The Mission, Vision & Model for Cornerstone Church of Albemarle

OUR MISSION:

To MAKE MORE AND BETTER DISCIPLES OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

The Two Greatest Commandments and The Mandate of Jesus are the basis for everything we do. Jesus said; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul mind and strength.. and love your neighbor as yourself..” (Mark 12:30-31) All that we do is accomplished through love and devotion to Jesus. Jesus also said; “Go into all the world and make disciples.” (Matt. 28:18-20) Our mission simply stated is to make more and better disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ first locally, then regionally and finally “in all the world.”

OUR VISION:

To Experience Church like we read about in the New Testament...

The New Testament Church sets a primary example for the way that we are to live our lives. We see that under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit the New Testament Church engaged in four foundational activities:

	Leading others to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
	Leading others to wholeness by attachment to God & the Body of Christ.
	Leading others in mutual ministry & accountability to equip the Saints for the work of Ministry.
	Sending out the saints for leadership and ministry in the world.

 

OUR MODEL:

ACTS 2:42 - "They devoted themselves to..."

The first generation believers were called followers of “THE WAY” and were devoted to:

	Biblical training and equipping.
	Essential “one to another” ministry relationships.
	Regular & Faithful gatherings for Worship.
	Regular & Faithful communication with God.

 

As a result the church functioned under the power of the Holy Spirit to grow and transform its community and eventually the world.

 

ACTS 5:42 - "They met in the temple courts and from house to house…"

The first generation believers demonstrate a pattern of church life, fellowship and ministry that is essential for fulfillment of our mission. Believers regularly met together in corporate (gathered congregation) and small group (“cell” or small group) settings. We believe that this “two winged” pattern of church life is essential for effective ministry.

The Core Values of Cornerstone

PRAYER

Prayer is not preparation for the work of the church; it is the work of the church. In prayer we discover God’s heart and are led and empowered to accomplish the purposes of God in our life, family, church, community, nation and world.

WORSHIP

We were created to please God. (Rev. 4:11) Through worship we bless God. We praise Him for who He is through singing and the spoken word. Our Worship services include activities of celebration, adoration, proclamation and exultation of God.

TRUTH

The Bible is God’s Word. It outlines the standard by which our attitudes and behavior are to be measured. We are to conform our lives to the Bible as a standard of Truth and not attempt to adjust the standard of Truth to our preferences. Biblical standards of truth supersede all other social and cultural standards.

COMMUNITY

The church is a place to belong. It is an extended family where each member lives in accountable relationships and is responsible to and for other members. Members of the church humbly encourage, serve and care for one another in an atmosphere of love, acceptance and forgiveness.

LEADERSHIP

Pastors are given authority to lead the congregation by serving under the Lordship of Jesus Christ who is the head of the church. Instead of “doing” all the ministry, pastors are to serve the body of Christ by training, equipping and releasing members into the work of ministry. (Eph. 4:11)

GIVING

The tithe (10%) is the foundation of biblical giving and is given and used in the local church. Faith Promise giving for missions, sacrificial giving for facilities and compassion giving for the needy are given above and beyond the tithe. While the tithe (10%) is given out of obedience to God, offerings above and beyond the tithe are optional and are to be given according to ability and desire.

OUTREACH

The main focus of the church is to be outward rather than inward. Reaching out to others is not simply one of the things that we do, but it is the focus of everything we do as a church. Extending the Kingdom of God both at home and around the world must be at the forefront of our minds in every decision we make.

LIFE TRANSFORMATION

Lives are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Believers must personally grow in intimate, transparent relationship with God. Through this relationship we experience wholeness: the forgiveness of sin, freedom from past hurts, and healing in our lives through the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit.

EVERY MEMBER A MINISTER

Every member, including youth and children, is to be actively involved in leading (winning, connecting and discipling) others to Jesus. Each member is called to minister to others by the power of the Holy Spirit and serve one another according to their spiritual gifting.

 

WE BELIEVE:

God

We believe that there is only one living and true God, who exists in three distinct persons- God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three, the Trinity, are equal in essence and distinct in function (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19).

The Father

The first person of the Trinity orders and directs all things according to his purpose and pleasure. He has created humanity to bring Him glory and honor, through His grace. While He is transcendent, He is also actively involved in His creation on the earth by the Holy Spirit and offering eternal life and relationship with us through His Son Jesus Christ (Matthew 6:9; John 5:19-24; Ephesians 1:3-6; 2:1-10).

