Worship Ministry
Purpose and Vision
At Cornerstone, we view our corporate worship service as a celebration and we believe that the worship team is a vital part of our Sunday morning celebration service. For us, our corporate worship service is not something to endure, but rather to enjoy.
Worship is meant to bring us into the presence of God. The word itself comes from a contraction from the old English words “worth” and “ship”. It means to ascribe worth to God. When we worship, we extol the name of Jesus, we sound forth His praises, and we give Him glory. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips; that give thanks to His name.”
We believe that it is in the presence of Jesus that lives are changed and healed. Our pattern of worship has become one of the unique characteristics of Cornerstone. There are three sections of worship music in our services:
Celebration – singing songs of praise, breaking the ice, getting everyone freed up and involved in praising God – Celebrate! The songs that are sung are usually up-tempo, joyful, hand clapping type songs with lyrics about The communication direction is horizontal, one to another.
Adoration – singing songs to God, directly to Him, claiming His majesty, greatness, power; adoring HIM. The purpose is to enter into and experience the awesome presence of God that often leads to a quiet time of listening. The communication direction is vertical, from me to God.
Exultation – singing songs that express yielding, surrendering, calling out to God, and recommitting our lives. The communication direction is both horizontal and vertical and from me to God and God to me. This section is usually closed with a triumphant, upbeat “sending” song.
Joining a Worship Team
We regularly seek to expand our worship team. Anyone interested in serving is encouraged to fill out an application and set up an appointment with our worship director, Michele Morgan, for an audition and interview to discuss the guidelines and expectations presented in the Heartlink Network Worship Teams manual. The application and audition process is important because we’re looking for two key factors: Heart and Skill. First and foremost, we expect those who minister from the platform in worship to be born-again believers of Christ and display that love and devotion to Him in their life both on and off the stage. We’re also looking for those who are passionate about worship and are comfortable expressing themselves in this way. However, skills are also essential for successful participation on a worship team. Auditions are held so that the worship director can determine each person’s ability as a musician or vocalist, both to see if they are up the challenges of live performance and to determine if that person will work well with the rest of the team.
Not a musician? You can still participate in worship ministry! We can always use sound engineers or visual equipment operators. Sound engineers help with worship equipment setup, maintenance, and mixing during the Sunday service. Visual equipment operators run the overhead lyrics during worship times and help with visual aids such as videos, photo shows, or PowerPoint slides.
Youth Worship
At Cornerstone, we believe in raising our children and youth in a dynamic atmosphere of worship. Our youth have a growing worship team made up of middle school and high school aged teens with an adult leader. The goal is to train these teens with a passion for Jesus, excellence in music and strong heart of worship that focuses on our audience of ONE, Jesus Christ. This team leads worship twice a month for Reality Youth. As teens grow in their musicality and maturity in Christ, they are invited to audition for the Sunday morning worship team. Young persons who wish to participate on the youth worship team must submit an application and go through the interview and audition process described above.