Meet The Elders

Ron Embleton and his wife Wanda have five adult children and five grandchildren. They have been involved in missions and ministry nationally and internationally for 39 years. Ron has served as lead pastor at Cornerstone for 6 years while also mentoring other pastors, leadership teams, and church planters throughout the region. Ron has a bachelor’s degree in Language and a master’s degree in leadership and Spiritual Formation from Evangelical Theological Seminary. Wanda is a registered nurse and MDS trainer and works with Altercare of Ohio. Ron and is passionate about discipling and training others in order that they may discover their natural gifting and talents and serve the Lord and the Church with excellence. Ron and Wanda enjoy walking local trails to spend time together while exercising and hosting their grandchildren and friends in their home. They also enjoy traveling in the states and abroad.

Kevin has been attending Cornerstone for over thirty years. He has been involved in numerous ministries in the church and currently helps with teaching youth Sunday school. He and his wife Dina have been married since 1994 and have eight sons, five daughters-in-law, and two (soon to be three) grandchildren. Kevin works in his family-run flooring business. Kevin enjoys spending time with his family, being outdoors, and traveling to new places.

Brian has attended Cornerstone Community Chapel his entire life. Brian and his wife Larena have 2 teenage sons, Zachary and Parker. Both boys are part of the Youth Praise and Worship Team. Brian has been on several short-term mission trips to Nicaragua with Siete Sur Ministries. He has been involved in various ministries within the church and is currently serving on the hospitality committee. When Brian is not working at Hartville Hardware he can be found spending time with his family, boating and fishing.

Scott Miller has been a part of Cornerstone since his childhood, and accepted Christ around the age of 5. He was baptized and joined the church at age 14. He attended Lake Center Christian School in Hartville from grades K-8 and Central Christian High School in Kidron for high school. He enjoyed playing baseball and basketball in elementary and junior high, and was part of the choir in junior high and high school. Many of his childhood and teenage years were spent working on the family farm. He was an active member of the youth group at Cornerstone and enjoyed playing in church softball and basketball leagues in his teenage years.
Following high school, Scott attended Goshen College where he majored in biology and pre-med studies. More importantly, that is where he also met his future wife, Yadira who also majored in the biological sciences. Following college, Scott and Yadira were married and moved to Columbus to attend The Ohio State University, he in medical school and Yadira in pharmacy school. All three of their children, Isabel, Patrick, and Nicole, were born in Columbus during that time.
In 2004 they moved back to the Hartville area and began attending Cornerstone again. Scott has been involved with the church elder board and church council for the last 15 years. He also has been a part of the worship team for about that same amount of time and has helped teach Sunday school to both adults and the youth group as well. Yadira has been involved in teaching Sunday school and helping with the children’s ministry, nursery care, and bible school planning. Scott and Yadira were youth group sponsors for several years as well before they got old. Scott enjoys reading, watching sports, spending time outdoors or on a beach under an umbrella, and spending time with his family.

Ivan Venegas was born in Bogota, Colombia (South America) and came to the United States at the age of 18 years old. He lived two years with relatives in Houston, Texas as he learned English as a second language at the University of Houston of Downtown. He moved to Canton, Ohio in the year 2000 and has lived here since then. At that moment in time, he attended Stark State College in Canton to study computer science and a few years later, went to Akron University for Business Administration and Supply Chain. He currently works as a Coordinator of Operations for an environmental company called Absolute Reclamation Services.

He is married to Carolina Venegas, and they have been together since 2013. He is the father of two children, Joel who is currently 10 years old and Samara who is 6 years old. They came to Cornerstone Community Chapel in the summer of 2020, and he started serving as an elder in the fall of 2022. Shortly after becoming an elder, Ivan saw a need within Cornerstone for a youth ministry leader. After prayer, discussion, and consideration they stepped into this role and have been serving since January of 2023.

Ivan grew up with very little knowledge about Christianity. His father was a catholic and his mother a seven-day Adventist, but they did not practice their religion. When he was a young boy, his mother did take him to Church and many seeds were planted but he did not become a born again Christian until he was thirty years old. It was then when he understood that he is a sinner in need of the Savior and received the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection continue to transform the Venegas family as they grow day by day more into His image.

Clay was born and raised in Alliance, Ohio and went to Marlington School District his whole life. After graduating, he did Vida220 disciple training school as a student and later as a leader. He also attained a computer science degree from Kent State University.

Now you might find him coding in his home office, working with the young adults in the church, rock climbing, hiking, traveling, or doing trivia. He still has passion for missions and will most likely find himself back into the field at some point in his life. But for now, he serves and loves the people that God has placed around him.

Jason Breda is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Chelsea of almost 20 years, father of five children (Calvin, Joseph, Caleb, Juliana, and Jeremiah), a certified Biblical counselor through ACBC, and desires to see the church grow through evangelism and making disciples. He has a YouTube ministry called Good Berean where he encourages 2 Timothy 2:15.