At Cornerstone Church, we believe truth matters because God has spoken in His Word.

Some people come to our church knowing exactly what they are looking for doctrinally. Others are just beginning to ask questions about Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. Wherever you are coming from, we want you to know clearly what we believe and why we believe it.

In short, we believe the Bible is true, Jesus Christ is Lord, salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and the church exists to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Everything we believe begins with Scripture. The Bible is our final authority for faith and life.

Our Beliefs

The Bible

The Bible is the inspired, trustworthy, and sufficient Word of God. It is our final authority for what we believe and how we live.

God

There is one true and living God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—three persons, one God.

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross for sinners, rose bodily from the grave, ascended to the Father, and will return in glory.

Humanity & Sin

Every person is created in the image of God and possesses dignity and value. Yet all humanity has fallen into sin and stands guilty before a holy God. We cannot save ourselves and are completely dependent upon God's grace.

Salvation

Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is the gift of God and not the result of our works or merit. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, sinners are forgiven, made new, and reconciled to God.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit gives new life to sinners, indwells every believer, produces spiritual fruit, equips the church, and conforms God's people to the image of Christ.

The Church

The church is the body and bride of Christ, made up of those who have been redeemed by Jesus.

The local church gathers to worship God, hear His Word, encourage one another, observe Christ's ordinances, make disciples, and carry the Gospel into the world.

Baptism & The Lord's Supper

We practice believer's baptism by immersion as a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

We regularly observe the Lord's Supper as believers remember Christ's sacrifice, proclaim His death, examine themselves, and look forward to His return.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper do not save us. They are gifts Christ has given His church and acts of obedience for those who belong to Him.

Church Leadership

Jesus Christ is the Head of His church. We believe the biblical pattern for the local church is to be led by a plurality of biblically qualified elders and served by biblically qualified deacons.

Elders shepherd, teach, and oversee the church, while deacons serve the practical needs of the body. As a new church plant, Cornerstone is intentionally working toward establishing this biblical plurality as qualified men are recognized and raised up within the church.

Marriage, Family & Sexuality

We believe God's design for marriage, family, and sexuality is good and revealed in Scripture. We believe marriage is the covenant union of one man and one woman and that God's design for sexual intimacy is within that covenant.

We seek to hold these convictions with truth and grace, remembering that every one of us is a sinner in need of the mercy and transforming grace of Jesus Christ.

The Mission

Jesus has commissioned His church to make disciples of all nations.

We believe every Christian is called to live on mission—proclaiming the Gospel, making disciples, serving others, and participating in taking the good news of Jesus from our neighborhoods to the nations.

The Return of Christ

Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return. He will judge the living and the dead, evil will finally be defeated, and God's people will dwell with Him forever in the new heavens and new earth.

Our Heart

We care deeply about doctrine, but we are not interested in using theology to impress people or create unnecessary barriers. We believe sound doctrine should produce worship, holiness, love, endurance, and mission. What we believe about God should change how we live.

If you are new to Christianity, you do not need to have everything figured out before coming to Cornerstone. Bring your questions. Open the Bible with us. Come and see who Jesus is.

If you are looking for a church with clear theological convictions, we want you to know that we take God's Word seriously. We want to be a church where truth is clear, Christ is central, and people are lovingly discipled through the Word of God.

Are You Part of a Denomination?

This is one of the questions we are asked most often. Cornerstone is an autonomous local church. No denomination or outside organization governs our church. We believe Jesus Christ is the Head of His church and Scripture is our final authority.

But autonomous does not mean isolated.

We believe the New Testament gives us a beautiful picture of local churches working together to advance the Gospel. Churches encouraged one another, shared resources, sent workers, supported missions, and partnered together while remaining local churches.

Cornerstone partners with the Cincinnati Church Collective, joining with more than 30 churches in and around Cincinnati committed to strengthening churches and planting new ones.

We also cooperate with a much larger body of churches in support of the work of the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the International Mission Board (IMB), helping plant churches, send missionaries, and carry the Gospel across North America and around the world.

No outside organization governs Cornerstone, but we gladly lock arms with other faithful churches for the sake of the Great Commission.

Theologically, our convictions are Baptist and Reformed. For those wanting greater doctrinal clarity, our beliefs are consistent with historic Baptist confessions such as the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. These confessions do not replace Scripture or stand above it. They simply help summarize what we believe the Bible teaches.

We are locally governed, biblically accountable, and gladly cooperative with other faithful churches for the sake of the Gospel.