Cornerstone is a church “ON MISSION”
- We don’t exist to exist; we exist to accomplish something
Cornerstone’s Mission: We exist…
To Help DISCONNECTED People to Find, Follow, and Be Like Jesus
- The word DISCONNECTED is key…
As students of our culture, we must understand what is currently going on in our culture
One of the most significant issues facing Americans is:
LONELINESS
Facts on Loneliness:
- According to a study by Cigna, nearly half of all Americans report feeling lonely sometimes or always.
- The same study found that Generation Z (ages 18-22) is the loneliest generation, with 79% reporting feelings of loneliness.
- Social isolation is as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
- Loneliness can increase the risk of premature death by up to 50%.
All indications point to the fact that our culture is:
- More DISCONNECTED than ever
Why?
The reasons behind this epidemic include the prevalence of smaller and further-flung families, the decline in traditional social institutions such as faith organizations, an increasingly individualistic culture, technology, and social media. ~ Reporter Dan Minchin
Our culture has torn down many of the social institutions and habits that once formed a more healthy relational society
- No more front porches
- No more family reunions
- Social media is actually less social
- Church attendance decline
Many experts are now arguing that it is actually the HABIT OF CHURCH that lies at the center of this crisis…
From an article titled: CAN RELIGION MAKE YOU HAPPY?
“People who do have a strong sense of religious practice in their life—they just tend to be happier,” he says.” They tend to be happier people. They have a greater sense of organization in their life. They have a better sense of community. They have an underlying physics to their life, and they’re not trying to figure things out in the same way. And life is complicated. There are things that are going to pull you in every direction all the time. And it’s nice to have something that you can actually count on, whether you agree with every single part of it or not.” ~ Arthur Brooks: Professor at the Harvard Business School
This shouldn’t surprise us
Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”
So again, our MISSION is to…
HELP DISCONNECTED PEOPLE FIND, FOLLOW, AND BE LIKE JESUS
- Not just get them into the community… but point them to Jesus
- But community is a KEY part
The question then is: HOW
How do we go about and make this MISSION a reality?
CARE – CONNECT – CULTIVATE
We want to be a church that…
- Connects all we can.
- Cares for all we’re sent.
- Cultivates all we have.
1: Connecting all we can
Walking into a room of strangers
- Seeing someone you know
If loneliness and isolation is a big problem
- Connection is the answer
Connecting takes intentionality
- doesn’t happen by accident
To be a connecting church, it will take…
A Missionary Mindset
- To reach our culture, we must think more like missionaries
Romans 10:14-15
14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
As a church, we are called to help the DISCONNECTED in our towns CONNECT with God and Christian Community
How can you do this?
Just finished a series on CALLING
- Who is God calling you to?
Make the effort to CONNECT with those around you
How is the church doing this?
Connect Process
Relational spaces
- Ministries
- Serving
- Groups
2: Caring for all we’re Sent
Care is POWERFUL
- It’s what people remember
Why is Care so important?
The “ONE ANOTHER” of Care in scripture
1 Thessalonians 5:11
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.
John 13:14
14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
Romans 12:9-10
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.
Romans 12:15-16
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Galatians 6:2
2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Colossians 3:12-13
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15
14 And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.
Caring is:
- Forgiving
- Serving
- Carrying
- Bearing
- Living in harmony
- Loving
- Encouraging
Connect to Care
- Tells us what others are in need of
How can you do this?
- Make the effort to be there for others
- Not just Facebook comments
- Go to hurting people
How is the church doing this?
- Care Ministry
- We care best for those who are CONNECTED
Lastly…
3: Cultivating All We Have
Being taught to “BE USEFUL”
- No one owes us anything, so learn to be someone others can count on
- What are you bringing to the table
This is at the heart of CULTIVATION
We are not just “SAVED FOR HEAVEN”
- Fire insurance Christianity
- If that is all you think it is, you may not be saved
This is what Jesus’ brother James wrote to the church…
James 2:14-18,26
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.”[a] Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder. 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
True Christian faith GROWS
- It’s an action and a trajectory
If our faith is a growing plant, then the CHURCH is the GARDEN
- Cultivate every person we can
- Every age group
- Every life season
How can you do this?
Take OWNERSHIP of your faith
- Study scripture
- Be in community
- Be in church regularly
- Take part in the process
How is the church doing this?
>>Growth Tracks
- Kingdom Marriage
- Grief Share
- 84 Days – Men’s track
>>Serving the Church (Heroes)
Student Ministry
>>Mission Trips
>>Men’s/Women’s Ministries
We here at Cornerstone Church are committed to building a STRONG Christian community that produces healthy Christian people by CONNECTING all we can, by CARING for all we’re sent, and by CULTIVATING all we have for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.