OUR DISTINCTIVES
We're a friendly group of people of different ages, come from different backgrounds, have different stories but who love Jesus and love each other.
Here are some of the things that are important to us as a church…
ALL APPRECIATED
The church is a body and every part matters. No-one can say to anyone else in the church, ‘I don’t need you’ and no-one should think they are not needed. Everyone matters and we aim to appreciate everyone, not because of what they can do for the church but because of who we all are in Christ. Being a member of Cornerstone isn’t first and foremost about what we do, but an expression of who we are together.
BIBLE BASED
The Bible is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that we are thoroughly equipped for every good work. Every word in the Bible speaks into every area of our lives today and therefore it’s at the heart of all we do. If God is God, then he has authority over us, and the way we submit to him is by accepting the authority of his word, the Bible.
CHRIST-CENTRED
In the Bible both the Father and the Spirit put the spotlight on the Son. The central event in human history involved Jesus being lifted up on a cross with all eyes on him. The Father is honoured when we honour Jesus. The Spirit is delighted when we focus on Jesus. We therefore want our main focus to be Christ and him crucified.
DEEP DISCIPLESHIP
As a church we want to make deep disciples, not just shallow spectators. We want to take seriously the call to follow Jesus by helping one another to: grow in our relationship with him so we can become more like him and live more for him.
EXPLICIT EVANGELISM
Jesus didn’t tell his followers to wait for people to come to them, he told them to go! We therefore want everyone to commit to being part of the community, so they can know and love people who don’t know Jesus. We want to love as Christ does, sharing him with both our words and actions.
FAITH-FILLED FAMILY
The church is a family and we want to reflect that in the way we genuinely love and care for one another. We hope all ages and stages feel valued and loved within the church, and that we can all help one another to grow in Christ.
GOSPEL GRACE
Church isn’t a place for perfect people, we’re weak people who daily need God’s grace. We need to constantly remind one another of his undeserved kindness to us in Christ so we’ll love him more and have lives transformed by grace.
HUMBLE HOSPITALITY
Romans 12:13 says, ‘Practice hospitality’. That’s exactly what the early church did. In Acts we regularly see people gathering together in each other’s homes – sharing meals, praying together, listening to teaching, just sharing their lives. We want our church to love one another in the same way.