The Son

Jesus Christ is both the eternal Son of God and virgin-born Son of man by the Holy Spirit. Fully God, fully man, He lived in full submission to His Father during His earthly life. His sinless, sacrificial offering on the cross satisfied the Father's justice, offering atonement for all of humanity's sins, and providing for relationship with God for all time. We believe in his bodily resurrection, His physical ascension, and His visible return back to earth to establish His earthly kingdom (John 1:14-18; I Corinthians 15; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 2:9; Revelation 20:11-15).

The Holy Spirit

The third person of the Trinity executes the will of God in this world through believers, by leading, guiding, filling, teaching and convicting. The Holy Spirit is not merely an impersonal force, but is fully God, displaying the qualities of personhood (intellect, emotions and will). He equips believers by comforting them and empowering them with gifts to be used for the building up of the church. He empowers believers to bear spiritual fruit through yielded lives (John 16:5-16; I Corinthians 12; Ephesians 2:10; John 3:1-8; Ephesians 1:1; Galatians 5:16-25).

Humanity

We were created in the image of God, destined to enjoy an intimate relationship with God, fulfilling his will here on earth. But because of Adam and Eve's willful sin in the garden sin entered into the world, and has infected all of humanity. Therefore, because of our inherent sinful nature all humans are separated from God, spiritually dead, and destined for physical death and an eternity removed from God (Genesis 1-3; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3; Romans 5; Ephesians 2:1-3).

Salvation and Regeneration

We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as the only sufficient sacrifice, offering the atonement of sins for all mankind through his death, burial and resurrection. While salvation is available to all, it is only experienced by those who respond to his gracious gift by faith apart from works. We become children of God, given a new nature and placed into the universal body of Christ, making us eternally secure in Him. As a result of our new relationship with God through His Son Jesus, we are now called to a life of submission to the Holy Spirit. We are regenerated, manifesting spiritual fruit, and walking in good works that God has prepared beforehand for us to do. (John 14:6; Titus 3:4-7; Acts 4:12; John 1:12; Romans 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9; Hebrews 10:10-12; I John 5:11-13; Galatians 3:26; John 3:16).

The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe that every word in the original writings is inspired by God and is without error. The Word of God reveals God's nature and will for all of humanity, and because of this it is to be the foundation of faith and practice. We affirm that while the Scriptures are accurate in all matters it was never given to be an end in and of itself, but rather a means to a relationship with God. Because of this the authority and teaching of Scriptures will have a preeminent place in our church (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12; John 17:17).

The Church

For all who have placed their faith in God through His Son Jesus Christ, they are a part of the universal body of Christ known as the church. This placement of the believer into the universal church requires an association of the believer with other followers of Christ in a local assembly. The purpose of the local church is to win people to Christ, connect them in relationship to God and other believers, disciple them as followers of Jesus and send them into the world as ambassadors for Christ. The members of the local church are to live their lives in humble submission to other Godly believers, and to God appointed leaders of the church. (Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 2:41-47; I Corinthians 12-14; Matthew 28-18-20; Ephesians 2:19-22; I Thessalonians 4:15-17).

The Future

We believe that the next great events in human history will be transformation and revelation of the Church of Jesus Christ, a period of great ministry, tribulation and finally the return of Jesus Christ for the Church - His bride. While this event is a prophetic truth of Scripture, we acknowledge that the point of Christ's return is not for the believer to passively await this event, but to labor with all of our might in the power of the Spirit to fulfill his will in our lives through righteous living, one to another ministry (discipleship), and evangelism. After the return of Christ those who accepted God's gracious gift of salvation will worship God forever in heaven. Those who did not will spend an eternity separated from Him in hell. (Matthew 24:36; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; John 14:1-3; Matthew 24-25).

Non-essentials

We affirm that the dogma of Scripture, the existence of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and salvation by grace through faith make up the essential, distinctive dogmas of Christianity. In regards to these essential dogmatic understandings there can be no conflicting opinions of those who call themselves true followers of Christ. However, we do acknowledge that there are peripheral, or non-essential doctrines, that are important, but not critical to the follower of Christ as it relates to our salvation and function as the Body of Christ. Some of these doctrines include the specific functions of women in leadership, the exact timing and nature of the rapture, extent and use of certain spiritual gifts, the relationship between election and free-will in salvation, etc. While our church leadership is faithful and diligent to establish positions as it relates to these non-essentials we will not allow debate related to these peripheral doctrines to cause division within the church. We will accept into our body those who have differing views on these non-essential doctrines, but will not allow the expression of these differences to cause division within the church. While we celebrate diversity along all lines (ethnic and theological), we choose to ultimately pursue and value the unity of the church.