Pastor Bruce Hopler and his wife Terri believed they were called by God to begin a church from the ground up. This church would be one that was truly part of the community, simple, yet effective, and that really cares about people and seeks creative ways of encouraging their relationship with Christ, regardless of their background.
In March 1994, Cornerstone held its first worship service at Mayfield Woods Middle School in Elkridge, Md. Cornerstone was able to remain truly representative of our community by reaching out to neighbors, inviting them to visit and share in God’s love, rather than attempting to take away members from other churches. We remained at the school for five years.
We are committed to being honest, genuine, loving people who build real, lasting relationships with each other…
The Lord put a vision in Pastor Bruce’s heart to pursue finding a permanent meeting place and center for ministry in fall 1998. We did not have the money or resources to build out a facility, but at God’s direction, on faith we went ahead. God pulled it off in a way that only He could have done. Several times money literally came through at the last minute. We moved to our current warehouse location in December 1999.
Great things continue to happen at Cornerstone. We employed a team pastor, Ron Willoughby, from 2003 to 2006, who actively led us in increased outreach and missions. He moved on from our church to pursue doctoral research at Cliff College in England. We have been blessed with more than 75 baptisms since 1999. We continue to ask God for ways to use what He has given us to do His work with maximum effectiveness.
The people of Cornerstone are committed to worshipping and serving our Lord Jesus Christ. Currently our attendance averages about 250 per week. We are committed to being honest, genuine, loving people who build real, lasting relationships with each other. We are committed to helping each other reach our full potential in Christ, and to providing solid biblical answers to life’s challenges.