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:
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Leading others to a relationship with Jesus Christ. |
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Leading others to wholeness by attachment to God & the Body of Christ. |
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Leading others in mutual ministry & accountability to equip the Saints for the
work of Ministry. |
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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:
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Biblical training and equipping. |
|
Essential
“one to another” ministry relationships. |
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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.