On a 30-acre campus at 650 Battlefield Parkway SE in Leesburg, Virginia, Cornerstone Chapel gathers several thousand worshipers each week for contemporary music and the systematic, verse-by-verse teaching of the Bible that has defined the church since it opened its doors in 1991 with eighteen charter members. Senior Pastor Gary Hamrick has preached at Cornerstone from its first Sunday, and the congregation he now leads also supports a K-12 school, a radio broadcast heard on more than 600 stations, and a family of ministries that ranges from a pregnancy-support group called Embrace Grace to mission teams serving in places as far apart as Hungary, Haiti, and Pakistan.
The Cornerstone Story
Cornerstone Chapel was born in 1991 when eighteen charter members began meeting at Simpson Middle School in Leesburg. Within four years the new congregation was thinking long-term, purchasing thirty-two acres at auction in 1995 in anticipation of future growth. In 1997 the church bought a shopping center to convert into its first permanent home, and by the end of that year the body had moved into the building at 742 Miller Drive SE. That address would serve as Cornerstone's home for nearly two decades, with weekend services, midweek gatherings, and a growing children's ministry filling the repurposed retail space.
By 2014 the church had outgrown the Miller Drive facility, and construction started that September on the larger Battlefield Parkway campus. On November 13, 2016, Cornerstone Chapel held its first services at 650 Battlefield Parkway SE, the address the church still calls home. The new campus includes a Main Sanctuary where Sunday and Wednesday services are held, a Ministry Building that houses classrooms and youth space, an Atrium with welcome centers at the East and West Entrances, and a Café that is open before and after every Sunday service.
In May 1994 Cornerstone Chapel became affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association of Churches, the fellowship of congregations begun by Pastor Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California in 1965. The church describes the affiliation as a relationship that provides accountability and fellowship with a credible ministry while still allowing Cornerstone to remain non-denominational and self-governing. Each church in the association chooses its own pastors, elders, and deacons, and ministers are ordained by the board of members of individual congregations.
Verse-by-Verse Teaching and Contemporary Worship
The approach that has shaped Cornerstone from the beginning is set out plainly: the church exists to glorify God through the teaching and application of God's Word and through personal and corporate worship, with an emphasis on equipping believers for service inside and outside the body of Christ. On any given weekend that vision shows up in two elements - Bible teaching that walks through passages week after week, and worship that mixes current songs with older hymns.
Worship music is described as heartfelt and contemporary, drawing from a mix of new releases and familiar favorites, with no fixed style beyond a desire to make a joyful noise to the Lord. Communion is shared twice a month, once on a Sunday and once on a Wednesday, and the schedule varies. Before each Sunday service begins, believers are invited to gather in The Chapel at 7:30 am for an open prayer time that does not require sign-up.
The teaching is intentionally systematic and book-by-book. Pastor Gary works through extended series on individual books of the Old and New Testaments, often with help from assistant pastors and guest speakers. Recent series in the teaching library include a multi-week walk through Ezra, expositions of 2 Chronicles, and a study of 1 Thessalonians focused on the Second Coming of Christ. Companion study guides are available for several series, covering Genesis chapters 1-10, the Ten Commandments, Daniel, the Minor Prophets, Acts, and Revelation.
Sermons are released as audio downloads and as video on the church's website, mobile app, YouTube channel, and a podcast that is also carried on Spotify. Teachings are also broadcast through Cornerstone Connection, the church's media ministry, which airs weekdays on more than 600 radio stations across the country. In the Washington, D.C. area, Cornerstone Connection is heard at 6 p.m. weeknights on WAVA 105.1 FM and is available through the iHeartRadio app. The Online Campus, pastored by Derek Carrier, extends that reach to people across the country and around the globe, and Watch Groups give people outside the local area a way to gather around the livestream together.
Sunday and Wednesday Services
Cornerstone Chapel holds three Sunday services at 8:15 am, 10:00 am, and 12:00 pm, plus a midweek service on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. Children's Ministry is available during every Sunday and Wednesday service. The 12:00 pm Sunday service is also the gathering point for two language-access ministries: ASL interpretation is provided for the deaf and hard of hearing, and live Spanish translation is offered in the room and through the Spanish YouTube channel, Cornerstone Chapel Español.
Beginning Sunday, November 1, 2026, the first Sunday service will move from 8:15 am to 8:00 am, with the same 10:00 am and 12:00 pm services following. Children's Ministry and Middle School services will follow the same new schedule from that date forward.
