Cornerstone Fellowship is a non-denominational, multi-site
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
church serving the
East Bay area of San Francisco, US.
In 2020 the church had five physical locations in
Livermore,
Brentwood,
Hayward, in
Walnut Creek, and
Danville,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Every week, about 10,000 people join one of their services either in person or online.
History
The Cornerstone Fellowship started in 1992 when Steve Madsen resigned from a church and started his own Bible Study in his house. His first study was the
book of Galatians. In the same year, the group organized itself into a church.
Cornerstone Fellowship met in a rented hall, going from one, to two, to eventually three services. At that time a former indoor soccer facility was offered for sale at half the previous price. In 2004, the church purchased the building and converted it into a 24,000 square feet facility. In 2008, CF launched its campus in Brentwood, with a goal to continue expanding its Livermore campus. However, in 2011, its focus shifted to create a network of locations rather than one large central campus. According to Collin Lucas, the CFO at the time, the goal was to simplify and home in on making disciples for
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
.
On 24 March 2018, the new Brentwood building was set to open for the church community to use. The previous Brentwood location was
Freedom High School (Oakley, California)
Freedom High School is located in Oakley, California, United States. It opened in 1996 on the grounds of Liberty High School, before moving to the new campus, as a part of the Liberty Union High School District. The current Liberty Union High Sc ...
.
In January 2016, CF launched their Walnut Creek location by merging with an existing struggling church named Life-Gate. The Life-Gate church senior pastor, Jeff Maitlen, joined the Walnut Creek team. Life-Gate had reached out to Cornerstone Fellowship before in order to "talk about options". CF's goal is to raise funds in order to fix up the "tired" building and to find a permanent location for the Hayward congregation.
Community, activities, and care
On February 10, 2017 CF held a free
Night to Shine Prom at the
Alameda County Fairgrounds
The Alameda County Fairgrounds is a facility located in Pleasanton, California. It is home to the annual Alameda County Fair, held since 1912, as well as numerous trade shows and community events. Located on its grounds, the Pleasanton Fairground ...
.
On February 2, 2020, the Livermore location hosted an event fundraiser to provide for the housing, mental care, school, and medical needs for children.
On February 7, 2020 with the San Ramon and Walnut Creek locations, CF hosted another free Night to Shine Prom for people with special needs. In partnership with Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, CF organized the event and contributed 250 volunteers.
CF Brentwood has held a 10-week course "Equip to Care" course led by professional counselors.
CF has a Missing Man Ministry which is there to support widows after the "sudden, heartbreaking loss of their husbands".
CF has also partnered with other churches to host a homeless refuge in Livermore and has set up a closet that provides clean underwear, socks, and clothes for the refuge.
Response to COVID-19 and church online
In a response to the Coronavirus, Executive Pastor Chris Stockhaus, announced that CF was temporarily moving to their existing Church Online platform (hosted by
Life.Church
Life.Church (pronounced "Life Church", formerly known as LifeChurch.tv, Life Covenant Church, and Life Church) is an American evangelical multi-site church based in Edmond, Oklahoma. Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of Life.Chur ...
), in order to care for the health of the community, specifically the elderly. A separate students page was set up to cater specifically to the students from all CF campuses.
Locations
As of 2022, Cornerstone Fellowship has five physical locations.
Mission, values, and beliefs
Cornerstone Fellowship states that their objective is to help their followers take their next step with
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and their vision is to repair the spiritual fabric of the East Bay. They intend to accomplish this through their multi-site model and online church presence.
The Church's core values are Outreach, Generosity, Community, Care, and Equipping.
Their Statement of Faith lists beliefs including:
*
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
:
God eternally is existent in three persons, co-equal and co-eternal.
*
Biblical inspiration: That the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
is the written Word of God to humans. Humans wrote it, under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
.
*
Image of God (Imago Dei): Humans are created in the spiritual image of God, to be like God in character.
*
Eternity: People were created to exist forever
*
Church: The universal church is the spiritual body of believers with Christ as the head, and that many different denominations within the universal church worship
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
.
CF states that, on non-essential beliefs, there is liberty. They state that these beliefs do not prevent salvation.
Young Earth Views
During the ''You Asked For It'' series of sermons in 2018, CF presented three different views on Genesis Chapter 1 and the Biblical story of
creation. They stated that these views that are non-essential beliefs, saying that the
controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
comes with understanding the context of how this chapter should be interpreted.
The first is a literal six-day reading,
Young Earth creationism.
The second is
Old Earth Creationism, where God created things by instantaneous command, but which occurred over long periods of time.
Lastly, is the third view of
Evolutionary Creationism, or
theistic evolution
Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...
, where God guided and continues to guide the process of evolution, as He does with the rest of the Universe and laws of natures. This makes a distinction from the non-theistic
Philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...
component of evolution.
Charitable giving
In 2018, CF gave a total of $1.5 million to local and global non-profits, charities, outreach, and ministries.
In response to the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
, CF sent a contractor, (Balch) to help rebuild the community.
References
External links
* {{official web site, cornerstoneweb.org
Churches in California
21st-century churches in the United States
Churches in Alameda County, California
Livermore, California