Cornerstone Baptist Church stands at 930 Frederick Street in Cumberland, Maryland, a city tucked into the mountains where the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia meet. The church's three-line motto - Exalt the King. Expand the Kingdom. Equip the Saints. - captures a ministry that has built its identity around clear Bible teaching, family-friendly programming, and a global missions heartbeat. Families from Cumberland, LaVale, Frostburg, and surrounding communities in all three states make up the congregation.
Pastor David Hattenfield, who has served as senior pastor since July 2000, leads a pastoral team shaped around four ministry lanes: Christian Education, Worship and Discipleship, Student Ministry, and Family Life Ministries. Cornerstone describes itself as a family-friendly, Independent Baptist church that emphasizes "practical Christian living in a realistic context through personal commitment to the Lordship of Christ, and the literal interpretation of the inerrant Word of God." Its services are styled around expository preaching and live congregational worship, and the church livestreams its Sunday morning services.
Sunday Mornings Built Around Three Hours
Sunday morning at Cornerstone follows a rhythm of three identical hours, so visitors can pick the time that fits best for them. Worship begins at 8:15 am and again at 10:30 am during the school year (September through May); in the summer (June through August) the second service moves to 10:00 am. Both services are the same, with live music and a relevant, scripture-driven message.
Between the two services, Sunday School meets at 9:30 am (school year only). Classes are arranged by age and stage of life, from infants through senior adults, and run in a separate wing of rooms with a printed map that greeters hand out at the Welcome Desk. Newcomers are invited to stop there for help finding a class. Sunday School is intentionally structured to provide smaller-group prayer, community, and more in-depth Bible study than the larger worship service can offer.
Sunday Evenings and Wednesday Nights
The Sunday evening and Wednesday evening hours at Cornerstone feel closer to a family Bible institute than a single service. On Sunday at 5:40 pm, AWANA Cubbies (ages 3-5) and Kidz Life (K-5th grade) kick off the night. At 6:00 pm, Legacy Student Ministries for 6th through 12th graders and an adult evening service meet simultaneously, along with Cornerstone Connect for young adults ages 18 to 29.
Wednesday nights include Connect at 6:30 pm in the Young Adult Room, Kids Choir at 6:40 pm during the school year, and a 7:00 pm hour that gathers Children's Ministry, Legacy Student Ministries (6th-12th), and the Adult Prayer Meeting under one roof. During the summer, Kids Choir gives way to Cornerstone Kids Club, with Bible lessons, songs, snacks, and games.
Children's Ministry from Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Cornerstone's children's ministry is built around the conviction that "teaching children about God happens at home and at church." Every volunteer who works with anyone under 18 has passed a background check.
Nursery. The nursery serves newborns through age 5 during every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening service. Children are divided into age-appropriate rooms (0-2, 2-3, and 4-5), each monitored by closed-circuit cameras. Parents carry a pager that lights up and vibrates if a worker needs them. A private room is available for nursing mothers.
AWANA Cubbies. For preschoolers ages 3-5, the church runs the AWANA Cubbies program on Sunday nights at 6 pm. Under ministry leader Barb Hockman, children work through "Bear Hug" lessons that pair memory verses, Bible lessons, and crafts. AWANA's 3B philosophy - Belong, Believe, Become - shapes the program.
Kidz Life. Sunday nights at 5:40 pm gather K-5th graders for pledges, songs, a lesson, small-group handbook time, memory verses, and gym games. Special events throughout the year (whiteout nights, roller skating, holiday parties) round out the program.
Children's Church and Kids Choir. On Sunday mornings, children in K-5th grade stay with their families through worship, then are dismissed to Children's Church classes grouped by age. Kids Choir meets Wednesday nights during the school year and presents two big showcases each year at Easter and Christmas.
VBS. Vacation Bible School is a weeklong summer highlight, with a recent theme of "Home of the Brave." VBS is open to the wider community, and the church posts a recap video each year.
Legacy Student Ministries for Teens
Legacy Student Ministries serves 6th through 12th graders and is led by Pastor Adam Ansel. The ministry is built on four pillars: Belonging, Discipleship, Practical Faith, and Missions. Wednesday nights begin with a blended student-leader worship team and then move into teaching from Pastor Adam, often breaking into small groups for discussion and prayer.
Legacy meets three times a week: Sunday School at 9:30 am, Sunday nights at 6 pm, and Wednesday nights at 6:30 pm. Outside of those hours, students enjoy a winter retreat at New Life Bible Camp and outings to places like Urban Air, Tough Mudder, REVERB, and Blackwater Falls. In warmer months, the group plays 9-square and CRUD outside. Students serve by writing letters to a sponsored child, packing shoeboxes at Christmas, and helping distribute meals through a local food bank.
Each year, Legacy offers a short-term mission trip for students in 9th through 12th grade. Past trips have gone to Belize and Jamaica, and a recent mission team traveled to the Dominican Republic.
Cornerstone Connect for Young Adults
Cornerstone Connect is the church's young adult ministry for ages 18 to 29. Pastor Alex Eichhorn leads the group, which meets Wednesday nights at 6 pm in the Young Adult Room for Bible study and Sunday School at 9:30 am during the school year. The group also gathers twice a month on Friday nights: a devotional time with snacks on the first Friday, and a fun outing - bonfires, Friendsgiving, baseball games, bowling - on the third Friday. Newcomers and friends are welcome, even those who have never been to church before.
Bible Studies for Women and Men
Cornerstone runs three ongoing Bible studies plus a monthly group:
- Tuesday 6:00 am - Men's Bible Study in the Institute Room.