First-time guests are encouraged to arrive about thirty minutes early to find a parking spot and a seat. Parking is available in onsite and offsite lots, with attendants on the entries directing traffic and signs showing which lots are full. On Sundays a shuttle also runs from Cool Spring Elementary, beginning thirty minutes before the first service and ending thirty minutes after the last service, for those who would rather not park on campus. Accessible parking is available for those with a handicap placard, and the Children's Ministry doors open twenty minutes before each service.
Once inside, greeters guide visitors in through the East or West Entrance. Welcome Centers staffed by volunteers can answer questions and help orient newcomers to the building, and the Sanctuary is entered from either end of the Atrium. There is no dress code - the congregation comes in everything from T-shirts and jeans to dresses and suits - and the Café is open before and after every Sunday service for fellowship over a bite or a coffee.
Worship services and events run on a large volunteer team, including safety and security, parking, greeting, welcome desks, ushering, Communion preparation, production (audio and video), worship, event support, facilities, registration and check-in, and Spanish translation. The main-stage worship, youth worship, and young adult worship hold auditions as needed.
Children, Middle School, High School, and Special Needs
Family ministry is one of the busiest parts of life at Cornerstone. Children's Ministry is offered during every Sunday and Wednesday service for children from newborns through fifth grade, with rooms organized by age so that lessons can be tailored to where they are developmentally. Parents can pre-register their children through the My CC portal to speed up the check-in process on the first visit, and a Children's Ministry Handbook is available as a PDF with everything a family needs to prepare. Children's Ministry doors open twenty minutes before each service.
Middle School ministry meets in the Ministry Building on Sundays at 8:15 am, 10:00 am, and 12:00 pm, and again on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. High School ministry meets in the Chapel on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm. Both student ministries schedule additional fellowship and Bible study events throughout the year, including High School Fall Life Groups that meet during the third Sunday service in the Café and walk students through a book of the Bible.
Special Needs Ministry operates during all regular Sunday and Wednesday services, with the goal of making it possible for every individual to access God's Word and participate in church life. Specialized support is tailored to each person's needs, and intake is handled through a Special Needs Intake Form available on the My CC portal. A Special Needs Handbook outlines the program in more detail.
Baby Dedications are scheduled periodically, including during the Wednesday night service, in lieu of infant baptism. Parents and their children are brought before the congregation for prayer and to make a vow to raise the child according to Scripture. Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged to simplify the process.
Young Adults, Singles, Men, and Women
Cornerstone organizes ministries around a wide range of life stages. The Young Adults ministry serves married and single adults ages 18-29 and meets for a service in the Main Sanctuary on Monday evenings at 7:00 pm, with childcare not provided. The Young Adults program also offers Monday-night Fellowship Groups that meet in the 900 Auditorium for food, fellowship, and small-group discussion before each service.
Single Adults 30+ meets quarterly for fellowship, worship, food, and community, with the Singles team available to meet with interested newcomers on the second Sunday of every month near the east entrance of the Atrium.
Men's Ministry exists to equip men in their relationships with Christ, build friendships among men, and encourage them as husbands, fathers, and employees. The annual rhythm includes a men's retreat, men's breakfasts, and a seasonal Bible study that meets weekly in the spring and fall. Friday-morning Bible studies like the Biblical Manhood series, led by Pastor Brian Shannon from 7:00 to 8:00 am in the 800 Auditorium, dig into themes such as personal purity, maturity, and stewardship.
Women's Ministry centers on studying God's Word, praying for one another, and fellowship, with regular Tuesday-morning and Tuesday-evening Bible studies during the fall and spring. Recent studies have included the Jesus Is series, which opens with corporate worship and teaching and then breaks into small groups for discussion and prayer. A Women's Prayer gathering is held on Thursday mornings from 9:00 to 10:30 am in the Ministry Room, and Widow to Widow meets monthly for encouragement, study, prayer, and worship. The annual Women's Conference draws ladies ages 14 and up for a day of teaching, with guest speakers and worship leaders invited each year.
One-on-one discipleship is offered for both men and women, with each person matched with a mature believer of the same gender who walks alongside them as they study Scripture and grow in Christ.
Koinonia Groups and the Bible Institute
Small groups, called Koinonia Groups or K-Groups, are the primary on-ramp for adults who want to build friendships at Cornerstone. K-Groups meet in homes across the area (and virtually), with each gathering including Bible study, sharing, prayer, and fellowship. A facilitator guides the discussion based on Pastor Gary's weekly message, so that small-group conversation and Sunday teaching reinforce one another. The K-Group season runs from Labor Day through Memorial Day, and many groups continue to meet socially during the summer. Hosts open their homes for meetings, facilitators guide discussion, and people can serve in either or both roles.
