Giving them food and water
www.freemethodistchurch.org 

Cornerstone is passionate about raising money to dig fresh-water wells in Africa.

“Effective Christians have to be in the world,” says Pastor Brenda Young of Cornerstone FMC (Akron, OH). “We concentrate on the church as a body. We receive empowerment here in our building. … Then we go out.”

For Cornerstone, “going out” involves a variety of ministries that offer a hand-up to the poor and downtrodden at home and abroad. The church’s compassion ministries are lay-led and reach thousands. Literally.

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March 2007’s H.A.N.D dinner. (Roll cursor over the photo to see more!)

The church regularly feeds 300 people — with food and the gospel message. (Partnering with other local churches has given them new life as well.) Cornerstone’s H.A.N.D. (Helping Anyone in Need or Distress) ministry targets seniors and poor families, providing a meal at the end of each month and sending them home with “leftovers.” Also, strategically planned give-aways during the month feed hundreds (1,000 last year alone). The church also serves as a regional headquarters for Angel Food Ministries (www.angelfoodministries.com).