Cornerstone Church of Cranberry

Today we worshiped at Cornerstone Church of Cranberry, 709 Thomson Park Drive, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066, 724.772.2970, www.cornerstoneumchurch.org, Brett Probert, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

My impression was of a mini-mega-church that doesn’t aspire to be a mega-church. There is a good family feel of like-minded believers. The church meets in an adapted warehouse, which worked very well. Even the acoustics were ok. There is a large cross to one side and two projection screens: one for the congregation and one for the singers. One young woman played a sax, but I could not hear one note from it. Maybe the audio balance could use work, or just would need to be varied at times in to hear other instruments or singers. The offering was taken in response to the Word.

The coffee offered before the service was the best I have had in 50 years, and I don’t think I’ll go into why that was so memorable (since it involves moonshine…). Their coffee came from a nearby business that I will visit.

Attention to visitors was very good – a number of people welcomed us – and there was excellent signage. This is an inward-focused church which sets aside 10% of their income for mission, but it is used to fund an annual mission trip. I saw nothing to indicate any other outward mission.

The sermon on the lost art of kindness became graft and corruption from the pulpit. I must admit there was no pulpit; the graft involved being grafted to Christ, and sadly, the corruption is us. The message was well done with good Scriptural references and personal stories. Having grafted grapes for my mother many years ago, the vine-and-branches topic has always held special meaning for me, and I am currently planning a new orchard, so today’s message will probably stay with me longer. I thought relating personal struggles was a good way to reassure the congregation of the commonality of struggle.

Jan’s thoughts:

This church seems to go out of their way to be a non-church in physical ways: they emphasize that they do not have a building and meet in a renovated warehouse building, and the first statement on the front of the bulletin is that “Cornerstone Church isn’t a place, we are people.” But after attending a worship service and hearing all the Jesus talk, I doubt they’re fooling anyone.

The building is indeed still being renovated, but it’s very open with a corner café for liquid drinks (with lids provided, which is good), and donuts and cookies on tables in a large hallway outside the worship center. There was plenty of directional signage everywhere, making it easy to navigate.

The pastor stood in the entrance to the hallway, greeting people as they came in and keeping an eye out for visitors whom he greeted enthusiastically. I gave him the name of my co-worker, and he let her know we were there.

The atmosphere was casual but purposeful, the chairs were quite comfortable, and the people were friendly. It’s a very happy place with many children.

The bulletin contains a list of questions based on the sermon and a brief daily Bible reading and devotional also based on the message, along with a list of upcoming events and a weekly giving summary. All announcements are presented on the front screen before the service, and there is no Order of Worship per se. It seems to work.

Each week the children attend church they’re given a “God rock,” which is a flattened marble-size piece of glass that can be found in a craft store. (I’ve seen them used in a glass vase just for decoration…I just love them!) The first Sunday of each month the kids are allowed to use their God rocks to “purchase” small items or donate to a worthy cause (such as recently to help an ill classmate). I’m not quite clear on the details of how this is done, but the kids seemed to have a good time with them.

The sermon was based on Ephesians 4:32 and entitled “The Lost Art of Kindness.” The pastor confessed there were times this past week when he wasn’t as kind as he might have been but God did not display anger at him, instead He showed kindness. He encouraged intentional thoughtfulness and forgiveness of others simply because “God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). His boyhood memory of grafting a pear branch into the stump of an apple tree made a vivid example regarding the Biblical topic of grafting. He was animated and expressive with an excellent delivery of a pointed, engaging sermon.