work in progress. And I want to, in humility and dependence, continue to grow as the Lord shapes and molds me to faithfully shepherd his people.

Q: How can we be praying for you and your family in this season?

RM: We would love prayer for our family rhythms as we get ready to welcome our third child this summer. Also, our second child Ezra has a disability as many of you know. He has a few doctor appointments and tests coming up so we also ask for prayers that those would go well and that he would continue to grow healthy and strong.

More generally, I ask for prayer that I would “run with endurance the race that is set before me, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Heb. 12:1-2)