Cornerstone Church

Denomination: non-denominational. btw this is Francis Chan's church.

Date attended: October 11, 2009

Service times: Sundays 9am, 11am, 5pm, 7pm (I attended the 11am)

Location: 30 minute drive from me.

Anonymity/visitor factor: Rather large church. Very easy to escape in and out. However, I had the pleasure of being surprised by Mr. Hayward's presence that morning. Yay for coincidence!

Environment: Large and spacious. Stone tiled flooring in the foyer. Muted colors. Large wooden cross hangs on the back wall of the stage. The stage is very wide, lots of room to run around.

Worship: Very familiar to me. Sang some David Crowder, some hymns set to rockish music, all things that I knew. Reminded me a lot of Westmont. I felt like the space they created welcomed true worship.

Outreach: lots of global and local things mentioned in the service, the program and on their website. I also appreciate that they have community pastors for each of the regions they serve. That is unique.

Orthodoxy: spot on. Read on for more.

Communion: not offered

Offering: drop box in the foyer.

Gender: the band and the leadership are all male. Women lead the kids and women's ministries. This is highly disappointing.

Singles: They call it "Non-Marrieds" which right off the bat makes me like them. I think I might try going to a meeting sometime to see if it's really a ministry or if it operates like singles classifieds.

Sermon: Being Francis Chan's church, sermons are a near guarantee to be amazing. Some things I wrote down to highlight the sermon...

• Grace isn't something that God gives us and that's it. We must live like God and give grace to others too.
• We have control over the stress, anger, and anxiety. God gives us the ability to rise up under it and be free. Anxiety is not circumstances, it's a choice. Freedom in the Holy Spirit.
• Prayer is key. Believe in prayer.
• We are adopted, we are not slaves.
• It's not about what we did or did not do, it's about faith working through love.
  

Other things: Before Francis even got into the Scripture/sermon part of his teaching, he reminded the congregation of the fact that we are all made by God and if we truly believe that everything God makes is glorious, that includes ourselves. How often it is that we forget that we are made in the image of God and how precious and beautiful a thing that is. I forget all the time. Even though we are sinful, God still made us beautiful and He is worthy to be praised for that. There is an overwhelming sense of hope at this church. I also really like that Francis is listed as Teaching Pastor and that there are other pastor for other responsibilities. Everyone has different gifts and it is acknowledged as such. Not everyone can be worship leader, teaching pastor, and administrator all at once. People are fooling themselves to think that they can without getting burnt out.

Conclusion: 9/10 for orthodoxy and a commitment to serving their outer community as well as inner. I will probably go back. (though something I wonder, do I like it because it's familiar, or because it is true? I think I need to go again to find out. Francis is starting a series on 2 Peter!)