Cornerstone Community Church

Cornerstone Community Church
房角石教会
Side entrance to church from Level 3 car park.
1°18′15″N 103°53′59″E / 1.3043044°N 103.8998393°E / 1.3043044; 103.8998393
Location 11 East Coast Road,
The Odean-Katong,
#03-01/02,
Singapore 428722
Country  Singapore
Denomination Independent
Churchmanship Pentecostal
Membership 5,000+
Website www.cscc.org.sg
History
Former name(s) Bedok Christian Centre
Status Church
Founded 1990
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) Rev. Yang Tuck Yoong

Cornerstone Community Church (Abbreviation: CSCC) (Chinese: 房角石教会) is an independent, Pentecostal church based in Singapore.[1] It is committed to global missions and has affiliate congregations in Kenya, Uganda, Myanmar, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines.[2] Established in 1990, the church is led by founder and senior pastor Rev. Yang Tuck Yoong.

History

Cornerstone Community Church, previously known as Bedok Christian Centre, was established in 1990 under the umbrella of the Anglican Church in Singapore. On January 1, 1994, it was renamed Cornerstone Community Church to better reflect the growing diversity of the congregation. On June 2, 1995, CSCC became an independent Pentecostal church to further facilitate the spiritual calling of the parishioners. In mid-2000, the church became officially affiliated with Zion Ministerial Fellowship Inc., a ministerial fellowship based in Waverly, New York, United States.[3]

Over the years, Cornerstone Community Church has grown to more than 5,000 members comprising ten congregations of various nationalities and languages. It has also set up bible schools and planted over a 100 churches in 18 different countries. In 2012, CSCC had the privilege of redeeming the iconic Bible College of Wales [4] and the Pisgah Chapel [5] in Swansea, Wales, an institution that intercessor, Rees Howells established in 1927.

Cell Groups

Cell groups are a fundamental part of Cornerstone Community Church. The purpose of the cell groups is to be a setting for relational connectedness where the love of Christ is experienced in a personal way through friendship, care, encouragement, and expressions of love and kindness. It is also a place to grow, where every believer can develop and use their God-given abilities to help others and to engage in body ministry in the most powerful way. [6]

Missions

Cornerstone Community Church believes it has been called by God to be a house of prayer and to fulfil the Great Commission.[7] Since its inception, the church has dispatched many teams overseas to proclaim the gospel. Today, CSCC has church plants in almost a dozen countries.[8]

Controversies

Views on homosexuality

Rev. Yang was in the news after an article entitled "Gay Backlash" was published in The Straits Times on July 23, 2003.[9][10]

View of church's signage from across East Coast Road.

The article summarised the different views of Christian organisations in Singapore regarding the remarks made by then-Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, in which he announced the government's openness to the employment of homosexuals, despite homosexual acts still being illegal in Singapore. The article reported that Rev. Yang, together with a group of Christians, voluntary organisations and professions, met to discuss a strategy and plan of action for Christians to tackle what they termed as a "volatile situation."

Sodomy is a sin
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Leviticus 18:22, KJV.

In September 2003, Rev. Yang issued a statement to Time magazine whereby he accused the American publication of glamourizing an illegal and condemned lifestyle in an article which reviewed the gay scene in Singapore.[11] He added that the people of Singapore have spoken up against the subject. No attestation, however, was provided by Rev. Yang with regard to this claim.

On February 24, 2008, Rev. Yang gave a sermon entitled "The Sin of Sodom" in which he called homosexuality an abomination. He argued that homosexuality is a spirit that is yet to prevail in Singapore because of official legislation, public opinion and conscience. He persuaded churches to stand up and oppose this "spirit," before Singapore is sent to the abyss in the same manner as Sodom. He also encouraged churches to be "bold" and "courageous," and to "take a stand." He lamented that a church that has lost the ability to influence and lobby society would be useless.[12]

Myanmar floods 2008

In May 2008, Rev. Yang commented in an article published in The Christian Post that he understood the 2008 Myanmar floods, caused by Cyclone Nargis, to be the "Hand of God” to teach the nations righteousness. Contrary to published sources,[13][14][15] Rev. Yang encouraged his readers to view the floods as a warning that the end “draweth nigh”.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cornerstone". CSCC.
  2. ↑ "CSCC International". CSCC.
  3. ↑ "The Cornerstone Story". CSCC.
  4. ↑ "About The Bible College of Wales". THE BIBLE COLLEGE OF WALES.
  5. ↑ "House of Prayer for Revival in All Nations". Pisgah Chapel.
  6. ↑ "Cell Groups". CSCC.
  7. ↑ "Matthew 28:18". Biblegateway.
  8. ↑ "Cell Groups". CSCC.
  9. ↑ ”Gay Backlash”, M. Nirmala, The Straits Times, 2003-07-23
  10. ↑ "Gay backlash". World-Wide Religious News.
  11. ↑ "Letters". Time. September 15, 2003. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  12. ↑ "The Sin of Sodom". Cornerstone Community Church.
  13. ↑ "Lessons of Cyclone Nargis". The Bangkok Post.
  14. ↑ "Lessons of Cyclone Nargis still need to be applied". United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
  15. ↑ "Learning from Cyclone Nargis" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme.
  16. ↑ "A Reminder of our Fragility | The Christian Post Singapore". Sg.christianpost.com. 2008-05-20. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2012-06-09.

News articles

  • "Controversy over church's "prosperity gospel"". The Straits Times (online). 2015-11-11. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  • "Church council's position on homosexuality "has not changed"". The Straits Times (online). 2017-12-25. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
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