We don't go to this church any longer and miss it a lot. First, both the Pastor and the Youth…read morePastor are OUTSTANDING. They work as a team and both of them have been there a while, which says a lot about what the congregations thinks of them because it's a congregational church. The Senior Pastor is an excellent teaching pastor, able to take even the most challenging passages and make them understandable and relevant, and his biblical doctrine/teaching is solid. He preaches to the congregation and not at them. I never sat in a single sermon or bible study where I was bored, or he didn't have my complete attention. The Youth Pastor has been there since he was a child, having been raised in that church. He's extremely effective, they've got a skateboard park on site (a good size one) where kids from around the area come to skate during the week. He's well loved and I think that the youth groups are seemingly bigger than the congregations on Sundays, speaks a lot to him. I know a lot of churches change youth pastors every few months, they just don't put the importance on that position that this church does, and that never made sense to me. They're a church that caters to families and I think it shows.
It may seem silly, but one small thing they do that I miss a lot, is that they serve doughnuts and coffee on Sunday mornings, and you're encouraged (supposed to) take them into service with you. It's nice to be able to go to an early service and be allowed to drink coffee. It's what I do at home in the morning, so I think this goes a long way in making you feel welcome. It also doesn't hurt that the carpet is brown, so if you do spill a cup, it won't show...ever. Believe me, I've done it more than once.
I also liked that they sit in chairs, nothing fancy, cloth covered with a cushion, but it's soooo much better than pews. To me, pews have a comfort level one step below sitting in a cramped airplane.
One thing I remember real well when we first checked this church out was how welcomed we felt as parents with a newborn. The weekend before we went to Cornerstone for the first time, we went to a church where we were shuffled into a small room at the back of the worship hall. It had soundproof glass and very little insulation. I guess they assumed our baby was going to cry, he never did. It felt like a small prison, we couldn't hear anything and made us feel outcast. When we went to Cornerstone, someone showed us the Nursery, where we were able to drop off our infant, but we had the choice of keeping him with us, which we did. Sure, we would have left if he started to cry, but the mere fact that they we didn't felt looked down upon because we had a baby, made us feel more welcome.
The music is modern, they've always had a good band (worship team) and the music is loud enough that if you are a poor vocalist like myself, you can sing without worrying about the person next to you hearing. BUT, it's not so loud that your ears rattle. Like most churches, half the people sing, half don't, but it's nice to know that you can do it without feeling embarrassed.
I would 100% recommend this church to anyone and the sooner you get involved with their small groups, the quicker you'll meet new people and get connected. It really is friendly, we never had to deal with gossip problems, etcetera....
They seat maybe a couple hundred during any given service. If you're used to a big church and like to blend in and not know anybody, this probably isn't the church for you. They actually embrace the small size and go out of their way to make it a non-threatening place with an at home feel.
Bottom line is we (my family) always felt welcome and never felt out of place when we attended.