- Tuesday 10:00 am - Ladies Morning Bible Study in Room 18.
- Wednesday 6:30 pm - Ladies Evening Bible Study.
- Last Thursday of the month at 9:00 am - Moms Connect in the Youth Room.
The Ladies Ministry, led by Maureen Swogger, gathers women for prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and outreach. Moms Connect, run by Tina Mihailovich, is geared toward moms of school-aged children and meets with snacks, crafts, games, and teaching; childcare is provided for children 5 and younger, and evening events are scheduled twice a year to include working moms. Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, led by Rick and Barb Renotas, meets on the first Friday of each month for a shared meal, a testimony, and special music; the dinner is open to anyone in the community, not just Cornerstone attenders.
What Cornerstone Believes
Cornerstone's doctrinal statement affirms the Bible as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice, and holds to a classical evangelical Baptist confession. The church believes in one God eternally existing in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit); in the full deity and incarnation of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary; in His substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, and present intercession in Heaven; and in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit, who baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ at conversion.
The statement affirms the total depravity of man and salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ, with the security of the believer grounded in Christ's finished work. The church teaches a three-fold view of sanctification - positional, progressive, and ultimate - and calls believers to a life of separation from worldly and sinful practices. Cornerstone holds to a pre-tribulational rapture and a pre-millennial return of Christ, the bodily resurrection of all the dead, eternal life for the saved in Heaven, and eternal conscious suffering in Hell for the unsaved.
The church also identifies with the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper as the scriptural ordinances of the local church. The statement explicitly states that Cornerstone will not cooperate with or support the National or World Council of Churches or any group associated with the ecumenical movement.
Preaching and Worship Style
Each Sunday service begins with live congregational worship followed by a relevant, straightforward message from Scripture. The preaching leans toward exegetical and expository styles, working through books of the Bible passage by passage. Recent and ongoing sermon series have included expository walks through Luke, John 13-17 ("Upper Room Discourse"), Philippians, Colossians, and seasonal Advent and Easter series.
Music at Cornerstone is described as blended: a mix of traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs that involves the congregation. A "What We're Singing" Spotify playlist shares the music being prepared for upcoming services. Special services throughout the year include Family Life Sundays, Memorial Day Service, Thanksgiving Communion and Baptism Service, and Christmas Eve.
Missions Around the World and Across the Region
Missions is woven into the life of the church. Cornerstone supports a long list of international missionaries and mission organizations, including:
- Ryan and Katie Glenn and Angela Mitchener with Freedom International Ministries in the Dominican Republic
- Frederico and Lucia Álvarez Halouzkova, church planters in Cabanillas del Campo, Spain
- Ken and Carolyn Muckle, also serving in Spain with the Suanzes Church of Madrid
- Calvin Lewis and Steve and Vicki Stairs, church planters in Cape Town, South Africa
- Gedimina and Joana Laskauskas in Lithuania
- Asa and Suz Bartos in Lima, Peru
- Julio and Kristina Souza with OANSE (AWANA) Brazil
- Jennah White with Overland Missions in Angola
- Brennan and Rachel McCarthy with Operation Mobilisation
Domestically, Cornerstone partners with organizations including 1st Way Pregnancy Center, Appalachian Bible College, Children's Bible Ministry, Christian Law Association, Covenant Counseling Ministries, Ethnos 360, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Living Hope Global Ministries, Friends of Israel, New Life Bible Camp, Rural Home Missionary Association, Union Rescue Mission of Cumberland, Woodrow Kroll Ministries, the Helios Project, and World Help. The church organizes a yearly Legacy Student Ministries mission trip, past destinations have included Belize and Jamaica, and adult teams have served in the Dominican Republic.
The People Who Lead Cornerstone
Senior Pastor David Hattenfield has been at Cornerstone since 1991, when he was called as Assistant Pastor of Christian Education. He became Senior Pastor in 2000. He and his wife LoAnna live in LaVale and have three children and several grandchildren.
Pastor David Mihailovich oversees Christian Education and supports ministries like Kids Choir and Sunday School. He and his wife Tina lead Moms Connect.
Pastor David McGrew oversees Worship and Discipleship. He came to Cornerstone in 2016 after teaching at a Bible college in Pennsylvania and brings a background in Bible and music from Cedarville University and Ithaca College. He and his wife Vicki have three sons.
Pastor Adam Ansel leads Student Ministry. He spent six years as a missionary and has more than 13 years of full-time pastoral experience. He and his wife Jenny live in the area.
Pastor Alex Eichhorn leads Family Life Ministries and Cornerstone Connect. A pastoral intern, Zack Whitacre, also serves in the church, helping to lead the young married couples Sunday School class.
A Place for First-Time Visitors
Visitors to Cornerstone will find a church that has thought carefully about the experience of newcomers. The church is family-friendly and intentionally intergenerational: infants through senior adults worship together in the main services, with age-graded programming available during every gathering. Dress ranges from jeans to "Sunday best," and the church asks only that people come in whatever makes them comfortable.
Sunday morning worship services are livestreamed on YouTube, so newcomers can preview a service before visiting. Greeters welcome everyone at the door, hand out bulletins, and answer questions. A Welcome Desk helps direct visitors to Sunday School classes and children's rooms. The church also offers an online directory and event calendar through its Church Center app, available for iOS and Android, and online giving is set up through the same platform.
Behind all the programs and the building, Cornerstone Baptist Church is, at heart, a teaching church. Each Sunday the congregation gathers around the open Bible and around one another, week after week, in the mountain town of Cumberland.