giving
Giving is an act of worship. It is a tangible way of living out the truth that all we have belongs to God (Ps. 24:1). You can give online by simply clicking the button below.
Giving & Stewardship
Cornerstone Christian Church is committed to building a community centered on Jesus Christ, investing in the next generation, and generously serving a world in need. This mission is at the center of everything we do and the standard by which we steward your financial gifts.
When you give, it’s about more than funding general church operational expenses. It’s about being a community that leans into our relationship with Jesus and reaches out to the world around us. When you give, you support the Kids Ministry by providing faith-growing curricula for Kids Church and Awana, as well as the special events we offer as outreach to the larger community. You allow our Youth Ministry to disciple and engage with middle and high school youth throughout a crucial stage in their developmental and spiritual formation. You support youth groups, events, Bible studies, and mission trips. When you give, you help each member of our community on their faith journey through life group materials, reading plans, and events where people connect, form relationships, and truly build a community centered on Jesus Christ. You support local and international ministries, grow food in our garden to feed the hungry, build homes and churches through Servant’s Heart, educate our youngest members who attend the Wyckoff Christian Preschool and Kindergarten, and provide urgent aid to a world in need. In fact, 20% of all weekly giving goes directly to over 45 of our missionary partners around the world. You can find out more about our mission partners here.
Christmas Offering
This year, the gifts from your Christmas offering will help expand the Servant’s Heart Workmanship Program by launching a Welding Course in their Franklin facility in Sussex County. This free trade and mentorship program will combine high-quality technical instruction with Christ-centered mentoring, equipping students not only with valuable trade skills but also with core values and a sense of purpose. With the average welder age at 57, and America facing a severe skilled-labor shortage, this program meets a real need. Welding is one of the most in-demand trades in our region, offering students a clear pathway to a stable, meaningful career—often for people who have never had such an opportunity.
This program will:
- Train students in high-demand welding skills
- Respond to a national workforce challenge
- Expand the ministry impact of Servant's Heart in Sussex County
- Provide Christ-centered mentorship alongside technical training
- Build character, purpose, and hope in students' lives
Our goal is to raise $200,000 to cover materials for campus renovations, welding equipment, and specialized resources needed for the program. The Servant’s Heart team will handle all labor, ensuring that your donation directly supports the program's material costs.
All contributions designated to this Christmas offering and everything given during the Christmas Eve gatherings will be allocated to the Servant’s Heart Franklin Welding Expansion (unless specifically designated for the General Fund). Please indicate 'Christmas Offering' in the memo portion of your check and drop it in one of the Giving Boxes in the Gallery. You can also give online through the CornerstoneNJ app or the button below and select ‘Christmas Offering' from the drop-down menu.
For questions about this initiative, please contact Pastor Jonathan Frank at jfrank@cornerstonenj.org.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Practical Principles
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word tithe means tenth because the taxes given by the Israelite government were often ten percent of what was collected in the harvest. The church is not a government, and the gifts we give are not tithes or taxes but rather free-will offerings. We give back to God the “first fruits” of what He has given to us. It is an act of thanksgiving and an acknowledgment that all we have comes from Him. Many Christians still use 10% as a reference point, as Abraham did in Genesis 14 when he worshipped God after a significant victory. But giving as a follower of Jesus is more than forfeiting a percentage; it is an act of trust that God will remain faithful in providing for us. Our giving is meant to teach us to depend on God and grow in generosity. To start giving prayerfully, pick a dollar amount (a percentage of your income) that you can pledge to give faithfully to the Lord. As you give regularly, you will find that you are still able to do all the things you need to do, and you can pray about raising your percentage year by year. Good giving is done cheerfully and worshipfully, causing us to trust God with our finances (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
There may be times when you feel led to make an offering above and beyond your regular church giving to a ministry outside the church or to meet specific needs of individuals in the church. This is a wonderful thing to do. Many of us give regularly to ministry partners, and the church itself gives 20% of all we receive to support our ministry partners. Additionally, on the first Sunday of each month, we collect a special Benevolence Offering to meet the acute financial needs of those within our church community. Although the Kingdom of God is larger than one local church, the local church is God’s primary community for sharing and living out the gospel on earth. It is what we are baptized into, where we worship, take communion, and love one another faithfully until He returns. Accordingly, our giving should reflect the centrality of the local church to God’s work.
How to Give
Give online: We offer a secure and convenient online giving platform that allows you to make one-time or recurring gifts. You can give through the “Give” tab on the Cornerstone app or click the "Give Online" button above to access our online giving portal. You can make your regular offerings by selecting “General Fund” from the drop-down menu or choosing to give to a special offering.
Give in person: You can give in person by cash or check in one of the giving boxes in the Gallery on Sundays or by visiting the church office during regular business hours.
Planned giving: Speak to your financial advisor about including Cornerstone in your long-term financial planning through the Cornerstone Endowment Fund, estate gifts, stocks, bonds, or other planned giving options. Your planned gifts can have a lasting impact on future generations and help secure the future of our ministry. You can read more about the Cornerstone Endowment Fund below.
The Cornerstone Endowment Fund
The leadership of Cornerstone Christian Church is pleased to announce that in early 2020 the Cornerstone Endowment Fund was established to provide a vehicle where our church family can donate planned/legacy gifts, memorials, and honorariums. The Endowment Fund will guarantee that such gifts are used for the direct ministry of Cornerstone Church. We look forward to the day when God has blessed this Fund in such a way that it will be able to make significant annual contributions to the specific ministries of Cornerstone Christian Church and will help to advance the growth of God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Benevolence
On the first Sunday of each month, we collect a special Benevolence Offering for those in our church community who are in acute financial need. You can give to this Fund by indicating 'Benevolent' on your check and dropping it into one of the giving boxes in the Gallery or online through the “Giving Online” button above and selecting “Benevolent” from the drop-down menu.
The Benevolent Fund is managed and administered by Cornerstone’s elders and provides short-term assistance for specific needs such as food, shelter, clothing, transportation, healthcare, and counseling expenses. Family should be approached to help meet a need before the church is approached. As stewards of this Fund, the elders must document the need and how it was met. Therefore, documentation is required for all requests, including the bills requested to be paid and financial information verifying that the need cannot be met (paystubs, family budgets). If you have questions or would like to discuss your situation with a member of our team, contact benevolence@cornestonenj.org.