Cornerstone at a Glance
A simple overview of the gatherings and ministries that shape worship, discipleship, care, and sending.
Worship
Sundays at 10:15 AM.
Sunday School
Paused for summer. Fall semester classes begin August 23.
Sunday Nights
Monthly prayer and quarterly members' meetings; see schedule for dates.
Cornerstone is a church whose purpose is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ commands, to the ends of the earth. Every ministry that we pursue is aimed at this goal.
We want to avoid programs for their own sake. With this in mind, Cornerstone is intentionally organized around four key ministries, which are easy to envision as a body metaphor: the heart, the head, the hands, and the feet.
Heart
Worship
The gathered church hearing the Word, praying, singing, giving, baptizing, and sharing the Supper.
Head
Sunday School
Doctrinal, biblical, historical, and practical classes. Paused for summer. Fall semester classes begin August 23.
Hands
Life Together
Small groups and occasional Sunday night gatherings give room for care, prayer, encouragement, and member life.
Feet
Sending Out
Training and sending pastors, church planters, missionaries, and members for gospel witness.
The Heart: Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday morning worship is our most important gathering of the week. Here the entire body comes together to hear the Word of God proclaimed and to respond to God's grace given to us in the gospel through songs of praise, prayer, offerings, and participation in the Lord's Supper. This is the gathering where we baptize and introduce new members to the congregation. It is the primary context within which we corporately come before the Lord, as well as connect with our fellow church members. Of all the gatherings of our church, this one shapes and defines us the most.
The Head: Sunday School
In our Sunday morning worship services, our normal practice is to preach through a book of the Bible at a time. But in Sunday School we have the opportunity to look at more "big picture" ideas, such as what the whole Bible teaches on any given topic. We explore the whole range of topics in theology, the history of Christian teachings, Christian ethics, marriage and family, the defense of the Christian faith, and numerous other subjects aimed at our growth in discipleship. As an educational ministry, Sunday School is a place for deep thinking about the Christian faith and how we live it out. It plays a key role in shaping the theological vision of the church.
The Hands: Small Groups and Member Care
Two of our ministries in particular give us the best opportunities to connect with, love, and serve one another:
Small Groups
Various times throughout the week in members' homes
Small group meetings provide the opportunity to build close relationships with a few other members of the church, to bear burdens with them, to pray for them, to serve them, to invest in their lives, and to practice fulfilling all of the biblical "one another" commands.
Sunday Nights
Monthly / quarterly; 6:00 PM when scheduled
Sunday night gatherings are occasional rather than weekly. We normally meet monthly for prayer and quarterly for members' meetings, with other member-life gatherings scheduled as needed. In these gatherings, discipleship happens as we take opportunities to love and serve one another.
The Feet: Sending Out
Because our mission is to make disciples to the ends of the earth, we want to be faithful in sending out members to various places of the world where the gospel is less known. Through our pastoral apprenticeship, we train future pastors and church planters for this purpose. But we also seek to train and prepare lay people to move to new areas specifically for the purpose of using their gifts and earning potential as nurses, accountants, teachers, coaches, engineers, etc. in order to support the planting of new churches. In partnership with the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board (both agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention), our goal is to see our members sent out across North America and the globe, carrying the gospel of Jesus Christ to cities and communities that desperately need to hear it, so that Christ may be exalted in the proclamation of his saving work until he comes again.