Ministry Groups offer more focused community for those whose needs don't fit the standard K-Group model, including support in specific life stages or circumstances. Watch Groups gather people outside the local area to watch the live stream together. Anyone interested in hosting, facilitating, or joining a group can reach out to kgroups@cornerstonechapel.net.
For a more structured path of study, the Cornerstone Chapel Bible Institute is a two-year program for adults of any age who want to be trained in the fundamentals and theology of the Christian faith for use in the ministries of the church and for personal growth. The Institute's mission is to train and mobilize servant-leaders for the work of ministry.
Baptism classes and services are offered throughout the year for anyone ready to publicly profess faith in Christ through baptism by immersion, with Cornerstone teaching that baptism is a picture of what Jesus has done for us, illustrating his death, burial, and resurrection. Cornerstone Chapel's counseling ministry supports individuals, marriages, and families within the church body, working from a scripturally grounded view of man, pain, and hope in relation to God. Christianity 101, Christianity 201, Orientation, and Evangelism classes round out the discipleship pathway, each meeting on Wednesday nights during the midweek service and streamed live on the Adult Bible Classes YouTube channel.
Cornerstone Christian Academy
Cornerstone Christian Academy, often shortened to CCA, is the church's K-12 school offering education from a biblical worldview. The academy focuses on supporting families and helping students discover and develop their unique callings. While Cornerstone Chapel itself is in Leesburg, CCA is located in Middleburg, Virginia, and operates under its own campus pastored by Tyler Hamrick with Ken Wright serving as Head of School. Families interested in enrollment can reach the admissions office at admissions@ccaguardians.net or visit ccaguardians.net for more information.
Faith in Action Locally and Around the World
Outreach at Cornerstone runs in two directions - into the neighborhoods of Loudoun County and across oceans to unreached people groups.
The US Outreach Ministry exists to be messengers of hope and good news, putting faith into action by intentionally loving those who are troubled, poor, sick, lonely, and lost. Volunteers serve in three streams:
- Community Outreach: food and supply distributions, landscaping, help moving, and transportation for congregation and community members.
- Relational Ministry: Interwoven, an adoption and fostering ministry; Safe Haven, a pregnancy-support ministry that hosts Embrace Grace, a 10-week program for young women navigating unplanned pregnancies; and Shelter, which provides meals and supplies for those experiencing homelessness.
- US Disaster Relief: teams that travel to natural disaster sites around the country to help with cleanup and rebuilding while sharing the love of Jesus.
A Benevolence fund is also available to those in need, with applications accepted through the My CC portal.
The Global Outreach Ministry partners with missionaries doing Kingdom work around the world, sends short-term mission teams, and offers opportunities to pray for the nations and encourage the church. Current Cornerstone missionaries serve in Bolivia, Israel and the Middle East, Chile, Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Washington, D.C., Pakistan, East Asia, Hungary, England, Northern Ghana, Uganda, North Africa, Guatemala, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and New Guinea, often with sending organizations like Ripe for Harvest, Word of Life, Ambassador's for Christ International, Crescent Project, Village to Village Ministries International, GO! Ministries, Shepherd's Staff Mission Facilitators, and the Uganda Counseling and Support Services. Adopting a missionary is a way for individuals, families, or K-Groups to commit to praying for and encouraging one of these workers.
ESL Classes at Cornerstone meet on Mondays from 9:30 to 11:30 am and on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, with each semester running about fourteen weeks and fees of $40 for one class per week or $60 for two. The classes are part of Cornerstone's outreach to its surrounding community and welcome adults of any background.
What Cornerstone Believes
Cornerstone Chapel's Articles of Faith are summarized on its website. The church confesses belief in one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and in Jesus Christ as God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, living a sinless life, dying a substitutionary atoning death, rising bodily, ascending into heaven, interceding for his people, and returning personally and visibly to earth.
The Holy Spirit is confessed as the one who convicts the world of sin, regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers believers, indwells every Christian, and baptizes seeking believers with power for service. The church teaches that all of Scripture is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, and the infallible rule of faith and practice.
Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: when a person repents and trusts Christ as Lord and Savior, that person is immediately born again, sealed by the Holy Spirit, forgiven, and adopted as a child of God. Cornerstone looks for the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church and the literal Second Coming of Christ. The two ordinances committed to the Church are baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, and the church practices the laying on of hands for the sending out of pastors and missionaries and the anointing of oil by the elders for the healing of the sick.
The church's statement of belief also affirms a traditional biblical view of marriage as the union of one man and one woman in a lifetime covenant, of human sexuality as expressed only within that union, of gender as established by God at creation and not subject to human alteration, and of human life as sacred from conception to its natural end.
