October news

Dear Ministry Partners and Friends:

“We need more fliers.” After handing out nearly twice as many brightly colored half-sheets than we distributed for last fall’s community service outreach, Neill was sure there were plenty more people to inform. A couple days later, more than 800 fliers were in neighbors’ hands, announcing our October community service events in the town of Wilson and along the west bank of the Snake River. As calls came in that week requesting housework and firewood, the crew geared up for a busy weekend. Thankfully, help was on the way.

September!

Dear Ministry Partners and Friends:

Chris and Rebecca were clenching their coffee tightly as they walked up on the Town Square last Saturday. The mercury was just passing 40 degrees on the crisp, September morning here in the Tetons. In the middle of the square, local non-profit organizations boasted their causes with towering tents, glossy handouts, and dazzling banners. “Where’s our booth?,” one Cornerstone volunteer asked. “Right there in the grass.” “But where is our tent?” “Ummm, quick, run home and get the picnic table, chairs, and tablecloth!” It was a wonderful learning experience.

Old Bill’s Fun Run for non-profits

We want to let you know of an exciting opportunity. As a non-profit organization here in Teton County, Cornerstone Church has a unique opportunity to raise funds through Old Bill’s Fun Run, an annual event for local non-profits. This year’s run will be held on Saturday, September 12.

Here’s how it works (no actual running necessary): Every dollar donated on behalf of a participating local non-profit organization is matched by the Old Bill’s Fun Run foundation up to $25,000. So that means if, for example, $100 is donated on behalf of Cornerstone, then another $100 will be matched by the Old Bill’s charity.

August news

Dear Ministry Partners and Friends:

I could barely contain myself as I stood there in the doorway of the Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center on a Friday night, watching nine children standing below an 8-by-30 foot jungle mural, singing the gospel to a crowded room. The audience? The kids’ parents, grandparents, and siblings, most of whom have never attended Cornerstone, yet came to our family night.

These songs were the fruit of a week filled with music, games, crafts, crying, laughing, and teaching from the gospel – our first ever Camp Cornerstone.

Was it a success? Depends how you measure success.

July news

This past Tuesday seemed like just another ordinary day here in Wyoming. As with most summer mornings in the Tetons, there was a cloudless blue sky, an army of rafts launching into the Snake River, tourists scurrying about, the peaks rising 6000 feet above the valley floor. However, I should have learned by now that there is no such thing as an “ordinary day” in church planting.

June news

Dear ministry friends:

Nick and his wife came late to our Sunday evening gathering on June 7th, looking a tad nervous as they held their cute 17-month-old daughter by the hand. Chandra quickly and gently escorted their daughter into the “Cornerstone nursery” (the Wilson Elementary School hallway). After he heard the word of God in song and preaching that evening, I approached Nick for some conversation. As I spoke to him, I felt a burden and compassion for his soul. “Nick, do you know what it means to be saved?” I asked. He said no. I explained the gospel to him, and he affirmed that he was a sinner and not in good standing with God. I excitedly explained Christ’s substitutionary death: “God treated Jesus as we deserved on the cross so that He could treat us as Jesus deserved forever.”

Nick then asked one of the great questions that pastors long to hear: “How could God love me that much?”

May news

Dear Ministry Friends:

Today I pulled into the parking lot of Wilson Backcountry Sports to take my mountain bike into the shop. As I unloaded the bike from my truck, “Luke” and “Louise” approached me with cheerful smiles and strong Australian accents. After chatting excitedly about the local bike trails, Luke asked me, “So what do you do here?” I replied, “I’m a pastor.” He looked at me with a confused stare for what seemed like forever. “We just started a church actually, right here in Wilson.” Luke and Louise are traveling and living out of a motor-home, and he was looking for someone to show him around on some of the trails later this summer. “I’ll show you around for sure,” I told him. He asked for my number so that when he came back through town later this summer, he could take me up on those trail adventures.

Will they come back? Maybe. In either case, an invitation to Cornerstone Church and some literature by John Piper went with them.

April news

Dear Fellow Ministry Friends:

It’s April, that time of year that many locals dread and flee Jackson Hole by escaping to just about any place warmer. With melting snow and periodic rains, this month is appropriately dubbed “mud season.” I personally celebrated by getting my truck stuck up to the rims in mud yesterday morning. But as many get out of town, the varied opportunities here to glorify God and magnify Jesus continue to mount.

March news

Dear Family and Friends,

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of blessed ministry.

It began after our Sunday evening service on March 1st. At about 10 p.m., nine of us piled into three cars and embarked on the nearly 1,000-mile trek to southern California for the annual Shepherds Conference (a pastors’ and leadership conference) at Grace Community Church. Eighteen hours later, we arrived safely in Santa Clarita. We scattered around the greater LA area for a day or two to meet with family and friends then came together again on Wednesday morning for the beginning of the much-anticipated conference. During the break for lunch, the guys on the steering committee had a meeting with the elders from Placerita Baptist Church for encouragement and mentor support. Later on, we were also able to meet with leadership from Grace Community, which proved valuable as always. We received a lot of much-needed counsel for turning some important corners in the church plant process. Justin and Caitie Wade, good friends from Grace Community, graciously opened their home for us during the week. After three very full days of amazing preaching, leadership training, a bag full of books, food, encouragement, and love, we were just about ready to return home.

faith and money

February 27, 2009

Every time the economy begins to spiral downward, you can count on one thing always being there: the ubiquitous “best jobs to have in a recession” list. And whether the source is Forbes or CNN or your favorite blogger, always at or near the top of these lists of stable bad-economy professions are jobs in education, government work, and accounting and finance.

Once again, God’s faithful provision for this church-planting team is beautifully displayed. Bryan, Neill, and Chris are employed by a school district run by one of the most affluent county governments in the country. Melissa is in charge of accounting at a prospering local company. Matt and Ashley work for a pair of the most stable financial institutions in the West.

So what about Eric, who currently gets his paycheck and benefits from working full-time for a local civil engineering firm?