About Cornerstone
Cornerstone is a group of Christian believers who are dedicated to living out the reality of lives submitted to Christ. We began as a church almost 20 years ago. Back then we first met at the Weirs Beach Community Center, at the Weirs Fire Station. Several years later, we were able to purchase the Weirs Beach Grange Hall and we have met there ever since.
What we believe:
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only hope for all of mankind. Our core beliefs are summarized in the Apostles Creed. We recognize that the creeds, while formulated by godly men, have their limitations. But the Bible is the God-breathed revelation of Himself given to mankind in order that we might know and obey Him. The Bible is infallible and wholly incapable of error in its truth claims. It is the only reliable standard for our faith and practice. Because of this fact, it is our aim to have all of our beliefs ultimately stem from and be in agreement with the whole of the written word of God (both the Old and New Testaments).
We don't consider ourselves to be reformed or not reformed, Calvinist or Arminian. In fact we try to stay away from those kind of distinctions. But we do take care to teach and preserve sound doctrine (1 Timothy 6:3-4; Titus 1:9, 2:1). German Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century, Rupertus Meldenius, said it well: "In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity."
Salvation: We believe salvation happens by a work of grace in the heart . The result of that work of grace is a new birth which enables the recipient of this new birth to respond in faith to God (see Ephesians 2:1-8). Furthermore, all those who come by faith to God through Jesus Christ evidence a change of behavior. This is the beginning of what the Bible calls sanctification, a life-long process of being conformed to the likeness of Christ (see Romans 6:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15).
Baptism: We practice believers' immersion and believe that water baptism is mandatory for all Christians (see Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38-39; Colossians 2:11-12).
The Holy Spirit: We believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to the church today and are to be practiced in a way the builds up the whole church.
Pastors and leadership:
We believe God gives a team of men to serve as elders to shepherd (or pastor) the flock or church. Since the New Testament pattern for elders is always shown to be a group of elders rather than a single man, we endeavor to emulate the pattern we see there in the Scriptures. We believe that the elders are responsible for the care of the church family including pastoral duties and the all aspects relating to the welfare of the church. While we acknowledge that God desires the people of the church to respect their leaders, we see no need for the use of titles such as "Pastor" or "Bishop" or any other. We don't see any so called distinction between laity and clergy in the Bible, so we don't practice it. Instead we believe that every member of the church is called to serve and use their gifts to build up the body of Christ (the church) throughout the world. Sometimes the needs of the church requires one or more elders to serve full time in the work of the ministry, in which case they may be compensated financially. Other times, the elders may continue at their regular jobs while serving and thus may not require financial compensation. Regardless, elders, paid or not, are not considered to be above or higher than other members of the congregation, they only have different responsibilities. Occasionally, the elders may appoint deacons and deaconesses (servants) to fulfill certain practical duties for the church (see Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:8-13).
We also believe it is very important for our local expression of the church to maintain relationships with other churches for accountability and mutual encouragement. Our elders meet regularly with leaders from churches both locally and throughout the country and we also draw on those resources regularly, benefiting mutually from the varied gifts of several trans-local ministry teams.
For meeting times and descriptions click here
What we believe:
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only hope for all of mankind. Our core beliefs are summarized in the Apostles Creed. We recognize that the creeds, while formulated by godly men, have their limitations. But the Bible is the God-breathed revelation of Himself given to mankind in order that we might know and obey Him. The Bible is infallible and wholly incapable of error in its truth claims. It is the only reliable standard for our faith and practice. Because of this fact, it is our aim to have all of our beliefs ultimately stem from and be in agreement with the whole of the written word of God (both the Old and New Testaments).
We don't consider ourselves to be reformed or not reformed, Calvinist or Arminian. In fact we try to stay away from those kind of distinctions. But we do take care to teach and preserve sound doctrine (1 Timothy 6:3-4; Titus 1:9, 2:1). German Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century, Rupertus Meldenius, said it well: "In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity."
Salvation: We believe salvation happens by a work of grace in the heart . The result of that work of grace is a new birth which enables the recipient of this new birth to respond in faith to God (see Ephesians 2:1-8). Furthermore, all those who come by faith to God through Jesus Christ evidence a change of behavior. This is the beginning of what the Bible calls sanctification, a life-long process of being conformed to the likeness of Christ (see Romans 6:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15).
Baptism: We practice believers' immersion and believe that water baptism is mandatory for all Christians (see Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38-39; Colossians 2:11-12).
The Holy Spirit: We believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to the church today and are to be practiced in a way the builds up the whole church.
Pastors and leadership:
We believe God gives a team of men to serve as elders to shepherd (or pastor) the flock or church. Since the New Testament pattern for elders is always shown to be a group of elders rather than a single man, we endeavor to emulate the pattern we see there in the Scriptures. We believe that the elders are responsible for the care of the church family including pastoral duties and the all aspects relating to the welfare of the church. While we acknowledge that God desires the people of the church to respect their leaders, we see no need for the use of titles such as "Pastor" or "Bishop" or any other. We don't see any so called distinction between laity and clergy in the Bible, so we don't practice it. Instead we believe that every member of the church is called to serve and use their gifts to build up the body of Christ (the church) throughout the world. Sometimes the needs of the church requires one or more elders to serve full time in the work of the ministry, in which case they may be compensated financially. Other times, the elders may continue at their regular jobs while serving and thus may not require financial compensation. Regardless, elders, paid or not, are not considered to be above or higher than other members of the congregation, they only have different responsibilities. Occasionally, the elders may appoint deacons and deaconesses (servants) to fulfill certain practical duties for the church (see Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:8-13).
We also believe it is very important for our local expression of the church to maintain relationships with other churches for accountability and mutual encouragement. Our elders meet regularly with leaders from churches both locally and throughout the country and we also draw on those resources regularly, benefiting mutually from the varied gifts of several trans-local ministry teams.
For meeting times and descriptions click here
