Cornerstone Fellowship
Cornerstone Fellowship also known simply as Cornerstone is a non-denominational Christian multi-site local church serving the East Bay. Originating from Livermore, California, the Lead Pastor is Steve Madsen, who founded the church in his own home from a Bible study.
Cornerstone Fellowship was established in 1992 and it currently has five campuses, one in Livermore, one in Brentwood, one in Hayward, one in Walnut Creek, and one in Danville, California. Every week, about 10,000 people come to its eight weekend services. The church also has a weekly livestream from the Livermore campus. This livestream has since been transformed into "Church Online" a streaming campus with a livestream and chat community.
History
In 1992, Steve Madsen resigned from a church in Dublin, California, and started a Bible Study in his own home. The first study was on the book of Galatians. At the end of the first year of Bible Study, the group organized itself into a church..|alt=A free dinner service hosted by Cornerstone Fellowship's Hayward campus in Hayward, California.|leftCornerstone met in a rented hall, going from one, to two, to eventually three services until there was no more possibility of expansion.Providentially, at that time a former indoor soccer facility, across from a local Costco that had previously been refused was offered at half the previous price. In 2004, the church purchased this building and converted it into a 24,000 sq.ft. facility. Although the 1800-seat auditorium is currently the largest venue in the Tri-Valley, Cornerstone's dedication to serving the next generation is evidenced by the fact that two-thirds of the flagship building is for children's ministries. In 2008, Cornerstone launched its Brentwood campus, but with a goal to continue expanding its Livermore campus. However, in 2011, the focus shifted to create a network of campuses rather than one large central campus. According to Collin Lucas, their CFO at the time, the goal was to simplify and home in on making disciples for Jesus.
Services at the Livermore campus are held once on Saturday evenings and twice on Sunday mornings, and at various locations in Hayward, Brentwood, and Walnut Creek. Cornerstone emphasizes the importance of meeting together in smaller groups throughout the week for support, fellowship, and accountability.
On 24 March 2018, the new Brentwood campus building is set to open for the church community to use. The previous Brentwood Campus location was Freedom High School.
In January 2016, Cornerstone launched a Walnut Creek campus by merging with an existing struggling church named Life-Gate. The Life-Gate church senior pastor, Jeff Maitlen, joined the Walnut Creek campus team. Life-Gate had reached out to Cornerstone before in order to "talk about options". Cornerstone's goal is to raise funds in order to fix up the "tired" building and to find a permanent location for the Hayward congregation.
Response to COVID-19 and Church Online
In a response to the Coronavirus, Executive Pastor Chris Stockhaus, announced that Cornerstone Fellowship was moving its physical services temporarily to their existing Church Online platform, emphasizing that it was not a caving in to hysteria or pressure, but to care for the health of the community, specifically the elderly. The response was to move services to their Church Online platform, hosted by Life.Church, rather than to cancel. A separate students page was setup to cater specifically to the students at Cornerstone Fellowship from all campuses.Community, activities, and care
Cornerstone Brentwood referenced a 10 week course "Equip to Care" led by professional counselors. On February 2, 2020, the Livermore campus hosted an event fundraiser to provide for the housing, mental care, school, and medical needs for children. Cornerstone's also has a Missing Man Ministry which is there to support a window after the "sudden, heartbreaking loss of their husbands". Cornerstone's Livermore campus also contains a coffee shop space, Parchments, for a quiet relaxing environment and a light snack.On February 10, 2017 Cornerstone held a free Night to Shine Prom at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.
On February 7, 2020 with the Danville and Walnut Creek campuses, Cornerstone again hosted a free Night to Shine Prom for those with special needs. In partnership with Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, Cornerstone organized the event and contributed to 250 volunteers for their local event. Cornerstone has also partnered with other churches to be a Livermore homeless refuge and has set up a closet that provides clean underwear, socks, and clothes for the refuge.
Charitable giving
Cornerstone gave a total of $1.5 million dollars in 2018 to local and global non-profits, charities, outreach, and ministries. A goal is to get to a point where entire weekends are dedicated so that 100% of any income goes straight out the doors.In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Cornerstone sent a contractor, Balch, to help rebuild the community.
Locations
As of 2018, Cornerstone Fellowship has five locations.| Campus | Location | Service Times | Campus Pastor |
| Livermore | Cornerstone Fellowship Livermore 348 North Canyons Prkwy, Livermore, CA | Saturdays: 5:00p Sundays: 9:00a & 11:00a | Steve Ingold |
| Brentwood | Cornerstone Fellowship Brentwood 6641 Lone Tree Way, Brentwood, CA | Sundays: 9:00a & 10:45a | Billy Rieder Clint Rutledge |
| Walnut Creek | Shadelands Arts Center 390 N Wiget Lane, Ste. 130 Walnut Creek, CA or Cornerstone Fellowship Walnut Creek 111 North Wiget Ln, Walnut Creek, CA | Sundays: 9:00a & 11:00a | Adrian Tsingaris |
| Hayward | Century Theatre 1069 B St, Hayward, CA | Sundays: 10:00AM | Steve Sanderson |
| Danville | San Ramon Valley High School 501 Danville Blvd, Danville, CA 94526 | Sundays: 10:00AM | Matt Warner |
Mission, Values, and Beliefs
Cornerstone states that their mission is "To help every person take their next step with Jesus" and their vision is to "To repair the fabric of the East Bay". This is mainly accomplished through their multi-site model and online church presence. Their core values are Outreach, Generosity, Community, Care, and Equipping.Their Statement of Faith lists essential beliefs including:
- Trinity: God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, eternally existent in three persons, but co-equal and co-eternal.
- Biblical inspiration: That the Bible is the written Word of God to humans. Humans wrote it, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- Image of God : 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 love Jesus Christ.
During the You Asked For It, tough questions series, Cornerstone presented three different Genesis 1 views that are non-essential beliefs, stating that the controversy comes with understanding the context of how these verses 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, where God guided and continues to guide the process of evolution, as He does with the rest of the Universe and laws of natures, and makes the distinction between the non-theistic Philosophy of science component of evolution.
Notable members involved in community outreach
- Ray Alsdorf, retired inspector and Hayward police officer, along with Pete Graycar who volunteer as bell ringers outside the Stoneridge Mall during the holiday season.
- Ginamarie and Jeff Cornelius of the Brentwood campus, opened their home for a year to Ginamarie Cornelius, who lost her husband in a heart attack.