Cornerstone is committed to being a multiplying church. Rather than thinking “big,” we want to think MORE. We want to help launch new congregations and new pastors to reach new people in new places. As the Spirit leads us, we will also help relaunch existing churches. We want to cultivate communities shaped by the gospel for the renewal of all things.

First, we have purchased our current facility on Harvard and will renovate it to better serve the mission of our church. Second, we have purchased a church facility at 829 S Rockford Ave to launch a new worshipping congregation.

We feel that God has called us to be a resourcing and multiplying church. We want to cultivate “human-scale” congregations where people can form rich spiritual friendships, know other and be known, and create space for new people to integrate into the family of God.

The 11th Street corridor is seeing new businesses, new restaurants, new housing popping up in the neighborhood. From 6th St to 11th, from Peoria to Utica, this area known as the Pearl District, is seeing new life, and we want to be part of it. This is also a socioeconomically & ethnically diverse community. It’s an area of opportunity and an area of need.

We’re still working that out. We know that we need pastoral support here. We know that the new congregation will need leadership there. We will walk through a comprehensive discernment process. We invite people who live near the new facility, or who feel called to reach a different population of Tulsans, to begin praying about helping launch the new congregation.

Based on the timeline in the Building for the Future guide, we anticipate the Rockford congregation to launch in the fall of 2025.

We know that it will have its own pastor and in-person leadership. This will not be a video-venue style congregation.

You can all explore all the changes and see floorplans and images in the Building for the Future guide.

Renovations at both facilities will total $8.4m. Thanks be to God, we are walking into the project with $3.4m on hand and have received early pledges just under $3m. That’s amazing!

We are also carrying debt on the buildings. Our fundraising need, then, is $6m. Our goal is to raise as much as we can toward that goal.

We will have a special commitment Sunday on May 5. Special envelopes and commitment cards are available on Sundays until then.

As a young church, we have always tried to live beneath our means. At the same time, our church has given generously and we have saved parts of our annual surplus for such a time as this.

Yes, but we will do it in a Cornerstone way. We are not using professional fundraisers and not doing any fancy events. We’re presenting the opportunity and asking people to prayerfully and generously respond. We will ask for a formal giving commitment toward the end of the year.

One practical thing people can do is to prayerfully evaluate what amount you could sacrificially give to this project (above/beyond regular giving) over a period of three years. You can learn more about that in the Building for the Future guide.

Our board (the “Vestry”), church staff, members of the Cornerstone finance committee, members of the building search team, and in conversation with Bishop Todd Hunter.