It’s with great joy that we announce Cornerstone’s 33rd anniversary this Sunday, July 6th. Thirty-three years ago, Cheryl and I began pastoring “Cornerstone Fellowship”. It has been an incredible journey as we have seen God lead and direct us through many adventures. All I can say is that He continues to be faithful and to provide for us every step of the way. This verse comes to mind as I consider the last 33 years. Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
When we began, the Lord told me not to worry about buildings or the number of people that attend. He said that He wanted our focus to be “ministering to Him”. Isn’t that the essence of Isaiah 40:31?
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
The Hebrew word for wait is “qavah”. It has the emphasis to twist or bind together. I love that! Waiting on the Lord involves pressing into Him as close as you can thus moving in tandem with His every move. It’s like what Jesus said about His relationship with His Father in John 5:19-20.
So, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Fatherdoes, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.
Should it be any less important for us. The bride moves in unison with her husband, The key to doing the “greater works” is doing them in step with Holy Spirit. That in a nutshell has been the “emphasis and priority” of Cornerstone. Because of that, Jesus has blessed us with incredible relationships with other ministry leaders and ministries from all over the world that we have had the incredible blessing to host over the last three decades. People have asked, how do you guys, being a smaller church get the caliber of guests that you have had over the years. I believe that it is because of the favor of the Lord and waiting upon Him. He has knit us together with many incredible leaders. We are very grateful to all those who came to minister and whose teachings became part of our DNA. Heidi Baker once told us that there wasn’t another place like Cornerstone in all the world. The freedom, hosting His presence and always doing what the Lord has led us to do has been imperative. He had to conquer the fear of man very early in our ministry and make the fear of the Lord a priority. I was once told by a pastor of a large church that we would not last 5 years as a non-denominational church. But God!!! He has and continues to be our sustenance and provision. He has used many wonderful people who continually support us with prayer and finance.
We have gone through incredible transitions especially over the last few years, but the Lord continues to be so faithful. I believe that the next decade will be the greatest years that we have experienced as we as a body move into the place of maturity as sons (Uios) of God (Rom 8:19). We are committed to the mandate given by our Lord from Ephesians 4:11-14.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Both Cheryl and I are grateful for all of those who at one time or another called Cornerstone your home over the last 33 years. Many have come and gone, and many have transitioned to Heaven. You have all played an important part in our lives and development as a church.
As we look to the next 33 years, we believe that “Best is yet to come”. Because of our hunger and thirst for more of Jesus, I believe we will see a spiritual awakening in our nation to the likes that we have never seen in our lifetime. We may look different to the regular church attendee but we will do our best to stand our ground and finish our race strong by His grace, mercy and power. God bless you all and Happy Anniversary Cornerstone.