Cornerstone Assembly of God pastor helping children become ‘warriors for Christ’
Lead Summary
By
Caitlin Forsha-crforsha@gmail.com
With a goal to helping even the youngest members of the church become “warriors for Christ,” Cornerstone Assembly of God has expanded their ministry with the addition of a children’s pastor.
Hannah Williamson was hired as children’s pastor at the church in June 2017 after her graduation from Hillsboro Christian Academy. The job was an answer to prayer, she said.
“I was actually praying, before I graduated in May, that God would bring me a ministry opportunity that I could go into and what He wanted me to do and His calling for my life,” Williamson said.
The ministry team at Cornerstone approached Williamson to see if she would be interested in applying for the position, and she was hired after an interview with pastor Mark Smith and “lots of prayer.” She has spent the past year marketing the program and building a curriculum that will help children “come to salvation.”
“I would love to see this next generation be warriors for Christ,” Williamson said. “One of my goals is to make sure when I’m teaching the kids that I’m really sharing with them the 100-percent truth of the Word, so they’ll be raised up in Christ and come to salvation and be able to live a life in pursuit of God.”
Since joining the Cornerstone staff, Williamson has been working to promote the children’s ministry program in the community through social media, a booth at the Festival of the Bells and the church’s “Saturday Blitz.”
“For Saturday Blitz, we take people out in the church van and go door-to-door inviting kids,” Williamson said.
The church van is also used to pick up interested individuals for church and will also pick up children for vacation Bible school with parental permission.
A special church service for children is offered each Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m., with Sunday school beginning at 9 a.m. Williamson started the program with no actual children in the church, but there are now 10 active members of the children’s program, which is open to kindergarten through sixth grade students.
“We set a goal for this year that we’d have 15 [or more] by the end of the year,” Williamson said. “We’re going to keep going out in the community, praying and posting ads and inviting people to our church.”
For other youngsters, the church also offers a nursery for infants and toddlers, as well as a youth group on Wednesday nights for sixth-12th grades.
The church hopes to spark an interest in even more children with the relaunch of vacation Bible school, set for July 30 through Aug. 3. Open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, this marks the first time in years that the church has offered a vacation Bible school program. Registration is still ongoing at https://cornerstoneagvbs.myanswers.com/time-lab/.
“Its theme is ‘Time Lab: Discovering Jesus from Eternity Past to Eternity Future,’ so it’s a time-travel theme,” Williamson said. “They get to experience the Bible through history throughout the week.”
Williamson also conducted a Christmas program with the children at the church last year and said she will start planning this year’s program soon.
“We’re just trying to reach the community, tell people about Jesus and bring more and more people into the church and in a relationship with God,” Williamson said.
Cornerstone Assembly of God is located at 8343 state Route 73 in Hillsboro, approximately one mile north of Lowe’s. For more information on, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/CornerstoneAOGC or call (937) 393-5188.
Hannah Williamson was hired as children’s pastor at the church in June 2017 after her graduation from Hillsboro Christian Academy. The job was an answer to prayer, she said.
“I was actually praying, before I graduated in May, that God would bring me a ministry opportunity that I could go into and what He wanted me to do and His calling for my life,” Williamson said.
The ministry team at Cornerstone approached Williamson to see if she would be interested in applying for the position, and she was hired after an interview with pastor Mark Smith and “lots of prayer.” She has spent the past year marketing the program and building a curriculum that will help children “come to salvation.”
“I would love to see this next generation be warriors for Christ,” Williamson said. “One of my goals is to make sure when I’m teaching the kids that I’m really sharing with them the 100-percent truth of the Word, so they’ll be raised up in Christ and come to salvation and be able to live a life in pursuit of God.”
Since joining the Cornerstone staff, Williamson has been working to promote the children’s ministry program in the community through social media, a booth at the Festival of the Bells and the church’s “Saturday Blitz.”
“For Saturday Blitz, we take people out in the church van and go door-to-door inviting kids,” Williamson said.
The church van is also used to pick up interested individuals for church and will also pick up children for vacation Bible school with parental permission.
A special church service for children is offered each Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m., with Sunday school beginning at 9 a.m. Williamson started the program with no actual children in the church, but there are now 10 active members of the children’s program, which is open to kindergarten through sixth grade students.
“We set a goal for this year that we’d have 15 [or more] by the end of the year,” Williamson said. “We’re going to keep going out in the community, praying and posting ads and inviting people to our church.”
For other youngsters, the church also offers a nursery for infants and toddlers, as well as a youth group on Wednesday nights for sixth-12th grades.
The church hopes to spark an interest in even more children with the relaunch of vacation Bible school, set for July 30 through Aug. 3. Open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, this marks the first time in years that the church has offered a vacation Bible school program. Registration is still ongoing at https://cornerstoneagvbs.myanswers.com/time-lab/.
“Its theme is ‘Time Lab: Discovering Jesus from Eternity Past to Eternity Future,’ so it’s a time-travel theme,” Williamson said. “They get to experience the Bible through history throughout the week.”
Williamson also conducted a Christmas program with the children at the church last year and said she will start planning this year’s program soon.
“We’re just trying to reach the community, tell people about Jesus and bring more and more people into the church and in a relationship with God,” Williamson said.
Cornerstone Assembly of God is located at 8343 state Route 73 in Hillsboro, approximately one mile north of Lowe’s. For more information on, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/CornerstoneAOGC or call (937) 393-5188.