By God’s grace, with repentance and faith in Christ, through our baptism, we become members of Christ’s Holy Church. But this membership is always expressed locally through affiliation with a particular body of believers.

We see church membership as a formal way of saying, “I’m on board with what the Holy Spirit is doing in this church community and want to grow and be formed alongside these people.” Membership is not, however, a requirement to worship, volunteer or be in an Apprentice Group at Cornerstone.

People are invited to become members at the start of every calendar year. This takes place through a three-week membership class in January and culminates in making a membership commitment at the annual member meeting in February.

Those who desire to become members of Cornerstone:

• Must be at least 16 years of age

• Have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

• Confess their belief in the Orthodox Christian Faith, as expressed through the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds.

• Receive the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments as being authoritative for their own life, and for the life of the church.

• Intend, with God’s help, to embody the Five Member Practices of Formation, Friendship, Service, Generosity and Mission.

Any members who desire to be leaders or teachers in the church (with Kids, Students, or Adults), but who hold differing views on non-creedal issues (eg. LGBTQ, women in ministry, sacraments) are expected to abide by our views and not teach or advocate to the contrary in the church. That is to say, there is some room for diversity of perspective on non-creedal issues. But among those who would lead or teach others, we expect those to abide by Cornerstone’s (and C4SO’s) views and not advocate otherwise.