Our Vision
Cornerstone St Andrews started in June 2013 with a vision to reach people in St Andrews with the Good News about Jesus. We are an evangelical church, in the presbyterian tradition, and part of the United Free Church of Scotland. Cornerstone was birthed out of a passion to see every member of God’s people equipped to be who God made them to be, doing what God made them to do, where God has called them to be - to God’s glory. We seek to reach our town through multiple communities of people living and speaking out the Gospel, blessing the wider non-church-going community around us. This happens through networks of relationships, through the hospitality of homes and through people seeing the Gospel lived out in Christ’s people.
Cornerstone St Andrews, therefore, exists to build up and equip a community of people to live wholeheartedly as disciples of Christ in every sphere of life, demonstrating God’s character in the way we love one other and our neighbours. We live to speak and demonstrate the Good News of Jesus.
To read more about the biblical basis of our vision, click on the links below:
Cornerstone St Andrews, therefore, exists to build up and equip a community of people to live wholeheartedly as disciples of Christ in every sphere of life, demonstrating God’s character in the way we love one other and our neighbours. We live to speak and demonstrate the Good News of Jesus.
To read more about the biblical basis of our vision, click on the links below:
Our Values
Cornerstone St Andrews exists for the glory of God. To His glory and by His grace, we seek to encourage and build one another up as disciples of Jesus, living out the Gospel in every sphere of life, demonstrating God’s character in the way we love and care for our neighbours, our community and our world. We believe that the Gospel of Jesus is the only hope for the world and that on a daily basis we desperately need to put ourselves under the authority of God’s Word and seek the empowering presence of His Spirit in order to carry out the Great Commission of Our Lord Jesus.
Our values have a profound bearing on what we do practically as a church. They mean, for example:
1. Existing for God’s Glory
2. Making Disciples
3. Living by Grace - Union with Christ
God’s grace comes to us in personal relationship with Jesus - it is not some impersonal force just there to help us when we need it. Nor is grace just the means by which we start out on our Christian life. On the contrary, to follow Jesus is to live by grace every moment of every day of our lives. We need to be forgiven, brought into relationship with God and given the transforming grace that will enable us to live for God. All of this comes through gracious union with Jesus. The reference in the Great Commission to being baptised into the Triune God resonates with this New Testament theme that those who are trusting in Jesus are graciously brought into union with Christ - that is, God unites them spiritually with the resurrected Jesus so that they become part of His body, part of His people, so that what is true of Him becomes true of them.
This is the basis of Paul’s argument in Romans 6 when he rebukes anyone for thinking that they can trust in Jesus’ death only for forgiveness of sins. Paul tells us that because we are united with the person of Christ, we are not only united with His death for forgiveness of sins, but we are also united with his indestructible resurrection life so that we now “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). So, it is not possible for someone to just be forgiven and then carry on as though nothing has happened. Forgiveness and new life are inseparable because they are both fruits of union with Jesus Christ.
What does this mean practically? Our priority is to introduce people to gracious relationship with Jesus, not to give people sets of rules to live by. We want to see people grow in that relationship, not just conform their behaviour in order to fit in with our church sub-culture. People growing in relationship with Jesus and therefore living freely by grace will look diverse and messy, but beautiful!
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4. Outward focus - Blessed to be a Blessing
5. A Growing and Learning Community
6. Centrality of God's Word
7. Dependence on God’s Spirit
8. Priority of Prayer
9. Lordship of Jesus Christ over the Whole of Life
10. Every Member Contribution
11. Leaders who Serve and Equip Others
Our values have a profound bearing on what we do practically as a church. They mean, for example:
- that the Sunday gathering, though important, is not the only significant part of the life of the church;
- there is a large emphasis in Cornerstone on being part of a home expression of churchHome Groups, an environment where we can learn and grow and from which we can be reaching out to our neighbours, colleagues and friends;
- the idea that the people of God collectively are God’s means of carrying out His mission to the world dictates our financial priorities. All money given to the church will be stewarded in a way that reflects the priority of mission.
1. Existing for God’s Glory
2. Making Disciples
3. Living by Grace - Union with Christ
God’s grace comes to us in personal relationship with Jesus - it is not some impersonal force just there to help us when we need it. Nor is grace just the means by which we start out on our Christian life. On the contrary, to follow Jesus is to live by grace every moment of every day of our lives. We need to be forgiven, brought into relationship with God and given the transforming grace that will enable us to live for God. All of this comes through gracious union with Jesus. The reference in the Great Commission to being baptised into the Triune God resonates with this New Testament theme that those who are trusting in Jesus are graciously brought into union with Christ - that is, God unites them spiritually with the resurrected Jesus so that they become part of His body, part of His people, so that what is true of Him becomes true of them.
This is the basis of Paul’s argument in Romans 6 when he rebukes anyone for thinking that they can trust in Jesus’ death only for forgiveness of sins. Paul tells us that because we are united with the person of Christ, we are not only united with His death for forgiveness of sins, but we are also united with his indestructible resurrection life so that we now “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). So, it is not possible for someone to just be forgiven and then carry on as though nothing has happened. Forgiveness and new life are inseparable because they are both fruits of union with Jesus Christ.
