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OCTOBER 2021

Cornerstone Conference is a body of IPHC Churches existing to equip ministers and churches to fulfill the Great Commission!

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Pastor Appreciation Month-5
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12 Traits of Churches Doing Well During the Pandemic

Bishop Mike Ainsworth, Cornerstone Conference Superintendent

*Article by Thom S. Rainer

I just completed a fun exercise. I looked at the data and anecdotal information of churches that are doing well during the pandemic. While these churches still have an attendance below pre-COVID days, they are beginning to grow, gain a new momentum, and see possibilities other church leaders perhaps have not seen.

So, what are these churches doing? As I examined the data and traits of healthy churches, I saw twelve recurring themes. To be clear, many churches are doing some of these items, but the churches I examined are doing all twelve items. Here they are in no particular order:

1) They are faithfully preaching and teaching the Bible. Okay, this item sounds like a no-brainer. I get that. But these healthy churches are making certain Bible preaching and teaching is a high priority. One pastor from Illinois shared with me: “It seems like we need to hear from God more than ever these days.”

2) They are increasing their evangelistic efforts. I will have more to say about this item in the days ahead. For now, understand two important realities. First, before the pandemic most (almost all) churches lost their evangelistic focus and priority. Second, these healthy churches decided in God’s power to renew their commitment to evangelism.

3) They are providing hope and encouragement during the pandemic. The leaders of these churches seem to know how to communicate the redeeming work of God in a way that provides encouragement and hope. Their church members repeatedly hear that God has not abandoned them, that He is working for their good amid trying times.

4) They are staying away from political fighting. You won’t find the leaders of these churches on Facebook debating the latest hot button issue. They keep the focus on Christ and His work. Most of the time, their church members follow their lead.

5) They are re-evaluating their staffing structure. Churches are in the early stages of massive staff re-alignments. The healthy churches have leaders who understand a movement is underway. They want to grasp it fully so they can be ready to make the right changes. Stay tuned for my article next week. I will unpack this issue more thoroughly.

Click here to read entire post...

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Virtual Global Outreach Service - Sunday, October 17 @ 6 PM

Bishop Mike Ainsworth, Office of the Superintendent

Make plans now to view our 2021 Virtual Global Outreach Service that will be presented through video on Sunday Evening, October 17, 2021 @ 6:00 PM!

For access to view our Virtual Global Outreach Service, please visit our website @ www.cornerstonecmc.org or our FaceBook page: facebook.com/cornerstoneconference.

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People To People Afghanistan Relief Fund

Keith Gilliam, Cornerstone World Missions

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As you are certainly aware, the situation in Afghanistan is devastating. The world watches, comments, and pleads for governments to respond. Yet, our Church is positioned to ACT on behalf of the people. Bishop Asher Mansha of IPHC Pakistan is a leader of great influence. The IPHC is strong in Pakistan. In 2020, our collective movement exceeds 215 churches and more than 33,000 congregants. Kabul is not far from the Pakistan border. If you view the map, the shared borderline is quite large. Who better to serve these refugees than the church? Why not our church?

Below is a letter from Bishop Asher Mansha. I encourage you to read it thoughtfully. We have IPHC brothers and sisters on the frontlines who are ready and willing to serve those fleeing the Taliban. Will you consider partnering with us to meet the request of $10,000 per month for six months?

“Greetings to you. The situation in Afghanistan is very dire. People are in trouble due to uncertainty and the upcoming rule of the Taliban. There are thousands of Afghans who are entering into Pakistan from the Chaman and Torkham borders. There are 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan already.

On the Pakistan and Afghanistan borders, we have Afghans who are escaping in fear, uncertain for the future, and they lack food, water, clothes, medicines, and shelter. They run from Afghanistan leaving behind everything.

IPHC Pakistan wants to respond to this situation as the Bible says:

‘Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt’ (Exodus 23:9).

‘The foreigners residing among you must be treated as native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God’ (Leviticus 19:34).

‘Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it’ (Hebrews 13:1-2).

God has set a high standard for treating those who are foreigners. His people are to love them as we love ourselves and treat them as citizens. The reason given. Because God, the “I am” commanded us to.

We have 23 team members on the ground near the borderlines who live near those areas. The need is big. We trust God. We can do something to express our practical and tangible love of God with them. It is a huge opportunity for us to share the gospel with them.

The Government of Pakistan says there will be thousands of Afghans coming to the Pakistan side in the coming six months at least, as it does not seem like there is any possibility to see stability and peace in Afghanistan. Our team needs $10,000 every month for six months to share the gospel and basic food items with them.

As the National Director of Pakistan, we request you to pray and share this news with our IPHC family. We hope God will prepare hearts to reach these precious Afghan people, who did not choose the Taliban.”

Bishop Asher Mansha

Project Number 09233PAFGHAN

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October Connection-2

Asheville, NC

Upcoming HGMC In-Person Training - October 18 from 9-1 PM

Jonathan Hill, Resident Director of Evangelism Ministries

Join us for our last in-person training for 2021 with Pastor Bill Rose on October 18 from 9 AM - 1 PM in the Cornerstone Conference IPHC Cafeteria Training Center.

