January 2005

A God-sized Vision:  "500 in 2005"

When I came to Cornerstone four and one half years ago, God gave me a great vision for what He could do through this church.  I felt then that God wanted to take our small group of dedicated believers and work a miracle through us that would declare the glory and power of God.  I envisioned lives being changed, a healthy growing church, and a significant impact in our community.  We have seen much of that vision come into being already but much more is yet to come.  One of the God-sized goals that was placed upon my heart in the very beginning of my ministry at Cornerstone is that we would grow to 500 within 5 years.  We are nearing the beginning of the 5th year!  In 2005, we will reach this milestone! 

There are 5 Growth-Producing Actions that I am asking you to put your heart into this year:

GREETING - Guests stick around when they find that their needs are being met.  Our guests are looking for God-connecting worship, life-changing messages, and vital relationships with other believers.  Each of us must take seriously our role of not only welcoming our guests but also of investing in their lives.  When we do this well . . . our services will always be packed!

GRAFTING - Worshippers become Members when they feel included and needed.  A Member speaks of "my" church and feels ownership within the body.  The process of grafting includes building strong relationships (fellowship) that tie a person into the Cornerstone family.  Look to build a vital relationship with someone whose only connection to our church is the worship service.  People leave because they have no reason to stay!

GROWING - It's an amazing fact that whether we have 60 or 260 worshippers--roughly only half will attend a discipleship course.  I think that it must be some kind of spiritual law that your church will never grow beyond twice as large as the number of growing disciples.  The new building now allows us to begin more classes covering more interests which will involve more people.  In addition, Heather is now working on how to bring to Children's Sunday School the dynamics that have allowed our AWANA program to grow to more than 100 children each week.  When children come to Sunday School--they will bring their parents with them.

GIVING - The one thing that limits the speed of our growth the most is the lack of givers.  And I'm not just talking about money!  All of our ministers will tell you that our greatest need is more workers.  A big part of our growth this year will be a result of motivating more of our people to fulfill their purpose at Cornerstone through serving God in some sort-of ministry.

GOING - A lake that does not release water becomes stagnant.  In the same way, our church must release ministers to go out from among us to begin new churches and to strengthen existing churches.  Our church will grow broader and deeper as we multiply our ministry through new church plants.

500 in 2005!--Let's get Growing!

Pastor Dave