Background and history of Cornerstone UMC

Cornerstone UMC was one of the four new congregations planted by the NC Annual Conference in 1995. North Carolina is one of the fastest growing states in the USA and our urban areas reflect this. As a result, there were vast numbers of families living in new housing developments with no local church nearby. Since the Board of Laity of the Fayetteville District already had determined a need for a new church in the western part of Fayetteville this site on Rim Road was a natural selection for the Bishop and Cabinet.

Beginning in October of 1995 Cornerstone UMC, under the leadership of the Rev. Ben Sharpe, began to gather a core group of people who shared the vision of a new church that would be faithful to proclaim and follow Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, and would be intentionally multi-ethnic in its constituency. The church met in homes on Saturday evenings until June 1996 when the Cumberland County School Board changed its policy and allowed religious organizations to rent space. On October 14, 1996, the new church held its first Sunday morning worship. As the Congregation began to grow, the church was able to officially constitute as a United Methodist Congregation on January 12, 1997. The fact that Fayetteville is a community constantly in flux due to the presence of a large, transient military population means that the congregation of Cornerstone UMC is constantly changing.  

Cornerstone's ministry targets military families and the neighborhoods of West Fayetteville, and seeks to bring the Gospel to bear on their particular needs. Our message is distinctively evangelical, Wesleyan and orthodox. We actively seek to win persons to Jesus Christ and to train them in holy living. We unashamedly accept the Holy Scriptures as the inspired, infallible Word of God and the preaching and teaching of our church reflects this belief.

In June 2004, the Reverend Kong S. Namkung was appointed to be our Pastor and Shepherd. He brings to Cornerstone a vibrant heart for Jesus Christ and His sheep. The congregation at Cornerstone UMC is a reflection of our multicultural military community and therefore God's choice of a native South Korean Pastor is a natural fit for our congregation. At Cornerstone, one will find people of all races, nationalities, and religious backgrounds praising God together in the Spirit of contemporary worship and scriptural fellowship.

Some of the practices of our Church that our guests and new members will find to be edifying and exciting, are a healthy mix of contemporary worship and traditional hymns, multicultural fellowship, constant communion, traditional liturgical confessions, the preaching and teaching of Biblical Truth, a passion for ministry to the local military community, and a pilot Hispanic Ministries Sunday School fellowship led by Pastor Carlos Villanueva, Lt. Col. Ret.. Cornerstone UMC is also affiliated with The Confessing Movement of the United Methodist Church with the shared vision of “renewing the United Methodist Church by promoting biblical truth and by praying for God's Spirit to unite his people around our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We encourage people of all backgrounds to join us as we worship Jesus Christ in Spirit and in Truth.

The most important part of our church history is the history that we will live and write together as we follow Christ's GREAT COMMISSION to make disciples of all nations. We are a “young” growing church and are still experiencing God's revelation in powerful ways as He reveals His will to us and leads our congregation to be a light to the West Fayetteville community and to the world. Join us in writing the history of our church as we walk together in the Spirit towards the higher calling of our Lord Jesus Christ as faithful disciples and as His Body given for the world to bring all humanity into His glorious Kingdom now and forever more.

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