A Three-Location Church in the North Sound
Cornwall Church sits on Northwest Drive in Bellingham, just north of Whatcom County's main commercial corridor, and serves the North Sound with two physical campuses plus a fully staffed online service. The Bellingham campus, led by Senior Pastor Bob Marvel, gathers on Saturday evenings and twice on Sunday mornings, and its teaching and worship are piped live to the Skagit Valley campus in Mount Vernon and to a worldwide Online Campus. The church describes itself as one church in multiple locations; the only difference at Skagit is that the message is delivered by big-screen video rather than a live speaker.
The congregation leans casual. Jeans, t-shirts, and business-casual sit side by side on a Sunday morning, and free coffee is available in the Commons. A first-time guest is not asked to wear a name tag, stand up, or sign anything; the host team simply welcomes visitors at the Information Center with a small gift.
What a Weekend Service Looks Like
A typical service runs 65 to 70 minutes. The live band usually includes guitars, drums, bass, and keys, and the music is described as engaging, relevant, and easy to understand. The teaching team aims at a single practical takeaway: the pastors want listeners to leave with something that will help them in their family, at work, and in everyday life during the week that follows.
Children have their own space at every service. Cornwall Kids, the weekend environment known as Explorers League, is offered for children from birth through fifth grade at all three Bellingham services (Saturday 5 PM, Sunday 9 AM, Sunday 11 AM) and for ages two through fifth grade at the Skagit Sunday 9 AM service. The nursery cares for babies and toddlers; preschoolers through fifth graders experience age-appropriate worship, games, and teaching.
Three Ways to Show Up
Bellingham Campus. 4518 Northwest Drive, Bellingham. Saturday 5 PM, Sunday 9 AM, Sunday 11 AM. Children's programs for birth through fifth grade at every service. Nursery and Explorers League run alongside worship.
Skagit Valley Campus. 830 N 16th Street, Mount Vernon. Sunday 9 AM. The same worship, the same teaching (delivered by video from Bellingham), and Explorers League for ages two through fifth grade.
Online Campus. The three service times from Bellingham are streamed live at 5 PM, 9 AM, and 11 AM Pacific. The Online Campus Pastor hosts pre- and post-service time, and a chat host walks each attendee through the experience. A private Facebook group connects the online community between services. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and the team can be reached at suzannes@cornwallchurch.com.
What Cornwall Believes
The church's stated mission is to help people find and follow Jesus. Its beliefs page centers on four pillars:
- God as creator and sustainer of the universe, who sent his son, Jesus Christ, to save the world.
- Jesus, who was both God and man, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified and bodily resurrected on the third day, ascended to the Father's right hand, and is coming again to claim the church.
- The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who dwells within all believers and fills them as they yield to him, given to minister to needs both inside and outside the church.
- The Bible as the inspired Word of God with divine authority.
Cornwall practices water baptism by immersion, regular celebration of communion, prayer, and anointing with oil for physical, mental, and spiritual needs, and a public altar for prayer and petition. The three anchors of the church's mission are Come & See, Community, and Go & Be, and members are encouraged toward five ongoing goals: in the Word, in gatherings, in community, bringing hope to the hurting, and in relationships.
Explorers League: Kids from Birth Through Fifth Grade
Explorers League is the church's children's ministry, designed to spark curiosity and help every child find and follow Jesus. The weekend environment is split by age: nursery and toddler care for the littlest ones, a preschool program for children from birth through pre-kindergarten, and an elementary track for kindergarten through fifth grade. The elementary experience is packed with jumping, music, learning, and laughter, and is built around helping kids follow Jesus while growing in wisdom, faith, and friendship.
Parents can register online, sign up to serve on the team, and access at-home follow-up through Parent Cue, a kids' Bible app, and the ministry's own Instagram and Facebook pages. Child dedications are scheduled at set dates at the Bellingham campus; families at the Skagit campus arrange a date directly with Skagit Campus Pastor Scott Moon.
Cornwall Youth: Middle School and High School
Cornwall operates two distinct student ministries, both called Edge on social media.
Cornwall Youth Middle School (CYMS) meets sixth through eighth graders. At the Bellingham campus, students gather on Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in The Loft on the upper level of the Bellingham building. A shorter Sunday gathering, called Sunday Edge, meets during the 11 AM service in the Auditorium and The Loft. At the Skagit campus, middle schoolers meet in The Hub on Tuesday nights from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, with a Sunday morning option from 9:00 to 10:15 AM. The program mixes large-group games, a short message, and small-group discussion. Grant McEvoy leads the Bellingham middle school ministry; Skagit students are overseen by Pastor Scott Moon.
