A Note from Chris - October 28, 2021

Leadership is a big deal at Cornerstone!

As the saying goes, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” I pushed back on that phrase for years, declaring that it can’t possibly be true, especially in a church. The entire nature of a church is that everyone is a contributor, and everyone plays an integral role. And of course, they do. But a few bad leaders can sour the entire bunch. Conversely, a handful of prayerful and Godly leaders can set a church up for incredible blessing and growth. With humility and grace, that is what we are aiming to do at Cornerstone. I want to share a few things with you regarding our staff leadership.

Lenny Barber – A few weeks back, we shared on the weekend that our Ministry Associate Lenny Barber and his family will be planting a church in Ferguson, MO in 2022. Lenny has been serving with Cornerstone for about 6 months as he prayerfully considered God’s “next” for his family in ministry. We are excited for Lenny, but also excited to partner as a church both financially and in service as they get going.

To prepare for the plant, Lenny will be joining Harvester Christian Church (the sending church for the plant) beginning November 8 with his last Sunday with Cornerstone on November 7. We will pray his family out at O’Fallon this weekend and Shiloh next weekend as they embark on this new journey. While we will miss them, we are so excited for the Barbers and what this plant means for the kingdom.

One of the leadership outlets at Cornerstone is our effort to raise up next generation ministers through our ministry residency. Every year, we have 4-6 college or post-graduate students who join us for hands-on ministry training and encouragement in their desired field. These residents come from all over the country and are trained and resourced by Cornerstone so they can get critical experience in their ministry focus area.

Gracious families from Cornerstone take them in and house them for 3-6 months during their stay. If you would ever be interested and willing to consider housing a resident, we have need for more resident housing. All you need is a spare bedroom and some extra love. You can respond to this email if you are open to a conversation about housing a resident in the future!

Currently, Ben Strunk (children’s ministry) and Kaitlyn McLeod (student ministry) are doing a fantastic job serving our families and loving our church in ministry residency. We are excited to share that Kaitlyn will be joining our staff in a full-time student ministry role at the conclusion of her residency in December. She comes from Tampa, Florida via Johnson University to serve with us in student ministry. Her heart for the Lord and for families and students is evident, and Cornerstone is blessed to have Kaitlyn joining the team. Welcome, Kait!

This weekend, we are continuing in I Corinthians, covering chapters 4-6. It’s a heavy subject matter, as Paul addresses sexual sin in the church. If you have kids who typically stay with you in service, this is a great weekend to encourage them to attend our incredible Cornerstone Kids ministry!

See you this weekend!

Yours & His,
Chris VandeLinde

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