Member Dinner Recap

We want to start by thanking those who joined us at the last member dinner! We're grateful for the time in which we were able to share a meal, fellowship, and engage in great discussion as we fleshed out more details about the discipleship groups we’re seeking to launch. We also appreciate your patience as we continue to work through your Discipleship and Ministry Survey form responses, and are eager to hear from those of you who have not yet responded or were unable to attend the dinner. But first, we want to give you a recap of what we discussed:

Christian took some time at the last dinner to answer the why and how Cornerstone is moving forward in its Discipleship Pathway. As you know, our mission is "to give every individual an accurate picture of God by helping those who believe become fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ. A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who is learning from Jesus, trusting Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and helping others to do the same.

Cornerstone’s concept of membership is focused on discipleship, not special status or privilege. It is not an exclusive group, but is open to all who say, "Yes! I want to pursue this type of discipleship toward maturity with this local church!" This pathway is not meant to force people in any way, but to provide a clear direction and a conducive environment to grow toward maturity in Jesus. 

As we survey the New Testament, the example Jesus set with his disciples, all the "one another" commands of the new testament, we see that there are three essential components to being and making disciples: 

• Scripture

• Shared Life

• Service

Our growing conviction is that the best environment for our ongoing growth as disciples happens not as we pursue these three things in separate settings, but as we seek to integrate them together: to grow in our understanding of Scripture through Core 4 (The Biblical Story, Gospel Transformation, Basic Doctrine, Mission & Evangelism), and do this with the same group of people that we're sharing life with (Community), and then intentionally serve with and alongside this same group of people. 

That was the way Jesus walked with his disciples: integrating Scripture, Shared Life, and Service. That is the kind of discipleship environment we're seeking to build for the people of Cornerstone, and why we wanted to take some time to walk you through some more details of what we're seeking to put together so that you can assess your capacity and readiness to participate.

Groups

Introducing Discipleship

The first group is called "Introducing Discipleship Group." This group lands more into the Invite stage of the discipleship pathway: a place to invite people into discipleship with Jesus at Cornerstone. This group is available for both members and non-members to participate in.

• *Note that the start date for the "Introducing Discipleship" group has changed due to a low response rate. We are now aiming to launch mid-November, however, the start date will continue to depend upon the amount of responses we receive in order to fill this group.

• Approximately 50 people, in table groups of 8-10 people each

• Meet every other week, starting around mid-November (updated* based upon the amount of survey responses we receive)

• Monthly “field trips” to different ministry areas

• Learn Cornerstone’s story, share your story, and develop your initial “Discipleship Profile”

Discipleship Groups

These groups land in the Commit stage, meaning, they are specifically for those who have already committed to being disciples of Jesus at Cornerstone through membership. 

• 3 groups of 15-20 members

• 2 years (4 semesters) with breaks for summer & holidays

• Meet weekly:

  • 2x a month for shared life & Core 4

  • 2x a month for service in focused areas

If you conclude that you aren't ready for these groups right now, we understand. With what we hope to implement in this first year, we won't have room for everyone in this first go-round. But we hope to engage those of you who do have the space in your lives for this kind of integrated discipleship. And especially those of you who may be willing and able to help us lead more groups like these in the future so that we can make room for more people to engage. 

If you find yourself looking at these two groups and think you don't have time for either, there's a third option: service. There are several areas of ministry in which we need more help (see below).

Please take your time to prayerfully consider how you could and are willing to participate. We have also provided a link below to the survey that was handed out during our dinner conversation. If you are able, please try to complete the survey by October 24, 2022. This will help us to know where you are and place you in the right group or connect you with the ministry leaders in the areas where you can serve.