Cornerstone is a conservative evangelical church. We are associated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), and we affirm the EFCA's Statement of Faith.
Confession of Faith
The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:
God
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The bible
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
THE HOLY SPirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
THe church
We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
CHRistian living
We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to live a Christian lifestyle with freedom in Christ exercised in obedience to all Jesus commands bearing the fruit of righteousness in Christ. Living with hospitality, love, grace and mercy towards our brothers and sisters in Christ, eagerly forgiving others as we have been forgiven and not forsaking the fellowship of believers. We are called to stand firm in the in the face of the spiritual forces of evil and run from immorality and sinfulness. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
christ's return
We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
response and eternal destiny
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
IN ESSENTIALS, UNITY.
IN ALL NON-ESSENTIALS, CHARITY.
IN ALL THINGS, JESUS CHRIST.
IN ALL NON-ESSENTIALS, CHARITY.
IN ALL THINGS, JESUS CHRIST.
Our Affiliation
We are associated with the Evangelical Free Church of America.
The EFCA is an association of over 1250 autonomous churches united by a mutual commitment to serve our Lord Jesus Christ with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word of God. We are committed to cooperate with one another in ministry and fellowship as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission which Christ has entrusted to his Church. The growing ministry of the EFCA currently extends to some 75 nations of the world.
The term Evangelical refers to our commitment to the proclamation of the gospel and to the authority of the Scriptures as being inerrant in the original autographs and the only safe and sufficient guide to faith and practice.
The term Free refers to our form of church government. Cornerstone is governed locally, by our elders, free from a central controlling body. EFCA churches depend upon the active participation of pastors and lay people in the decisions and direction of the local church.
Cornerstone maintains an interdenominational flavor, stressing those things that unite all believers in Christ, rather than those things that divide. The crucial thing is that believers submit to Scriptures, love God wholeheartedly, and graciously accept fellow Christians who differ on non-essential points of belief.
We do not see ourselves as the only church or as a perfect church. We seek to submit to the Holy Spirit and to serve Christ to the best of our ability, recognizing that we are but one part of the whole of Christ’s church.
The EFCA is an association of over 1250 autonomous churches united by a mutual commitment to serve our Lord Jesus Christ with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word of God. We are committed to cooperate with one another in ministry and fellowship as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission which Christ has entrusted to his Church. The growing ministry of the EFCA currently extends to some 75 nations of the world.
The term Evangelical refers to our commitment to the proclamation of the gospel and to the authority of the Scriptures as being inerrant in the original autographs and the only safe and sufficient guide to faith and practice.
The term Free refers to our form of church government. Cornerstone is governed locally, by our elders, free from a central controlling body. EFCA churches depend upon the active participation of pastors and lay people in the decisions and direction of the local church.
Cornerstone maintains an interdenominational flavor, stressing those things that unite all believers in Christ, rather than those things that divide. The crucial thing is that believers submit to Scriptures, love God wholeheartedly, and graciously accept fellow Christians who differ on non-essential points of belief.
We do not see ourselves as the only church or as a perfect church. We seek to submit to the Holy Spirit and to serve Christ to the best of our ability, recognizing that we are but one part of the whole of Christ’s church.
© Cornerstone Community Church 2021