On a quiet stretch of Winifred Street in Simi Valley, the people of Cornerstone Community Church describe themselves in plain words: a multi-ethnic, multi-generational community of disciples who are learning from Jesus, trusting Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and helping others do the same. Two Sunday-morning services - one in English, one in Spanish - fill the main sanctuary and the multipurpose room, and a full slate of midweek gatherings runs across the church's two adjacent buildings on Winifred and Valley Fair. What holds the calendar together is a confident statement of faith, an elder-led form of government, and a steady rhythm of discipleship that begins in the nursery and stretches across the oceans to missionary partners in the Middle East, Latin America, Papua New Guinea, Japan, and Eastern Europe.
What Cornerstone Believes
Cornerstone describes itself as non-denominational, but its teaching and confession are carefully Reformed and evangelical. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are recognized as the inspired, inerrant Word of God, the supreme and final authority for Christian faith and life. God is one in three co-equal Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who created all things out of nothing, sustains all things by the word of his power, and is now gathering a redeemed people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Salvation, the elders teach, is the work of the triune God from beginning to end. The Father chose his people before the foundation of the world, the Son lived, died, and rose again as their substitute, and the Holy Spirit regenerates those who were dead in sin and brings them to faith and repentance. Cornerstone holds to the perseverance of the saints, teaches a premillennial view of Christ's return, and expects the consummation of the kingdom in a renewed heavens and earth.
The church recognizes two ordinances, or sacraments, given by Christ: believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is ordinarily by immersion but may also be administered by pouring or sprinkling. The Lord's Supper is celebrated as a meaningful remembrance and spiritual communion with the risen Christ, and is open to any baptized believer in good standing. Members are asked to affirm a doctrinal statement that walks through Scripture, the Trinity, creation, humanity, salvation, the church, and last things in detail.
Sundays at Cornerstone
Cornerstone meets for worship each Sunday at 10:00 AM in the main sanctuary on Winifred Street. A Spanish-language service called Cornerstone en Español gathers at the same hour in the MPR (multipurpose room) of the same building, led by Pastor José Luis Amézquita. The two congregations come together several times a year for bilingual unity services, including the Good Friday gathering during Passion Week.
Nursery and Sunday School classes for children from birth through fifth grade run at the same 10:00 AM hour, with check-in opening at 9:40 AM at the Children's Ministry window. Parents can pick a Sunday to visit the children's area and see how a typical morning flows for their kids. On holidays like Easter Sunday, the children stay in the service with their parents, and two identical Easter services are offered at 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM.
For those unable to attend in person, the 10:00 AM service is livestreamed on YouTube, and recordings of recent messages are uploaded to the channel each Sunday afternoon. Sermon slides from each week's message are posted online in English and Spanish, and the full audio and video archive stretches back several years and can be searched by book of the Bible, topic, speaker, or series.
The People in the Pews
Cornerstone is led by a team of nine elders who share the oversight of the church. Todd Nighswonger serves as Elder and Lead Pastor, with Mike Steinwender as Elder and Executive Pastor, Christian Burkhardt as Elder and Equipping Pastor, and José Luis Amézquita as Elder and the pastor of both the Worship Ministry and Cornerstone en Español. Five additional elders - Steve Anderson, Charles Hogan, Bob Kreycik, Dan Lovejoy, and Jon Reid - round out the team. Six deacons - Jenn Burkhardt, Tom Chambers, Mike Garon, Pam Gross, Keri Reid, and Josh Zerhusen - support the work of ministry and service. In keeping with the church's reading of Scripture, the office of elder is reserved for biblically qualified men, while the office of deacon is open to both men and women.
The congregation is, in the church's own description, multi-ethnic and multi-generational. The English and Spanish services, the range of ministries from preschool to senior adults, and a steady stream of family-oriented events all reflect a community that takes seriously the promise that the gospel gathers a people from every nation.
Cornerstone en Español
The Spanish-language ministry is a full partner in the life of the church rather than a translation booth in the back. Called Cornerstone en Español, the ministry operates its own service, discipleship, music, and family life. Pastor José Luis Amézquita preaches and teaches in Spanish at the 10:00 AM Sunday gathering in the MPR. Doctrinal resources, membership information, and Bible study group listings are all available in Spanish online.
The church's full doctrinal statement has been translated into Spanish, and a Spanish edition of the weekly sermon slides is posted alongside the English version. The two congregations gather together several times a year for bilingual services such as the Good Friday Unity Service during Passion Week, which brings the whole church under one roof to remember Christ's death together.
