renew. 

Renewing our home and renewing our mission.

August 2024
The construction of our space is moving along! The mezzanine is fully drywalled and the classrooms and library are taking shape.
Stay tuned for project updates and images on our Instagram @cornerstonelwr

Join us on September 1st from 4-5pm for a building update and to be able to walk thru the space.
Sign up here:

Check out our new nursery rooms, designed by HSH Design Collective of Anna Maria Island!

Renew is a campaign of Cornerstone Church of Lakewood Ranch to fund the completion of our Cornerstone campus.  
In 2023, we launched the RENEW Campaign in keeping with Cornerstone’s ongoing commitment to grow a community in which our faith is nurtured, the love of Jesus is experienced, and the Gospel is extended to our neighbors. This next step in Cornerstone’s history starts with the completion of a 500 seat Sanctuary. Our current worship center will then be transformed into a youth center, which allows for new possibilities for connecting teens in our community with the Gospel. The build out of our 2,000 square foot mezzanine will provide indispensable space for spiritual formation, gatherings, and events.

The launch of the RENEW campaign is guided by three priorities: SANCTUARY - YOUTH - SPIRITUAL FORMATION

Renderings provided by Architects, Hall Darling Design Studio who worked on our Cornerstone building project in 2019. We are excited to be working with them again!  We have also hired MS&E (McIntyre Elwell & Strammer) as our General Contractors.
All drawings are subject to change.

All gifts for the Cornerstone RENEW campaign will be placed into the Cornerstone Future Building Fund, a custodial fund held by the PCA Foundation and professionally managed while the funds await expenditure.  
You may give directly to PCAFoundation for the benefit of the Cornerstone Future Building Fund in the following ways:

We are thankful for those who came before us and had the foresight to build a 10k sq. ft. shell in anticipation of the church’s future growth.  The Lord prepared this portion of the building knowing when and how it was going to be complete. Without this pre-existing space building a sanctuary would be considerably more than $5million.

In uncertain economic times where we hope for a return on our other investments what better time than now to make an investment in which the return is certain in the Kingdom of God.

Estimates suggest that the project will cost upward of $5 million dollars. We hope to have pricing finalized in the next 6-8 weeks. While we don't know exactly when renovations will begin, there is a possibility we could be worshiping in the new Sanctuary by December 2024. 

Throughout the Cornerstone campus we have embraced a theocentric vs. utilitarian philosophy in church design. Church design historically reflected the theology of the church. Good architectural design is not essential for salvation, but good architecture has the power to facilitate worship. Winston Churchill observed, “We shape our buildings and afterwards they shape us.”  Ultimately, architecture isn’t supposed to be about architecture but something else. We see this in the tabernacle, temple and of course historic churches.
 
Practically, commercial materials last with time when being utilized by thousands of people on a weekly basis.  If families experience wear in their own houses after only having a couple of adults and kids, imagine the wear and tear on a structure where thousands are using it weekly.  Cheaper materials often need replacement much more frequently than hardy materials.
 
Finally, we want to faithfully steward and build something that will last for generations to come, not just for our current moment. As such higher quality materials accomplish this while maintaining our theological commitment to sacred space.

We have an additional $1 million of which $500k is reserved for operating and $500k could be used for additional building contingencies.

There have historically been two views relating to stewardship in church operations: 1) a maintenance view 2) growth view.  Cornerstone's theological vision from her very beginning has been to use our finances for extending the Kingdom of God and not simply maintaining what we have.

We are hopeful that 5 million dollars will allow us to accomplish all that we need to accomplish without accruing more debt. Should God not provide us with the full amount, we will consider other options. Yet we know that if God wills, he is able to do more than we ask or imagine.

According to scripture the church is God’s Plan A for the world and that he has no plan B. Since the church is the people of God carrying out the mission of God. While the church is much more than the building, this building has been used for over 20 years to disciple, equip, train and send God’s people to love God, their neighbors and the world. We want to renew our building so that not only more people can be accommodated (including many non-believers!), but also so that the good work of discipling people in this place can happen another 20 years and beyond. We think that’s pretty important work.

God’s glory and adoration are central to the existence of church buildings.  The church is a visible testimony of our faith & brings glory to God, to our community & our neighbors.  Fairly or unfairly, people will make judgments about our God in relation to how we use our space.  Historically, church design always reflected the theology of the church. As such, we remain committed to this principle.

Yes! We have had many people join our community this past year, and we want to invite you to fully participate in this campaign with us! You are an integral part of our future, and hope you feel invested in this space as well. If you would like to participate, please fill out a commitment below!