About Us

Welcome to Cornerstone

We are family.

We are men, women, children, plumbers, electricians, businessmen and women, students, teachers, motorcycle riders, dutch oven cookers, artists, athletes, young, and old - but most of all we are a family of Christ followers.

Church Leadership

We exist to...

honor and glorify God by obeying Jesus' command to make disciples of all people. We accomplish this by learning from and doing life with one another.

LOVE. CONNECT. GO.


LOVE – from God
We acknowledge that all true LOVE is from God the Father, and demonstrated by Jesus Christ who died to secure our salvation. We can love Him only because He first loved us.  It is His perfect love that causes fears to retreat allowing us to take our eyes off ourselves. (I John 4: 18-19) When we know that we are loved and accepted by God, we can love and accept others much more freely.   (Psalm 13)


Connect – through Him

We CONNECT to God through his teachings and through knowing and understanding one another. Life is about relationships.  All the “one another” verses in the Bible attest to this. Connecting through Christ is the way to love, understanding, wisdom, truth, healing, freedom, kindness, goodness, patience and caring. Simple ways of connecting include calls, words, texts, having coffee, lending a hand, and going the second mile.  It is connecting to others through Christ that leads us to a life beyond what we expect.   (Acts 8:29)

 

Go – with Him
We GO where He leads us, both to honor his sacrifice and also to point others to His truth.  “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men…” Col 3:23. The whole book of Acts is about the early disciples learning, growing, and doing by simply trusting God.  While we are believers and gathering as a church is part of our lives, we do not want to think “Church first”.  We want to see our family, friends, neighbors and co-workers as a vital part of our lives and that much of what God teaches us about life can be shared with those around us as we “live life together”.

 
Loving, connecting, going is a lifestyle, not just an occasional thought!

 

Make Us One! 

John 17:21 “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

God over all things. 

Romans 11:36 “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

What We Believe

What we believe:

JESUS CHRIST – Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to the Father in Heaven. He is truly God but came to earth as a man to save us. John 3:16; John 14:6; and 1 Timothy 2:5

THE TRINITY – There is one God making Himself known in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13:14

GOD’S WORD – The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the written revelation of God expressing his will and plan for all of mankind. It is timeless, without error, and unchangeable.  2 Timothy 3: 16-17

SALVATION – Salvation is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and believing that his death on the cross satisfied the penalty for your sins.  Romans 3:10; Ephesians 2:8

REPENTANCE – This is simply turning away from a life apart from Christ and trusting in Him alone for forgiveness of sin.  Romans 10:6-10; 1 John 1:9

BAPTISM – Baptism is when a new believer is fully immersed in water symbolizing their death and resurrection in Christ.  Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:1-6

COMMUNION – The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Jesus on the night before His crucifixion and is to be observed often by His followers. It is a sign of the new covenant through the body and blood of Christ. Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11: 24-25

HOLY SPIRIT –  Holy Spirit is the Helper promised by Jesus before he left the earth. He is equally God as part of the trinity and empowers believers in the same manner as described in the book of Acts. Acts 1:4-8; Galatians 5:22-23

HEAVEN – Heaven is the glorious eternal home of born-again believers. John 14:1-3; Revelation 7:9-17

HELL – Hell is the place of eternal separation from God for all who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior. Revelation 20:10-15

BIBLICAL MARRIAGE- Marriage is a covenant relationship created and sealed by God between a man and a woman. Genesis 2:22-24

TITHES AND OFFERINGS – The tithe is when believers give the first tenth of their increase to the church. Offerings are any gifts given in addition to the tithe. This is the method ordained of God for the support of the body and spread of the Gospel.  Malachi 3:10; Matthew 23:23

The word salvation refers to deliverance, health, safety, rescue, help and aid.  The scripture makes it clear how salvation comes. Jesus alone saves and nothing else.  It is not Jesus and being good, or Jesus and going to church nor Jesus and being baptized. Just Jesus!
 
Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.“
 
Romans 10:9-10 “…if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
 
Romans 10:13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
 
A question that we often hear is “How do I know I am saved?”  From the verses above, consider the following questions:
–       
When people ask you if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, do you say yes?
–       
If they ask if you believe He died and rose from the dead, do you say yes?
–       
Then that means you confess with your mouth.  Now read Romans 10:9-10 above.  If you have confessed Jesus and if you believe with your heart, then you have been justified before the Father and you are saved.
–       
Now, have you called on the name of the Lord?  Did you ask Him to save you?
–       
According to Romans 10:13, when you asked Jesus to save you, what happened?
 
As you believe Jesus, you will learn His ways, follow His teachings, become like Him, love what He loves, let go of the old, walk by faith, and enjoy fellowship with Him all your life.  When it is difficult to do what Jesus says or life becomes complicated; recognize it is really a crisis of belief.  Keep things as simple as possible, find where you are having trouble believing, let your heart believe, then proceed.  You are never alone.  Let Him lead you and empower you by His Spirit.
 
John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
 
1 John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
“Baptize” means to immerse, submerge, make fully wet.  While baptism takes place in water, it does not wash away sins, only the blood of Christ can do that.  Neither does it save, for Christ alone saves and that takes place the moment you believe in Him.  So, what does it mean?
 
According to Romans 6:1-4, baptism is burial of the old way of life without Christ and the rising to live a new life with Christ as our Lord.  It means that just as Christ was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, the same happens to us in Him. As we are in the water, just as Christ was crucified, we are dying to or crucifying our old way of life without Him.
Just as Jesus was buried in a tomb, we are burying our old way of life without Him in the watery grave. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are rising to live a new, resurrected life with Christ as our Lord.
 

Romans 6:4-5 “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”


Baptism does NOT save you or cleanse you of sin. ONLY the blood of Jesus Christ can do that! Baptism is an outward/public declaration of your faith and decision to accept and follow Christ.  It symbolizes dying to this life and being reborn in Christ.

Matthew 3:16-17 “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”

Holy Spirit is a person, not an it.  He is the very essence of the Father and the Son. As we walk with Christ, we learn more about who He is and what He does. God has given us the Holy Spirit to be our Helper.  Here are a few scriptures that help us to know Him better.

 
God does all things by His Spirit

John 14:16-17 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Know for certain whom you have received and what He teaches you.

Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.

He is our Teacher and strongest ally.

1Corinthians 2:12 “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

 

He is forever Truth.

John 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

 

He is our Power.

John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

 

All the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit talked about in scripture are still available to every believer today. Knowing Holy Spirit and walking with Him truly makes life better.  He will teach you about life, spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 14, Romans 12), true worship (John 4:23), and the Kingdom of God (Luke 17:21).  He truly is your Helper and Counselor.

 

 

Cornerstone Christian Center was founded in January of 1992, under the leadership of Pastors James and Frances Autry.

Cornerstone held its first services at the Young Men’s Business Club in Westwego. After several months at this location we were blessed to be able to rent the gymnasium at Concordia Lutheran School in Marrero.

We remained at this location for approximately ten years. During this time, faithful men and women moved equipment in and moved equipment out. Chairs were set up and chairs were taken down. Nursery items were brought in and nursery items were taken out. While this was difficult, we truly learned what team work and the servant heart of Christ were all about.

While we desired to have a building to call our own, we recognized that God was at work building a spiritual house. We also learned that church is truly more than a building. In His time, God miraculously provided land for us to build on. In July of 1996, we found the property for our current facility. While property in this area is at a premium, we paid only $47,000 for almost five acres! We know the Lord gave us this property and it is truly dedicated to Him.

After paying off the land, the process of building plans, permitting and construction began. There were many hurdles to get over, many hours of work by all of us, but finally the new facility was completed.
In April 2001, Cornerstone moved into its present location. We continue to possess and occupy the land that God has given us. We also look forward to future expansion with other buildings and parking.
We give all the praise to the Lord for His wonderful provision and continued blessing.