Children's Ministry
Cornerstone's Children's Ministry serves families with children from nursery through fifth grade on Sunday mornings at 10:00 AM. The ministry's stated aim is to come alongside parents by providing resources, training, and encouragement while giving children an age-appropriate setting for biblical teaching, relationship-building, worship, and service. The ministry describes its approach in three movements: Connect, by inviting children into the transforming work of Jesus; Commit, by teaching them the character of God, what it looks like to live by faith, and what it means to be a disciple who makes disciples; and Call, by helping children discover their God-given gifts and use them to make much of Christ.
Check-in for nursery and Sunday School begins at 9:40 AM at the Children's Ministry window. The ministry encourages parents to pick a Sunday to come and observe how their child experiences a typical morning. Permission and consent forms for children and youth ministry leaders are available online, and all adults who regularly serve with minors are required to complete fingerprinting and mandated reporter training.
Student Ministries
Middle school and high school students each have their own weekly gathering. Impact, the middle school ministry for students in grades 6 through 8, meets on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the South MPR on Valley Fair Street. Impact is described as a space where students can ask big questions, build meaningful friendships, and have a lot of fun, with games, teaching, and small group discussions led by caring adult leaders.
The Rock is the high school ministry for students in grades 9 through 12. It meets on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the main MPR on Winifred Street. The Rock invites high schoolers into a community where they can explore their faith, serve others, and prepare for life beyond graduation. Summer trips, retreats, and an annual Impact Summer Camp give students additional opportunities to grow together.
Both ministries rely on a team of small group leaders, co-leaders, and one-time volunteers. Membership at Cornerstone is required for ongoing small group leaders, and all adult leaders who work with students complete fingerprinting and mandated reporter training.
Haven: Young Adults
Haven is Cornerstone's ministry for young adults ages 18 to 24. Its mission is to create a formational environment for young adults to encounter Jesus and mirror his heart through connection to God, to one another, and to the larger local church. The ministry exists to help students transition out of the student ministry phase and into the fuller life of the church.
Haven gathers weekly on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at various locations around Simi Valley and the surrounding area.
Worship Ministry
The Worship Ministry serves the church by providing a gospel-focused musical worship experience that motivates the congregation to worship God in spirit and truth. The weekly set list is posted online each week, with the playlist updated to reflect the upcoming Sunday's songs. A Spotify playlist of recent worship songs is also available, along with a separate playlist of classic VBS songs that the church occasionally revisits.
Worship team musicians - worship leaders, piano players, rhythm and acoustic guitar players, and singers - rehearse on Sunday mornings at 6:50 AM. An Audio/Visual team serves the church by mixing front-of-house and livestream audio, operating cameras, directing, running slides, and controlling the lights. Both teams are looking for musicians and technicians willing to commit at least one Sunday a month.
Care Ministry
The Care Ministry is designed to meet a wide range of needs inside the church and in the broader community. The team offers assistance with financial needs, hospital visitations, funerals, outreach to the homeless, and one-on-one spiritual care and biblical counseling.
Spiritual care is offered to the church body on topics that include premarital preparation, financial counseling, marriage counseling, and individual care, all rooted in Scripture as the sufficient authority for the issues of life. The prayer team serves on Sunday mornings, positioning themselves outside the prayer room toward the end of the service to pray with anyone who has a need. A funeral and memorial team sets up, serves, and cleans up a light reception in the lobby to give grieving families a stress-free celebration of their loved one's life.
GriefShare, a national grief support program, meets on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 PM in Room 11/12 during its fall session, with a special Surviving the Holidays meeting in mid-December. Embracing the Journey, a fellowship group for widows, meets once a month for encouragement, support, social activities, and Bible study.
Imago Dei Disability Ministry
Imago Dei is Cornerstone's ministry to people with disabilities and their families. The name comes from the Latin term for the image of God, a theological phrase the church uses to ground its conviction that every human being - regardless of capacity - bears the image of the triune God. As the church's doctrinal statement puts it, the poorest functioning human profoundly reflects God's image.
Imago Dei provides adapted Sunday school lessons and a classroom curriculum for what the ministry calls its Cornerstone VIPs - the Very Important People. Older students meet at the worship center and spend time after the service discussing the scripture and message taught from the pulpit, under the care of a long-time volunteer. A lending library for children and adults is available across ages and capacities, and the ministry works to support each family as needs arise.
