Cornerstone Autonomy Anthony J. Courtemanche 6/11/2016 1

“When Will Cornerstone Be an Autonomous Church?” 2

Terms Autonomous = self-governing Autonomy is not necessarily the same as (financial) independence – As an example, most mission organizations are autonomous, and yet depend on the investment of their supporters 3

Autonomous? The pattern of New Testament Churches is local governance: – Selected from their own membership persons to care for the physical need of members (Acts 6:3-6) – Determined what persons would be commissioned for specific ministries (Acts 13:1-3) – Had their own leadership (a.k.a.: Elders) (Acts 14:23, 1 Peter 5:1-3) – Disciplined their own members (1 Corinthians 5:1-13) Based on: – The lordship of Christ (Colossians 1:18) – The guidance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2) – The priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9) 4

Is Cornerstone Autonomous? Not yet – Cornerstone is currently a ministry of Immanuel Church in Chelmsford, our planting church Immanuel Church = mother Cornerstone Congregational Church = daughter What is remaining before autonomy? – Financial readiness necessary to operate autonomously – All marks of a healthy church, including leadership and members – Recognized as an independent legal entity in the state of Massachusetts How close are we? Let’s look and assess. – This is NOT a measurement of our ministries or ministry teams! – These ratings are NOT exact, or even coordinated 5 Excellent Good Average Poor Incomplete / Not Started Excellent Good Average Poor Incomplete / Not Started Let’s use the Consumer Reports-style rating system (Modified Harvey Balls)

Financial Readiness Income Savings Cash-flow Checking account & ledger Treasurer / finance team Bookkeeper 6

9 Marks of a Healthy Church ( Preaching – An expositional sermon takes the main point of a passage of Scripture, makes it the main point of the sermon, and applies it to life today Biblical Theology – Sound doctrine – Right thoughts about God – Belief that accords with Scripture 7

9 Marks of a Healthy Church (cont.) The Gospel – The good news that: The one and only God who is holy made us in his image to know him But we sinned and cut ourselves off from him In his great love, God became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law himself and taking on himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever turn from their sin and trust in him He rose again from the dead, showing that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice and that God’s wrath against us had been exhausted He now calls us to repent of our sins and trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness. If we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God He is gathering one new people to himself among all those who submit to Christ as Lord 8

9 Marks of a Healthy Church (cont.) Conversion – Recognition that only God can save, and that he saves individuals by enabling them to respond to the gospel message through repenting of sin and trusting in Christ Evangelism – Telling non-Christians the good news about what Jesus Christ has done to save sinners and urging them to repent and believe 9

9 Marks of a Healthy Church (cont.) Membership – A commitment every Christian should make to attend, love, serve, and submit to a local church Discipline – Everything the church does to help its members pursue holiness and fight sin – Preaching, teaching, prayer, corporate worship, accountability relationships, and godly oversight by pastors and elders are all forms of discipline 10

9 Marks of a Healthy Church (cont.) Discipleship – Exhortation of members to grow in holiness and to help others do the same Leadership – Leading of the church by a plurality of godly, qualified men called elders 11

Legal Recognition as Autonomous Foundational documents (most are in our Playbook) – Vision, Mission, Core Values, Philosophy of Ministry, Organization – Ministry and Job descriptions – Procedures / work instructions (will always be in work) – Covenant Legal Documents – Constitution – Bylaws – Filing articles of organization as a non-profit corporation in Massachusetts – Applying with Massachusetts and the IRS for 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status 12 Current area of focus for the CPMT

Autonomy? Updated Timelines OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 2017 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR Launch AUG SEP 33% Work at IC NOV DEC … % Work at IC 100% Immanuel Church 67% IC Funding 33% IC Funding End of Immanuel Church Funding Pastor’s Salary Pastor’s Employment Legal Docs Ready Self-Sustaining Finances 3 Months Worth of Expenses In Checking Account Autonomous Leadership And Membership 7/1/2017 Foundational Docs in Place Financial Ledger and Checking Account ? ? ? ?

Summary Cornerstone has made amazing progress toward autonomy since launch on October 3rd, 2015 – God has done the work… … using people like you and me! Autonomy will probably be upon us soon Let’s continue to pray that God would: – Fulfill the vision of making Cornerstone: A gospel-centered church that changes lives through sharing the message of Jesus Christ in word and deed – That together we may achieve the mission: To make, mature, and multiply followers of Jesus 14

How Can I Help? Pray Give financially Serve on a ministry team 15