Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church
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Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church, also known as Cornerstone CRC or just Cornerstone, is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cornerstone first met on January 9, 2005, and is the product of two merged churches. The Sunday worship service has a contemporary setting while staying true to many traditional elements of worship. An integral part of Cornerstone is the weekly small group Bible studies. There are separate groups for undergraduate students and graduate students, working professionals, and married couples. Pebbles is the children's ministry of Cornerstone. Weekly attendance is approximately 150 with about 50 professing members. The current Senior Pastor is Peter Choi.
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[edit] Beliefs
Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church states:
- Its vision is “Loving God, Loving People, Beginning in the Ann Arbor community.”
- Its mission is "To live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope."
Cornerstone subscribes to The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, and The Canons of Dort.
[edit] History
Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church started when Covenant Community Church and Lighthouse Christian Reformed Church merged together. Although the merger was directly the result of a year-long process (2004) of prayer, deliberation, and planning, the churches already had a long-standing relationship of fellowship and collaboration. The two churches and other English-speaking church ministries in Ann Arbor partnered together annually for an Easter sunrise service and Vacation Bible School for young children.
The local churches also participated in a yearly outreach to the campus of the University of Michigan known as "Christ Arbor."
Cornerstone hired its first assistant pastor in the Summer of 2006.
[edit] Covenant Community Church
[edit] Origins
Covenant Community Church was the name of the English-speaking ministry of the Korean Bible Church of Ann Arbor (KBC), which currently gathers in a church building (formerly the location of Michigan Theological Seminary) near the intersection of Carpenter and Packard Street in the southeast part of Ann Arbor. Prior to 1996, the church rented the facilities of Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church, but then moved to its current location after the Michigan Theological Seminary moved to suburban Detroit.
The worship service of the English ministry began at 10:00 AM on Sundays and was directly followed by the service of the Korean ministry.
[edit] Pastors
| Pastors of KBC/Covenant, 199X-2001 | Term of Service |
|---|---|
| Peter Choi | 2001-2005 |
| Joel Kim | 1999-2001 |
| Moses Choi | XXXX-XXXX |
| John Hwang | XXXX-XXXX |
[edit] Lighthouse Christian Reformed Church
[edit] Origins
The predecessor to Lighthouse started in the late 1980s as the English-speaking ministry of Korean Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. Seminary students from Calvin Theological Seminary in nearby Grand Rapids, Michigan, served as pastors of the English ministry, which came to be known affectionately as "Presby."
On Easter Sunday 2000, Lighthouse Christian Reformed Church was officially born as an independent church. Lighthouse was designated an "emerging church" within the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) under the sponsorship of Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church (AACRC).
As a result of its independence, Lighthouse ended its official ties to Korean Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor (with its blessing), enabling it to focus its ministry with its own budget, leadership, and vision. The leadership of Lighthouse cited several advantages to independence. For one, changing its name enabled the church to broaden its appeal beyond members of Korean ethnicity. The vision of Lighthouse was to minister to second-generation Asian Americans in Ann Arbor, and the word "Korean" in its name was seen as a limiting factor. Second, joining the Christian Reformed Church allowed Lighthouse access to support funding as well as church-building resources most helpful to a new ministry.
Nevertheless, Lighthouse still held Sunday services in the Korean Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor sanctuary, and took responsibility of leading the KPCAA Youth Group. Joint services were held on special occasions.
[edit] Pastors
| Pastors of Presby, 198X-2000 | Term of Service |
|---|---|
| David Sung | XXXX-2005 |
| Moon Bae Kim | XXXX-XXXX |
| Moses Chung | XXXX-XXXX |
[edit] Campus Ministry
The undergraduate ministry of Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church is known as Asian-American Christian Fellowship (ACF). ACF was also at one time known as Korean Campus Crusade for Christ (KCCC). Before the formation of Cornerstone, students who attended a number of churches in Ann Arbor including KBC, "Presby," Hope English Chapel, and the Korean United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor comprised KCCC and ACF. However in later years ACF predominantly consisted of students from Covenant Community Church (KBC).
On January 28, 2007, ACF officially changed the name of its Friday gatherings to "Vision" in order to reflect more accurately the mission of the group. Vision meets at Campus Chapel on Friday nights; ACF is affiliated with the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.
[edit] Missions
Cornerstone has yearly short-term missions trips to both domestic and international locations.
[edit] Domestic
Often the domestic locations are part of what is called an Urban Plunge project. These excursions are approximately one week in duration and focus on meeting the needs of individuals in urban, impoverished areas of the country. Previous cities have included Dallas, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
[edit] International
Cornerstone has a long-standing relationship with a church in the Dominican Republic and often sends a missions team there as well.
[edit] Church Organization
Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church's leadership consists of the pastoral staff as well as the administrative council. All leadership positions are evaluated yearly through the Leadership Discernment Process (LDP).
As part of the Christian Reformed Church denomination, Cornerstone is part of the Lake Erie Classis.
[edit] See Also
[edit] References and External Links
[edit] Cornerstone Website
- Cornerstone Christian Reformed Church - Ann Arbor, MI, USA
