COLUMBIA, S.C. — Cornerstone Fellowship's Strategic Planning Committee confirmed this week that it has completed 48 monthly meetings since its formation in April 2022, with the church's mission statement described by committee chair Warren Tillis as "close to finalized."
The 11-member committee was established by the elder board to develop a concise statement of organizational purpose following the church's 2021 capital campaign, which funded a building expansion. Tillis, 52, said the committee has approached the work with appropriate care.
"A mission statement isn't something you rush," said Tillis. "It has to reflect who we are, where we're going, and what God is calling us to. We want to get that right."
The committee's current draft mission statement, the seventh version produced since 2023, reads: "To know God, grow together, and serve our world." It is substantially similar to the fourth draft, which read: "To know God, grow in community, and make a difference." The committee voted 6-5 in January to return to the language of the fourth draft, pending further discussion.
Monthly meetings run approximately two hours and are held in Room 214 of the education wing. Minutes from each meeting are filed with the church office. The committee has requested and received seven one-year extensions from the elder board.
Tillis said he expects the final statement to be ready for congregational vote by fall.
He said the same in the fall of 2023 and the fall of 2024.
The education wing funded by the 2021 capital campaign opened in March 2023. Its lobby wall, reserved for the mission statement, currently displays a framed placeholder reading "Coming Soon."