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Senior Pastor’s Report In many ways 2007 has been a pivotal year for us at Cornerstone. The pastors made a conscious decision to center the church's ministry around the development of 'Word-centered' worship... holding the conviction that God has given us his Word as the primary 'means' by which he builds faith in the believer. Along with this conviction and new direction, we also wanted to introduce our people to the great Reformation Creeds and Confessions. So, we made available a publication that included three historic creeds and three documents that came out of the Protestant Reformation, commonly referred to as the Three Forms of Unity...The Heidelberg Catechism, The Belgic Confession of Faith and The Canons of Dort. In addition to this, I preached a sermon series on the Reformation Solas entitled 'The Heart of the Gospel' and early in our study of Genesis I devoted six Sundays to the doctrines of grace in a series entitled 'Dynamic Grace'. Both of these series of sermons focused on the essential understandings of the gospel that have been passed on to us through the work of the Protestant reformers of the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the weaknesses of the contemporary independent church movement is that we have lost touch with our Reformation heritage, and have in many ways emptied the gospel of its rich theological content. In a time when there are so many emerging 'spiritualities' and religious voices calling for our attention, we need to be grounded in an understanding of the gospel that is 'content heavy' and theologically sound. If we are not we can easily be swept away by every new spiritual trend. So, as your pastors, charged with guarding your souls, we felt the weight of responsibility to redirect the attention of the church by emphasizing the importance of sound doctrine and confessional clarity. This decision has proven to be both challenging and a faith-building experience. Lecture Series
The Cornerstone Lecture Series was privileged to host two events that featured two nationally known and respected guest lecturers... Ken Myers, the host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal and Dr. Derek Thomas, Professor of Systematic & Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Ken Myers presented three lectures on the theme of 'The Challenge of Christian Faithfulness in a Post-Christian Age', and Dr. Thomas' series was from the book of Haggai entitled, 'Putting the Church Back Together Again'. Both of these lecture series were thought provoking and well received. Inner City Ministry & Missions
Every Saturday our Inner City Ministry team served a hot meal to approximately 150 poor and needy people from our neighborhood, as well as providing clothing, hair-cuts and basic medical screening. In addition to these services, groceries were distributed on the first and third Saturdays of every month. This ministry of compassion and mercy continues to touch the lives of hundreds in the Rogue Valley and is one of the distinguishing ministries of Cornerstone. Missions continue to be a developing expression of outreach for our church. We sent teams of adults and youth to a Christian school in Arizona that serves the Navajo people and to an orphanage in Peru. Financially, we invested $43,285.00 in the support of missionaries and missions' projects. Ministry to Children & Youth
One of the critical ministries of Cornerstone is actually a ministry of support to our families. Understanding that parents bear the primary responsibility for the Christian formation of their children we want to come along side them and help them be successful. We provide children's programs and youth Bible studies on both Sundays and Wednesday nights. These are age appropriate programs designed to enrich the Bible knowledge and Christian understanding of our children and young adults. In an effort to encourage our families to worship together, children second grade and older join the adults for the opening thirty minutes of worship in the sanctuary each Sunday. The Sunday evening service is a 'family worship' service which includes specific instruction for our children (we went through the Heidelberg Catechism in 2007). In addition to these weekly gatherings, our teenagers attended conferences and annual retreats that were very faith-building. This aspect of the church's life is extremely important and an essential investment in the church's future. Budget & Finance
Because of financial constraints we had to make some difficult budget decisions this year. In order to live within the realities of our income we eliminated the staff positions of Office Manager and Janitor. Debbie Hollingsworth, who has served the church well for twelve years as our Office Manager, was released to find other employment and Jerry Swisher, who worked as our part-time custodian, was released as well. On behalf of their church family, I want to thank them for their years of faithful ministry among us. Our office and janitorial needs will now be managed by a team of volunteers. The giving to the General Fund, which determines our operational budget, was $361,897. Income from all sources including missions and designated funds was $437,785. The General Fund giving fell short of our budgeted income goal by 3.25%. It is for this reason that we made the necessary staff adjustments. Overall we closed the year in the 'black' with a net income of $7,830. Looking Ahead to 2008
I am looking forward to the New Year with great anticipation. As a pastoral staff, we look forward to serving you and contributing to your Christian development. Our greatest desire is to see you grow in your Christian understanding by becoming more biblically and theologically literate. In order to accomplish this objective, one of our goals is to formally subscribe to one of the historic Reformation Confessions of Faith. This will align us with our Protestant roots in a more self-conscious way and give us a clear confessional voice. But, as we become more doctrinally defined, we dare not loose the experiential dynamic of our faith. Our conviction is that when approached properly sound doctrine produces dynamic faith. Please pray that the Lord will continue to direct us by his Spirit as we pass through this New Year. Thank you for your faithful support of Cornerstone's ministry! Pastor Stan Way
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