Senior Pastor’s Report

Every church experiences refreshing seasons of spiritual growth and renewal, and 2008 was that kind of season at Cornerstone.  In our worship services there was a keen sense of God's presence and a sharpened attentiveness among our people as they gathered for worship through the hearing of God's Word.  It's difficult to accurately measure the collective Christian development of any group of people worshiping and working together in the life of a church, but there are some general indicators.  These we've seen displayed at Cornerstone – an increased interest in theological instruction, peace and a deepening love among our people, generous giving of time, talents and resources to meet the practical needs of  others and a general increase in church attendance.  All of these are encouraging signs of spiritual renewal.

As I look back over the year I'm encouraged because our goal of being a more 'Word-centered' ministry is becoming a reality.  The Word of God is being preached, prayed, sung and read in every worship service.  By the close of the year, I had finished preaching through the book of Genesis on Sunday mornings and Mark's gospel on Wednesday nights.  In the Fall I started teaching through the Belgic Confession of Faith on Wednesday nights – which is proving to be a theologically enriching experience.  On Sunday nights the book of Psalms continued to be the focus of our Pastors' preaching.  We've had a rich and rewarding year of study in God's Word.

Lecture Series

In addition to this we were privileged to have Dr. Michael Horton and Dr. Derek Thomas as our guest lecturers for the Spring and Fall Cornerstone Lecture Series'.  Dr. Horton lectured on the theme of 'Christless Christianity' and Dr. Thomas addressed the question, 'Why Do Bad Things Happen to Christians?', by looking through the lens of the book of Job.  These were certainly high points during the year.

Inner City Ministry & Missions

There continues to be a dedicated team of volunteers serving the poor and less fortunate among us through the Inner City Ministry of the church.  Through their good work we provided groceries for 1,325 households, served 6,214 hot meals, gave 450 haircuts, provided medical screening and counseling for 460 individuals and gave clothing to 2,665 men, women and children.  In addition to these weekly services the Inner City Christmas party provided gifts for 110 children.  The dedicated team of volunteers under the leadership of Gary Bartlett and Tom Chambers are to be commended for their work. 

In the area of Mission's ministry, we financially supported six missionaries on a monthly basis, sent a team of adults on a short-term mission trip to Peru and a group of  our young people to the Immanuel Mission in Arizona.  Financially we invested $25,290.00 in mission's support over the year.

Children & Youth Ministries

Our approach to ministry to our children and young adults is shaped by the conviction that the church supports and compliments the ministry of parents to their children in the home.  In light of this conviction, we provide 'age-graded' classes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, while encouraging families to worship together on Sunday evenings.  One significant change that we made in 2008 was to keep our high school age young people with the adults in morning worship on Sundays.  In this way we hope to avoid creating a separate 'youth church' and help our young people transition into the larger life of the church. At the core of our Youth Ministry is a weekly Wednesday night Bible study and fellowship time.  This focuses on our primary responsibility to our youth; which is to nurture them in God's Word and encourage them to establish strong Christian relationships.  In addition, our young people participated in a youth conference in California, a retreat and the mission trip to Arizona. 

Finance & Budget

The difficult financial decisions we made in 2007, positioned us well to manage the financial constraints we experienced in 2008.  We closed the year financially strong and better able to face the financial uncertainty of 2009.  Thank you for you consistent and generous giving! 

Ministry Projections for 2009

Our desire is to 'major in the majors' by continuing to build a ministry that emphasizes the preaching of God's Word and the administration of the sacraments.  Our conviction is that these are the two primary 'means of grace' through which God intends to bring his people to maturity in Christ.  I will be preaching through the book of Hebrews on Sunday mornings and will complete our Wednesday night review of the Belgic Confession of Faith, with the intention that by a decision of the Elders we will formally subscribe to it by the close of the year. 

In an effort to compliment and enrich our regular worship gatherings, we have scheduled three additional learning opportunities for 2009.  Dr. Peter Jones will be conducting a TruthXchange Conference here in March, Dr. Carl Trueman will be our guest lecturer for the Spring Cornerstone Lecture Series in May and Dr. Derek Thomas will return in November as our guest for the Fall lecture series.  These events are always spiritual high points in the year! 

My prayer is that we will all grow-up into the full stature of Christ, and that Cornerstone will contribute significantly to the accomplishment of that goal in your life.  May the Lord continue to enrich your life as you worship and serve him at Cornerstone.

Pastor Stan Way