Wholehearted followers of Jesus Christ

Jesus gave clear directions for his church: "Go and make disciples ..." [1] As a Biblically-based church, our mission reflects Jesus' "Great Commission" to make and mature followers of Jesus Christ.

Our Mission: We encourage and equip people to be wholehearted followers of Jesus Christ!

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[1] Matthew 28:19

Statement of Faith

Cornerstone is committed to the historical, Biblical Christian faith. We affirm and teach these things.

We believe

God
God is the creator and ruler of the universe. He eternally exists in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is perfectly holy, completely good, infinitely loving, limitless in knowledge and sovereign in power.

Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God the Son. He is both fully God and fully man. Jesus lived a sinless life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross. He arose bodily from the dead, demonstrating his victory over sin and death, ascended into heaven and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God the Spirit, co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the believer with power for Christian living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance for doing what is right. He gives spiritual gifts to believers to empower and enable them to serve others. As Christians, we seek to live under his control daily.

The Bible
The Bible, the Old and New Testament together, is God's Word to us, so we believe that what the Bible teaches is true, is true. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. As the inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of his will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

The Human Condition
People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like him in character. People are the supreme object of God's creation. God's image has been marred by attitudes and acts of disobedience towards God called sin. As such, apart from God's saving work in Jesus Christ all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and deservedly under his judgment. Only through God's saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued from sin, reconciled to God and renewed in spirit.

Salvation
Salvation is God's free gift to us but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin with self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting exclusively in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness and eternal life can anyone be saved from sin's power and penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. One who has been genuinely saved is secure in that salvation for eternity, since it is the grace and power of God that initiates and maintains salvation, not the self-effort of the Christian.

Christian Living
God calls and empowers the Christian to live a life of love, purity and obedience. The grace and forgiveness we receive in salvation is not a license to sin, but part of the salvation process by which we are cleansed from sin. God's Holy Spirit living in us as Christians gives us the desire and ability to live lives that please and honor God. Although we will never reach perfection in this life, the Christian should increasingly experience victory over sin in his life. Together with other believers, we are make disciples from all peoples, and live lives of wholehearted devotion to God and sacrificial love for others.

The Church
The church consists of all who have been saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Believers are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which he is the head. Local churches are visible expressions of the body of Christ, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances for the church, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which are not means of salvation, but visibly and tangibly express the gospel.

Response and Eternal Destiny
Everyone lives forever somewhere. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin in a place called hell, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation in a place called heaven. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. God invites everyone everywhere to receive the offer of forgiveness and life in Jesus Christ by responding to the gospel in faith and obedience.

In the essential beliefs, we have unity.
In the non-essential beliefs, we have liberty.
In all our beliefs, we show charity.