Local Outreach
Cornerstone's Local Outreach Ministry connects the church with organizations and opportunities in Simi Valley and Ventura County. The church maintains strategic partnerships in several domains: schools, public health and safety, parks and recreation, the homeless and needy, youth and family, foster care, and more.
Real Options Women's Clinic is a licensed medical clinic offering free pregnancy testing, ultrasound examinations, STD testing and treatment, and other related services in a confidential setting. Forever Found works to stop the exploitation of children through both local county support and the rescue and restoration of children in India, with awareness and survivor support available in Ventura County. Joni and Friends trains and disciples people affected by disabilities to exercise their gifts of leadership and service in their churches and communities.
Global Missions
Global Missions is one of the most developed expressions of the church's outward-facing life. The ministry organizes its work around five verbs: Pray, Mobilize, Send, Support, and Care. The church commits regular time to praying for its missionary partners, focuses the congregation's attention on the needs of unreached people groups, sends and financially supports individuals and families, and provides care for missionaries through home front teams.
Global Missionary Prayer Nights gather quarterly on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Main Sanctuary. Attendees meet and hear from several of Cornerstone's missionary partners, learn where they serve, and pray for real needs and real people. The church's current missionary partners include Khader and Stevie Ghanim, who lead Seeds of Hope in Jericho in the West Bank; Equipping Churches International in Latin America; Tim and Courtney Shontere, planting an indigenous church among the YembiYembi tribe of Papua New Guinea; Matt and Mai Higby, who joined a church-planting team in Osaka with Encompass World Partners; Allana Drianis, preparing to join the Osaka team; and additional partners in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Romania, and Poland. In the United States, Tim and Heather Hardy serve with an international mission reaching into the Islamic community.
Groups and Classes
Discipleship at Cornerstone is anchored in a church-wide Bible reading plan that runs in seasonal arcs, with paper copies available at the Connect Table in the lobby. Bible Discovery Groups meet weekly across the valley to discuss the readings together. Current group times include Sunday evenings at 5:00 PM (men only) and 6:00 PM in Room 10; Monday evenings at 6:30 PM in Thousand Oaks; Tuesday afternoons in a Simi Valley home; Wednesday mornings at 9:00 AM in the South MPR for women, with additional Wednesday evening groups in homes and rooms around the church; and Thursday evenings at 6:00 PM in Room 10.
Other regular groups include a Wednesday-evening men's study called Sexual Sanity for Men; Flourish for Women, a monthly gathering offered on either Friday evening or Saturday morning so women can pick the time that fits their week; and a Men's Gathering offered in two formats, Friday evening or Saturday morning, that covers the same content.
Membership, Baptism, and Next Steps
Membership at Cornerstone is framed as the commitment to being a disciple and making disciples, in partnership with the other members and elders. A membership page walks interested newcomers through the process, and quarterly all-member dinners provide time to share a meal, take the Lord's Supper together, hear church updates, and celebrate what God is doing in the life of the congregation.
Baptism is taught as the first act of obedience for new believers and a public declaration of faith. The baptism page lays out the visible symbols and the invisible realities they represent: union with Christ in his death and resurrection, identification with the triune God, cleansing from sin, rescue from judgment, the outpouring of the Spirit, and entrance into the new covenant community. The church practices believer's baptism, ordinarily by immersion. Those interested in baptism are encouraged to email the church office.
Serving and Getting Connected
Cornerstone teaches that, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, every member is invited to use their gifts to build up the body. A long list of ministry opportunities is posted on the church's Serve page, ranging from greeting at the door and helping with children's classes to running the audio for student ministry, joining the security and emergency response team, or serving on the prayer team. First-time volunteers are asked to call the church office to set up an appointment for a live scan before beginning to serve.
Visitors and newcomers are encouraged to fill out the church's Connect Card online, and a separate prayer request form is available for anyone who would like the elders, pastors, or prayer team to lift up a specific need. The church also maintains an all-church newsletter with updates on life at Cornerstone.
Practical Details
The main building sits at 2080 Winifred Street in Simi Valley, with the South MPR and additional parking lot across the way at 4364 Valley Fair Street. Office hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 to 4:00 PM. The church phone number is (805) 581-9532, and the general email address is info@cornerstonesimi.com. Separate email addresses are available for the Spanish ministry, the children's ministry, the student ministry, the young adult ministry, the global missions team, and the care ministry.
The church livestreams its 10:00 AM Sunday service on YouTube. Giving is available online, and a separate page allows newcomers to plan a visit. The full doctrinal statement, both in summary and in its expanded form, is available online in English and Spanish.