Cornerstone Church, Caledonia, Mich.
Mara Marsman, director of service

Within the core values of Cornerstone Church in Caledonia, Mich., is the statement, “Every believer discovers his or her own call to ministry.” Since Pastor Brad Kalajainen and the entire staff formed their mission statement when the church began in 1990, the belief in the significance of serving has been a part of Cornerstone’s purpose.

As the director of service for the last four years, Mara Marsman emphasizes the value in members simply trying out ministries in order to assess if they have truly found the particular ministry that best utilizes exactly how they were created. After an individual makes a decision to join Cornerstone Church, he or she is encouraged to attend the church’s Starting Point Class before moving on to C.L.A.S.S. 301 (offered twice a year), where members learn about ministry and serving within the area that God has called them to serve.

Marsman takes a personal interest in the members’ next steps following C.L.A.S.S. 301 by meeting with each person to discuss what he or she has discovered about his or her place for ministry. Marsman then passes this information on to a particular ministry’s leader so that there is a direct and personal invitation from the leader to the member.

Along with this personal welcome to the ministry, each ministry director or leader is encouraged to individually demonstrate his or her appreciation for his or her volunteers. Valuing their volunteers is a priority for the staff of Cornerstone. In addition, the church puts on L.E.A.D. nights (leadership, encouragement, appreciation, and development), which are both appreciation and training nights for ministry leaders, as well as volunteers.

As is stated on Cornerstone’s Web site (www.cornerchurch.org), the staff is committed to the idea that part of being a purpose driven church means serving the Body of Christ. Being a purpose driven church, “keeps us focused on a biblically-based approach to establishing, transforming, and maintaining a balanced, growing congregation that seeks to fulfill the God-given purposes of worship, discipleship, ministry and missions.” Keeping their focus on helping the members of Cornerstone Church find their call to ministry can only succeed in helping the church family to carry out their very purpose driven mission statement.