"We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders that He has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments." Psalm 78:4-7
1. EMPOWER & SUPPORT PARENTS
We believe that parents have the primary honor and responsibility for the spiritual nurture of their children.
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7
However, we also recognize that parents are on the frontlines of a spiritual battle, engaged in an all-out spiritual war for the souls of their children. Our commitment as a community of believers is to support and encourage parents by providing close parent-teacher interaction, books, parenting classes, Sunday School, fellowship, accountability, prayer and other resources carefully designed to help parents impart a love for God and His Word to their children.
2. PROVIDE DEPTH
We believe that children can handle deep truth at a young age. For this reason we have chosen a multi-age curriculum that is based on a systematic theology approach. Systematic theology is an ordered study of who God is, who He has made us to be, His plans for us and this world, His work of salvation for His people, and the things of the world to come. It gives children an opportunity to consider the magnificent way that God has ordered all things to His glory and equips them with a strong foundation of God’s truth.
The goal of our curriculum is to fuel spiritual desire in children by exalting the greatness and worth of God and His glorious work through Jesus Christ in a creative and compelling way. We want to avoid boring children to death with religion or implying that only candy and games can keep their attention. Our God is not a boring God!
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
3. WRITE IT ON THEIR HEARTS
We believe the truth of Scripture can be understood and applied by children. Although the conversion and spiritual growth of our children is the work of the Holy Spirit, as they are immersed in the whole counsel of God, they will be formed to act with the character of God’s people. It is our desire to help our children appreciate the value of Scripture and stir in them a desire to be changed by it. We want to equip them with the knowledge of and trust in the Living God.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37
We also believe that teachers can play an important role by serving our children as co-learners, always eager to grow in knowledge and wisdom and in the love of God and neighbor. Our teachers and volunteers are committed to regularly praying for the kids in their classrooms.
4. WORSHIP WITH AWE & JOY
We believe that children have the capacity more than anyone else to feel a sense of awe and wonder. Jesus Christ can capture the emotions and imagination of our children in ways that yield heart-felt expressions of worship and love for the truth, not just rote obedience to a list of rules. True worship will draw children out of themselves and into an encounter with God and cause a response of adoration, praise and commitment.
“But the hour is coming and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24
Our intergenerational worship service is designed to impart faith to the next generation as children watch and join their parents and other adults within a genuinely caring community of believers. We want to make our worship and communal life as full of truth, beauty, and goodness as is possible in order to usher participants into the presence of God. These times of worship are designed to intensify our deep longing for that other world for which we were made, God’s Kingdom.
5. REACH OUT WITH LOVE
We believe that children can be spiritually nurtured without retreating into an isolation that would keep them from ministering to the world around us. We want to equip them to share their faith, to have compassion for and serve those in need, and to be a friend to others for the Gospel’s sake.
To this end, we invite our children to participate with the weekly church offering, and we make them aware of church needs, missionary situations, world emergencies, local ministry, and other opportunities for them to help through prayer, giving, and service. We want to train them to share the Gospel in a simple, clearly understandable way. God wants to use all of us for His world-transforming purposes, and it is our desire to give our children opportunities to engage in meaningful Kingdom work alongside the Cornerstone Community of believers.
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the LORD Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24