What does this mean practically? Our priority is to introduce people to gracious relationship with Jesus, not to give people sets of rules to live by. We want to see people grow in that relationship, not just conform their behaviour in order to fit in with our church sub-culture. People growing in relationship with Jesus and therefore living freely by grace will look diverse and messy, but beautiful!
(Close)
4. Outward focus - Blessed to be a Blessing
5. A Growing and Learning Community
6. Centrality of God's Word
7. Dependence on God’s Spirit
8. Priority of Prayer
9. Lordship of Jesus Christ over the Whole of Life
10. Every Member Contribution
11. Leaders who Serve and Equip Others
Our Name
Why Cornerstone St Andrews?
You may have heard it said that 'the church isn't the building, but the people inside it'. We want to challenge that: the church is a building! However, it's not a physical building, but a spiritual one.
In the Bible, 1 Peter 2 describes God's people as "living stones" who "are being built into a spiritual house", with Jesus as the cornerstone upon whom the building is built: "the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him". Similarly, Ephesians 2:19-22 says:
"You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
We believe that God's people are called to live in community with Jesus and with one another, in a way that honours Jesus and blesses those around us, always looking outwards to welcome others in to live in that divine-human community.
We enter that community through the work of Jesus, and as renewed people live in union with Him. Each member of the community has also been gifted by God to contribute towards the life of that community in a unique way, and within the community is to be equipped to serve others and welcome others in. This is how the building grows. Yet the building simply would not exist without its Cornerstone, and only exists to make Him known, so that through Him people may be transformed to become the people they were made to be.
In the town of St Andrews, with so many historical buildings and ruins, we believe 'Cornerstone St Andrews' beautifully expresses both our understanding of the purpose of the church, and our desire to have Jesus as central and to make Him known in our locality and further afield.
You may have heard it said that 'the church isn't the building, but the people inside it'. We want to challenge that: the church is a building! However, it's not a physical building, but a spiritual one.
In the Bible, 1 Peter 2 describes God's people as "living stones" who "are being built into a spiritual house", with Jesus as the cornerstone upon whom the building is built: "the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him". Similarly, Ephesians 2:19-22 says:
"You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
We believe that God's people are called to live in community with Jesus and with one another, in a way that honours Jesus and blesses those around us, always looking outwards to welcome others in to live in that divine-human community.
We enter that community through the work of Jesus, and as renewed people live in union with Him. Each member of the community has also been gifted by God to contribute towards the life of that community in a unique way, and within the community is to be equipped to serve others and welcome others in. This is how the building grows. Yet the building simply would not exist without its Cornerstone, and only exists to make Him known, so that through Him people may be transformed to become the people they were made to be.
In the town of St Andrews, with so many historical buildings and ruins, we believe 'Cornerstone St Andrews' beautifully expresses both our understanding of the purpose of the church, and our desire to have Jesus as central and to make Him known in our locality and further afield.
Our Partnerships
The Bible teaches that Jesus' followers are all different part of his body - the church - here on earth, with different but interconnected and valuable parts to play (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). As part of the church in St Andrews, Scotland and the world, we work in partnership with a number of organisations, including:
Financial Partnerships
In addition to the above, Cornerstone also commits to financial partnerships with a range of organizations and initiatives engaged in a breadth of mission activities. Click here for more information.
- The United Free Church of Scotland
- The Navigators
- UCCF
- St Andrews University Christian Union
- Friends International
- Mission to the World
Financial Partnerships
In addition to the above, Cornerstone also commits to financial partnerships with a range of organizations and initiatives engaged in a breadth of mission activities. Click here for more information.
Our Confessional Basis
Cornerstone is a church within the United Free Church of Scotland (the UF). The UF is a historic, evangelical denomination in the presbyterian tradition. Presbyterian churches maintain that only Jesus Christ, rather than merely human pastors or elders, is the true head of the church. Ultimately all Christians and all religious authorities are accountable to him. It also means that the supreme standard for spiritual life and doctrine (i.e. Christian beliefs) is scripture. Yet in addition to scripture which is our supreme standard, we accept as our confessional basis and subordinate standard under scripture the Westminster Confession of Faith and other ecumenical statements of the church (such as the Apostles Creed). Both members and elders at Cornerstone, like the rest of the UF denomination, affirm the heart of the gospel as expressed in the Westminster Confession, but recognise the freedom to have differing opinions on secondary matters. While we are an evangelical, presbyterian church, we enjoy being a diverse community, including members from all sorts of different Christian backgrounds. We seek as a church to live in unity together, and to aim for greater unity amongst churches in St. Andrews and around the world.
For a summary of the beliefs of the UF church, follow this link.
For a summary of the beliefs of the UF church, follow this link.
2020 Cornerstone St Andrews