This opportunity is for all pastors, staff members (paid or volunteer) and/or leaders within your church. Please register by clicking on the button below. We look forward to seeing you there!

*If you have any questions, please contact Jonathan Hill @ 336.356.7936 x. 135.

Jonathan Hill
Resident Director, Evangelism Ministries
jhill@ccrdc.org

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October Connection-3

Royal Home Ministries on the Road

Pearlie Coleman, Royal Home Ministries

Pearlie Coleman, the Cornerstone Conference Director of Royal Home Ministries, is currently scheduling visits to our churches to share about the ministry of The Royal Home in Falcon, NC.

Royal Home Ministry began in 1992 by Rev. Marvin Whitfield, to offer an alternative to girls who wanted to save the life of their unborn child. God has blessed the ministry in many ways!

If you would be interested in scheduling Pearlie to come visit your church and share more information about this incredible ministry, please contact her at one of the following:

Pearlie Coleman
PO Box 723 | Collinsville, VA 24078
Phone: 276.340.1819
Email pjm_coleman@embarqmail.com

We hope you will take this opportunity to share this great ministry with your local church!

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October Connection-6

Pictured from left to right: Joel J. Pava, Resident Director of Hispanic Ministries, Moisés Santacruz, Isaac Villarreal, Manuel Madrigal, Jesús Zavala, Carolina Santacruz, Yadira Villarreal, Ramona Madrigal, and Laura Zavala. *Not pictured in attendance: Gabriela Pava

Congratulations to the New Hispanic Ministers!

Joel Pava, Resident Director of Hipanic Ministries

While God is the one who makes the call, Cornerstone Conference IPHC “Is Called To Equip Great Commission Leaders”. Within that purpose the Hispanic Ministry is always providing opportunities to grow for all those in ministry.

When we issue credentials, we are honoring and validating on earth, the call that was made in heaven. Today we recognize Hispanic ministers who accepted God’s call and applied for license.

Ephesians 4:11-12 says “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (KJV).

The Ministerial Credentialing Report, that reflects statistics based on 2020-2021, shows the following Hispanic ministers equipped with license:

LOCAL CHURCH MINISTER’S LICENSE
Filadelfo Mejía
Daniel Valencia
Dorothea Valencia
Jesús Zavala

MINISTER’S LICENSE
Gabriela Pava
Juan Rodríguez
Moisés Santacruz
Josué Valverde
Isaac Villareal
Yadira Villareal
ORDINATION
Elisa Rodríguez

To God be the glory!

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GM Newsletter - October 2021
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October Connection-5

5 Ways Churches That Want To Break The 1,000 Barrier Stay Personal & Relational

Jonathan Hill, Resident Director of Evangelism Ministries

*Article by Rich Birch

Building the Kingdom of God is about building relationships on earth. No matter what size church you have, there are some practical tips you can take away from this article by Rich Birch. Sometimes we assume people know each other, but that is not always the case. Name tags are a great way to help people interact with one another (people like to hear their name). One way to start implimenting this, would be to have all of your greeters, teachers, etc. have name tags or lanyards to identify themselves by name and ministry.

What ways are you able to serve your congregation better and keep Kingdom building on a personal basis?
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The only people who like big churches are pastors.

One of the paradoxes that churches face as they grow beyond 1,000 in attendance is that they actually need to act more like a small church in some ways. The “competition” of large and growing churches is actually much smaller churches where people are “known” by others. Your church is going to need to find new ways to ensure people feel connected to your church if you are wanting to grow beyond the 1,000 barrier.

People stick and stay at your church because they find community and care there. They find a sense of “home” and relationship. They may be attracted by the great teaching, fantastic kids programs, and amazing music; but they will only stay if they find relationships with real people to help them stay connected. Ultimately, they need to find friends who they recognize at the church. There are a number of ways your church can work in, in order to ensure people perceive your church as relationally connecting people. You need to be seen as a warm and caring community long before people will find an actual community. (This is true of all churches regardless of their size.)

On the journey of growing your church to this size, you probably went through a phase where you needed to “play bigger” … do things that larger churches do in order to instill confidence in people to invite their friends. Ironically, as you grow, you actually need to dial back some of those things because your size can work against you reaching people. If people perceive that you’re just obsessed with being bigger they will be turned off. Here are 5 ways to ensure your church is staying personal and relational as you grow:

Avoid generic@ Email Addresses

Stop using those generic email inbox accounts. Let people know that there are real live people who answer the emails at your churches, and you’re not a faceless organization. When you use those generic email addresses you are subtly communicating to your people that your team is untouchable and unreachable. The sorts of addresses we’re talking about are:

▪ info@
▪ office@
▪ hello@
▪ team@
info@
office@
hello@
team@

Managing email is a lot of work, yes. Often leaders are overwhelmed by how many inbound emails they receive. The “generic” email account is an attempt to stem that tide and deal with requests by a group of people. Rather than doing that, have a team manage your leader’s email inboxes. People from your church will understand when they email a team member of your church and that email is passed onto another person who helps solve their problem. When done well, that contact makes your people feel special—not ignored or treated like a number.

