One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:5–6)
For a detailed exploration of our beliefs, visit our Confession of Faith. Here, we wanted to explain a few unique aspects of what we believe in a summarized form to answer the question, "What kind of church is Cornerstone?"
We Believe in the Authority of Scripture
We believe and teach that the Bible is God’s Word. That means it is “breathed out by God” (2 Tim. 3:16). It is without error, sufficient for all people in all generations, and is to be the final authority in all matters of belief and practice in the church and in the life of the Christian.
We Believe God is Sovereign Over All Things
We call ourselves reformed to align ourselves with several doctrines which became prominent in the 16th century Reformation in Europe. One of these is the authority of Scripture mentioned above. A second is the belief that God is sovereign over all things, even the salvation of individuals (Rom. 9:6-24; Eph. 1:11). A third is a belief that all people must believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved (Rom. 10:11-13). A fourth is the understanding that mankind is trapped in sin because of the fall of Adam and unable to free himself without the radical intervention of God in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:12).
We Believe in the Ongoing Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Continuationist is a word you may have never heard before; it simply means the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament continue into the present, just as they were in the first century church. We live in the age of the Spirit which began at Pentecost where God poured out his Spirit on his church (Acts 2:17). The result of this is that a variety of gifts (1 Cor. 12:3-11) have been given to God's people, and we are to pursue these (1 Cor. 14:1) and exercise these as we are able, all for the glory of the Giver of all gifts (1 Peter 4:10-11).
We Practice Believer’s Baptism
Our church is also baptistic, which means that we baptize those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:16-20; Acts 16:30-34). We do this by immersion in water after a person has confessed faith in Jesus and his work of redemption. We do not set a minimum age on baptism. Our views are developed in Believe and Be Baptized.
We are Governed by Elders and We Partner with Other Churches
The New Testament teaches that churches are to be led and governed by qualified, gifted men called elders, overseers, or pastors (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:1-9; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Acts 20:17, 28). Cornerstone Fellowship Church is led by a plurality of elders that have been judged to be faithful in doctrine and godly character. We also see a model in the New Testament of churches partnering together to preserve good doctrine (Acts 15), to hold elders accountable (1 Tim 5:19-20), and to work together in mission toward accomplishing the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). Cornerstone partners with other churches in our denomination, Trinity Fellowship Churches for the sake of faithful doctrine, qualified and accountable leaders, and partnership in church planting.
We Believe Building Strong Local Churches is the Way to Accomplish the Great Commission
We believe all Christians should become members of a local church and live out the one anothers that we read about in the New Testament—build up one another, love one another, bear one another's burdens, etc. (1 Thess. 5:11; 1 Peter 4:8-11; 1 John 4:7ff.; Gal. 6:2). This is why we place such an emphasis on small groups in the life of our church—a context in which Christians can build the kind of relationships that foster growth, encouragement, and support in a world filled with challenges. We believe that planting and building healthy local churches is the way God intends for us to accomplish the Great Commission (Matt 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; e.g., Acts 13–14).