Beliefs

Cornerstone began in 1970 as a Bible study group that grew into a church meeting in homes near UMKC. The church grew through outreach to students at UMKC and the Kansas City Art Institute. From the beginning, church-planting has been part of the Cornerstone DNA. Churches in Columbia, MO (1975), Lee’s Summit (1989), Belton (2000) and the Crossroads district of Kansas City (2008) started with church-planting teams sent out by Cornerstone. We also have close relationships with missionaries in Germany, Romania, Italy, Japan and the Philippines.

Our purpose is to glorify Christ by knowing and enjoying Him to the fullest.

With this purpose, our missional vision is to join God in His mission of creating a new community of lives transformed by the gospel.

So, in the church we dream of being, our lives will be transformed by the gospel, our community will be shaped by the gospel, and our mission will be defined by the gospel. We sought to articulate this gospel-centered vision in a series of sermons in the fall of 2010, summarized in these seven statements:

1. In the context of loving God and living for his glory, mission is the central focus of the church in the world; mission is the central focus of Cornerstone.

2. The gospel drives us out of our familiar, safe places to initiate with neighbors, the nations, and the needy.

3. In our gospel ministry, we want to do three things: build relationships with non-Christians, introduce them to our church community, and share with them the gospel message. Every one of us can do these things!

4. Because the gospel breaks down barriers, we want to be a family that’s inclusive, integrated, and intergenerational—all kinds of people, all relating to one another in love.

5. As a gospel-shaped community, we want our church to be a place of friendship, authenticity, and healing.

6. The gospel is for our non-Christian friends; the gospel is also for us. As we believe and internalize the gospel, we must expect that our lives will be transformed.

7. We expect our ministry to be flexible and changing, driven by people and passion, not by program or precedent.

The Cornerstone Covenant

We invite our people to embrace this vision by affirming the Cornerstone covenant:

We will love Jesus — “him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Revelation 1:5) He is our rock, our rescuer and redeemer. He is the center of our lives. He is our life. We will pursue him daily in the Word and in prayer, feasting on the bread of life, quenching our soul’s thirst in Christ, the living water.

We will love the gospel. It is God’s power for salvation for the lost and God’s power for transformation for the redeemed. We will run to the cross of Jesus with our sins and brokenness and savor the taste of his mercy. We will rest in our Father’s welcome, love, and approval, purchased and proven at the cross. We will elevate and internalize the gospel of grace and expect that by that gospel our hearts and lives will be transformed.

We will love one another. Not just the people like us, not just the people we like. We will cross boundaries and widen our circle, extending ourselves to the “alien” among us, to the broken, the outcast, even our enemy. We will pray for one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens, weep and rejoice with one another, be hospitable to one another, and lay down our lives for one another, as our Lord has done for us.

We will open our lives to one another, as true friends. We will throw away our masks and masquerades, own up to our sins and weaknesses, be merciful and forgive, and offer ourselves as God’s instruments for mending and building up one another. If we find ourselves stuck in soul sickness or sin, we will invite a friend into our fight for the freedom and joy that belong to us in Christ. We will reject a spirit of independence and isolation and involve one another in our struggles, sorrows, joys, and decision-making.

We will embrace our mission as Christ’s witnesses, where we are now and wherever we go. We will seek to live our everyday lives with “gospel intentionality” and exert ourselves in daring initiatives with neighbors, the needy, and the nations. For love of the Lord, for his kingdom and glory and fame, we will pursue, serve and befriend outsiders, introduce them to our network of relationships, and share with them the gospel message.

Pledge of affirmation: “I take these resolves as my own. I trust God through his gospel to transform our lives, shape our community, and fulfill our mission. I will strive for these things in dependence on God and in partnership with all the Cornerstone family.”

Cornerstone belongs to the Heartland Alliance of Churches, a small cluster of like-minded, self-governing churches in the Kansas City area. Our church also has informal ties with around 30 additional churches across the country, with which we share common roots, vision and values.

Here is a summary of our core values:

Grace of God – God’s grace through Jesus Christ is the basis and power not only of our personal lives but also of our ministry.

Commitment to God and His Word – Our aspiration is that our ministries will be marked by a wholehearted devotion to God through prayer and by studying, obeying and teaching His Word.

All Nations Reached With the Gospel – Our ultimate goal and mission is to reach the whole world with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to make disciples of all the nations.

Church – The local church is God’s vehicle for accomplishing the Great Commission. The church is the place for winning people to Christ, building them to maturity, raising up leaders, and preparing church-planting teams to be sent out for the expansion of God’s kingdom.

Church Leadership – We place a priority on raising up pastors and other leaders of Christ-like character within the local church.

Oneness (Love and Unity) – We desire our ministry to be marked by a Christ-like, selfless love, loyalty, and unity with fellow believers.

Raising Godly Families – Strong families are the foundation for strong churches. Therefore we make it a priority to equip members and pastors in building their marriages and families.

Every Member a Minister – All Christians are empowered through the Holy Spirit to be workers in the church – not just the pastors. Therefore we seek to equip each member to use his/her spiritual gifts to serve others.