Pick up the Phone!

How do you feel when you call a business or organization and you hear the call automatically routed over to voicemail?

What happens inside of you when you need to “push 1 for customer service … push 2 for support …”?

A “simple” way your church can stay relationally connected is to have a real, live person pick up the phone and answer it. It’s not as “efficient” as just making people route their own calls through the menu and such, but the human interaction speaks volumes about the importance of people to your church. As your church grows, there are volunteers who can be trained towards this role. Alternatively, a service like Call Ruby could also handle phone calls for you for a cost lower than a full-time staff member.

I’ve known the pain of people who have a serious pastoral care situation only to be met with a “voice jail” and an inability to navigate the tree to find the right people, largely due to the fact that they are in the midst of a pastoral care crisis. Our voice mail system just added insult and injury to a tough personal situation. Our system reinforced a lingering suspicion that our church was only interested in “being bigger” and “lost touch” with people. We earned the criticism… it was, unfortunately, true in this case.

As I was writing this article, I picked up the phone and called Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL; Life.Church in Oklahoma City, OK; and North Point Church in Alpharetta, GA. The combined attendance of these three churches is over 100,000. If these churches have figured out how to scale this one aspect of staying personal, I’m sure your church can too!

Click here ro read entire post...

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10 Verses to Memorize and Pray for Healing

Doug Beane-Hall, World Intercessory Network

As God’s children, our Father wants us to look to Him for all of our needs. The Bible tells us so, encouraging us to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18).

Among our most ardent prayers and requests are those for healing.

Whether you’re praying that God mend your own or someone else’s emotional, physical, or spiritual wounds; here are 10 Scriptural verses you can pray out loud or in your heart, to help usher in complete healing and restoration:

1. A Healing Verse for the Brokenhearted
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:2-3)

Everyone eventually experiences a broken heart. Hearts break after the loss of a dear friendship or romance, or after enduring a major life disappointment or the death of a loved one.

Whatever the source of your heartbreak, what’s universal is that it’s hard to forget the pain the distressing situation caused. It can be tempting to cope with a broken heart by living a walled existence, refusing to become emotionally invested in others ever again, avoiding the risk of any more heartache.

This type of detached living does nothing to heal your wounds, and runs counter to the Christian principles of faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Instead, when the grip of a broken heart overtakes you, you can pray God’s promises in this Psalm. You can trust that He’ll gather you back into His arms and heal your brokenness until you’re whole enough to love again.

Click here to read entire post...

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October Connection-4

Biblical Ministries Institute

Garry Yeats, BMI / Ministerial Credentialing

As you know, the pandemic had global ramifications and intruded into the normal aspects of our lives. Both public and private school systems were adversely affected, forcing social distancing, online learning, and those dreaded masks. The Biblical Ministries Institute was also interrupted by the pandemic.

Our on-site classes were suspended, leaving us to scramble to get our students connected to our own online version of training. Thankfully, we had a number of our students who continued with their studies online. It kept them on track toward receiving their credentials. I want to publicly thank all of our students and instructors who were gracious to accept and overcome the challenges.

We have resumed our on-site BMI classes and have a current schedule posted on the Cornerstone Conference website @ www.cornerstonecmc.org. I want to encourage students to consult the schedule and take advantage of these upcoming classes.

As always, please feel free to contact us if we can offer assistance. Feel free to email me at garryyeatts@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Please join me in praying for God to call more people into ministry as we have great opportunities to gather in the harvest.

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October Connection

Agape, The Love Of God

By Frank Tunstall, D. Min.

The love Jesus identifies in John 14:15, “if you love me,” is Jesus calling for agape love from His disciples. It is the God kind of love that always acts unselfishly and in the best interests of others, whether a person wants it or deserves it. Agape love is sacrificial and unconditional. People walking in this love for Jesus “will obey” what Jesus commands.

This is the kind of love that exists between the Persons in the Trinity. It means there is no selfishness in the Trinity. Each member of the Godhead always acts in the best interests of the others.

The institution of marriage and the family can give some illustration for agape love. Loving parents will care for each other, unconditionally and sacrificially, and will not be ruled by selfishness.

Click here to read entire post...

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Upcoming In-Person BMI Classes

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OCTOBER 8-9 CLASS:

Christian Ethics
Instructor: Doyle Marley
Text: Ministerial Ethics: A Guide to Spirit-Filled Living by T. Burton Pierce
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NOVEMBER 5-6 CLASS:

Family Ministry
Instructor: Mike & Trisha Ainsworth
Text: A Theology for Family Ministry by Michael J. Anthony and Michelle Anthony, Editors
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DECEMBER 3-4 CLASS:

Spiritual Gifts
Instructor: Garry Yeatts
Text: Spiritual Gifts, Ministries and Manifestations by B.E. Underwood

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2021 CCRDC Ministry Opportunities-9
Interested in starting a new church
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THANK YOU FOR CONNECTING WITH CORNERSTONE!

Visit us today at www.cornerstonecmc.org

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