Basic Beliefs of Cornerstone Church Chrisney

Cornerstone Church Chrisney is an independent Christian church founded in July, 2023. Cornerstone Church was originally birthed by the merger of Chrisney United Methodist Church and Newtonville United Methodist Church in 2001 and operated as Cornerstone UMC until the summer of 2023 when it disaffiliated from the UMC and became an independent Church. Cornerstone Church Chrisney’s beliefs remain rooted in its Wesleyan history.

Our Vision Statement

Hear God’s Word through Study and Prayer; Teach and Proclaim the Good News; Serve Christ and Neighbors

Our Mission Statement

For the Glory of God: Hear, Teach, Proclaim and Serve

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe in the historical Christian statements of faith found in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.

We believe in an all knowing and all powerful God who created Heaven and Earth and is maker of all things, seen and unseen. (Genesis 1:1) We believe that God exists in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Luke 3:21-22) We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life among us on earth. (Luke1:26-35; Luke 2:4-7; Isaiah 7:14) We believe in the Holy Spirit, who with the Father and Son gives life, guidance and speaks Truth to God’s creation. (John 14:23-26) The Father, Son and Holy Spirit deserve our Worship and Glorification.

We believe that all persons are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and that He desires a personal relationship with each person and offers each person grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that “all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23, Romans 5:6-11, Ephesians 2:8-9) We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and descended to the dead, thereby taking on the punishment for our sins. (Ephesians 4:9, 1 Peter 3:18-20) This Jesus died for our sins, rose again to life, ascended into Heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. (Hebrews 12:2, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, John 20:24-29, Romans 6:9, 1 Peter 3:22) Through faith in Jesus, believers can be saved from our sinful lives and seen as righteous in God’s sight and live eternally with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit in his Heavenly realm. (John 14:2-3, Revelation 21:3-4)

We believe God’s Grace is universal and available to everyone. We believe in Prevenient Grace that comes before we even ask for it; Justifying Grace through which all our sins are forgiven by God and our relationship with God is reconciled; and Sanctifying Grace which allows people to grow in the likeness of Jesus. (Romans 10:11-13, Romans 8:28-30, 1 Timothy 2:4, Isaiah 45:22) We believe that the way to our salvation is through Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus is the “way and the truth and the life,” and that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. (John 14: 6, John 3:16-17, Romans 10:9, 1 Timothy 2:5-7) We believe that Christ is received by faith alone and that the moment we trust in Him as our Savior, we pass out of spiritual death into everlasting life, and we are therefore justified, or made right in the sight of God, accepted by the Father, and loved as Jesus is loved. (Romans 5:1-2, Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16) We believe that this offered gift of His grace and forgiveness must be accepted to activate this relationship. This personal relationship is deepened with daily devotion, prayer, seeking a heartfelt experience of God’s presence, guidance and obedience to Christ’s commands.

We believe that the Holy Bible is the Divinely inspired Word of God. We believe that the Bible’s teaching and authority is absolute, supreme, and final. (Hebrews 4:12, Revelation 22:18, Isaiah 40:8) We believe that “all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We believe that marriage is a union defined by God and in covenant with God between one man and one woman as they were created by God and not what they affirm or claim to be. (Genesis 2:21-24, Mark 10:6-9) We understand that other unions, while legal in our society, do not present a Christian witness. (John 8:13-16)

We believe that the sacrament of Holy Communion is the means of remembering, celebrating, and experiencing God’s grace. (2 Corinthians 11: 23-26, Luke 22:14-20) and is open to all believers.

We believe that the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, open to believers of all ages, is an outward sign of God’s inward grace and a person’s public profession of faith. In baptism, we dedicate our life to God and become a part of God’s family. Through confirmation, one becomes a member of the church. In infant baptism, parents or guardians take responsibility for the child’s instruction in faith until he or she comes to the age of accountability and is confirmed in the faith. (Galatians 3:27, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Luke 3:21-22) We believe that every believer is baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, and as members of the church, we are responsible to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, fervently loving one another with a pure heart. (John 3:5, 1 Peter3:21, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

We believe that the Church is composed of all those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. We believe that the Church is the body and bride of Christ. (Revelation 19:7-8, Colossians 1:18 & 24, Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 5:23) We believe that as members of the Body of Christ, we have gifts that have been given to us through God’s grace and are to be used in service to God and others for building up the body of Christ or the Church. (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

We believe Christ when he told us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the Law and the Prophets hang on those two commandments. (Matthew 22:36-40)

We believe that God’s Grace inspires us to fulfill the two Greatest Commandments of loving God and loving others as ourselves. (Romans 5:5; John 13:3-4, 34; 1 John 4:9-12)

We believe that as Christians, our mission is to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded of us. (Matthew 28: 18-20)