Pastor Gary Hamrick and the Pastoral Team
Senior Pastor Gary Hamrick joined full-time ministry in 1987 as a high school youth pastor. In 1991, Cornerstone Chapel's eighteen charter members asked him to become the church's first pastor, and he has served in that role ever since. He was ordained by Pastor Chuck Smith and the Calvary Chapel Association. After initially pursuing a communications degree at American University with aspirations in broadcast journalism, he transferred schools, completed a Bachelor of Biblical Studies, and has been teaching the Bible at Cornerstone ever since - relating biblical truth to everyday life in practical, often humorous ways.
Gary married his wife Terri in 1987. They have three grown children, all of whom serve in ministry, and nine grandchildren. Terri volunteered with the Women's Ministry for many years as its director and continues in a supporting role. Pastor Gary serves on the Board of Directors of the Museum of the Bible and the Family Research Council, both in Washington, D.C., and his radio broadcast Cornerstone Connection airs weekdays across the country.
The Executive Team includes Andy Wagner (Ministries and Church Operations), Derek Carrier (Pastoral Care), Elizabeth Gordon (Human Resources and Legal), Austin Hamrick (Office of the Senior Pastor), Jimmy Mullen (Stewardship), Pam Pryor (Communications), and Marwan Rifka (Senior Advisor). Pastoral Staff pastors include Matt Denby (Global Outreach), Mike Emerson (Pastoral Care and Prayer), Mike Frick (US Outreach), Tyler Hamrick (CCA Campus Pastor), Ben Lashey (Worship), Ryan Metz (High School Youth), Jimmy O'Keefe (Pastoral Care), Barrett Phillips (Middle School Youth), Micah Reiser (Worship), Kelley Schroder (Singles and Small Groups), Brian Shannon (Men's Ministry), Mark Werner (US Outreach), and Ken Wright (Head of School, CCA). Ministry Directors lead Children's and Special Needs (Kristin Thompson), Women's (Angela Vermilion), the Cornerstone Chapel Bible Institute (Kevin Kusar), and the operations and communications teams that keep the church running.
Plan a Visit
Anyone planning to attend a service for the first time can use the online visit planner on the My CC portal to let the church know they're coming. The Plan a Visit page walks newcomers through what to expect on the way in, what to wear (anything goes), where to park, and how to find the children's check-in area. Worship music is described as a mix of current worship songs and beloved hymns, and Communion is shared twice a month.
Visitors coming from out of town will find a list of nearby hotels on the Visit page, with options in Leesburg, Ashburn, and Herndon, plus restaurant suggestions for after the service. Prayer requests can be sent to prayer@cornerstonechapel.net, and general questions can go to church@cornerstonechapel.net.
Giving, Volunteering, and Staying Connected
Cornerstone Chapel teaches that financial giving is an act of worship and a way to honor God for what he has given. Gifts can be made online through the My CC portal, the Cornerstone Chapel mobile app, or by credit, debit, or ACH on the church's giving page. Cash and checks can be placed in the offering boxes outside the Sanctuary or mailed to the church at 650 Battlefield Parkway SE, Leesburg, VA 20175. Recurring giving can be set up weekly, monthly, every two weeks, or twice a month, and gifts of stock, crypto, retirement assets, and other non-cash assets are coordinated through accounting@cornerstonechapel.net.
Volunteering is woven into almost every area of church life, from parking and greeting to children's ministry, production, and prayer. The Serve page lists current opportunities in Family Ministries, Adult Ministries, Outreach Ministries, Worship Services and Events, and Prayer, with an online inquiry form for those ready to get involved.
The My CC portal is the gateway to giving history, event registrations, family profiles, and group sign-ups. The Cornerstone Chapel mobile app is available in the App Store and on Google Play, and gives access to the teaching library, live services, upcoming events, and push notifications. The church is also active on Facebook (facebook.com/cornerstonechapel), Instagram (instagram.com/cornerstonechpl), and YouTube (youtube.com/cornerstonechpl), with separate channels and pages for men, women, young adults, high school, middle school, and children's ministries.
A Church with a Local Door and a Global Reach
From a single Sunday in 1991 with eighteen members meeting at Simpson Middle School to a multi-building campus on Battlefield Parkway with thousands of weekly worshipers, Cornerstone Chapel has grown by staying close to the same basic pattern: open the Bible, sing together, share Communion, walk with one another, and send people out. The same conviction shows up in the nursery and the missions committee, in the Young Adults service on Monday nights and the Embrace Grace pregnancy support group, in ESL classes for adults learning English and in mission teams sent to countries most church members will never visit. That pairing of a local door at 650 Battlefield Parkway SE and a global reach through Cornerstone Connection and its missionary family is what defines the church today.