Cornwall Youth High School (CYHS) is for grades nine through twelve. In Bellingham, high schoolers meet Sunday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in The Loft, with periodic special events called Night of Encounter and a Feast Training series. The Skagit high school group meets on Monday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in The Hub at the Mount Vernon campus. High School Pastor Luke Diamond leads the Bellingham side, again with Scott Moon overseeing Skagit.
Both ministries welcome student leaders through their respective volunteer teams and run their own Instagram and Facebook channels.
Young Adults: The Gathering
Cornwall Young Adults, branded as CYA, is a community for adults roughly 18 to 28. Its weekly gathering, The Gathering, meets on Thursday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in The Loft at the Bellingham campus. Each season centers on a teaching series, a recent run of worship nights, and outreach opportunities such as the monthly Worship + Waternight, where the group goes out into the community after a time of worship and fellowship. Karen Halldorson directs the ministry, and students can follow along on Instagram or through a Linktree.
Small Groups Around the Table
Small groups are the primary way Cornwall pursues ongoing community outside of weekend services. Groups run in three sessions each year (fall, winter, and spring), each lasting roughly six to ten weeks, with a break over the summer. A typical group includes eight to fourteen people who gather in homes, coffee shops, or online, sometimes in a hybrid format. Most groups are sermon-based and cluster around a shared stage or season of life, and groups occasionally set the sermon aside for a focused study that fits the group's needs. Steve Osborne oversees the Bellingham network with Bonnie Haas; Scott Moon and Suzie Farrar handle the Skagit side. Sign-ups open three weeks before each new session.
The Healing Network
Cornwall's Healing Network is a collection of Christ-centered recovery groups for people walking through grief, separation, and other hard places. The two flagship offerings are GriefShare and DivorceCare, both structured as 13-week programs that meet on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM and are closed to new members after the seventh week to protect the intimacy and confidentiality of the group. Sessions run twice a year, beginning in January and again in September, and use the official GriefShare and DivorceCare workbooks from Church Initiative ($20 per workbook). Cynthia Cavanaugh oversees the Healing Network.
A second long-term offering, Freedom Session, is a healing-discipleship journey that uses biblical teaching, small-group discussion, and personal reflection to address trauma, failure, and disappointment. It runs for the full academic year, October through May, on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 PM in Room 202 at the Bellingham campus, with separate small groups for men and women. The three-workbook set costs $70.
Thrive: Women's Community Bible Study
Thrive is Cornwall's women's ministry. Its anchor program is a weekly community Bible study that meets on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in the Commons. Each study runs an eight-week arc with a workbook; recent studies have walked through the lives of the kings of Judah and the lives of the patriarchs, taught by Cynthia Cavanaugh with weekly teaching from Linda Aafedt. No childcare is provided for the study itself. The women's ministry also organizes an annual Thrive Women's Weekend Retreat and connects through community-life events and the MomCo program described below.
MomCo: A Place for Moms
MomCo (formerly MOPS) is Cornwall's mothers' group, run under the umbrella of MOPS International. Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month, September through May, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in the Commons at the Bellingham campus. The format is buffet-style breakfast, table discussion, a speaker, and a creative activity, and childcare is provided for children from nine months through five years of age. The program is designed to walk alongside moms from the infant years all the way through high school graduation, recognizing that the need for community does not end when children start school.
Pre-Marriage and Marriage
Cornwall's pre-marriage ministry pairs engaged couples with a mentor couple for guided sessions covering communication, conflict, finances, faith, and other foundational topics. Couples complete a personalized PREPARE|ENRICH assessment before meeting with their mentors. The annual marriage retreat gathers couples at Cedar Springs Christian Retreat Center in Sumas, Washington, for a fall weekend of teaching, fireside time, garden walks, and unhurried conversation. Couples at any stage of marriage are welcome. Pre-marriage inquiries go to bonnie.haas@cornwallchurch.com.
Bright Discoveries Preschool
During the week, the Bellingham building houses Bright Discoveries Preschool, a 4-year-old Pre-K program that meets Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00 AM to noon. The classroom blends hands-on play, music, theme-based crafts, and class performances with a structured, kindergarten-ready academic framework in a God-centered environment. Tuition is $195 per month; registration goes through the church office at (360) 733-2150, extension 3050.
Go & Be: Local Outreach and Global Trips
Cornwall organizes its outreach under the banner Go & Be, with two streams. Locally, the church partners with Whatcom and Skagit County organizations to form relationships and serve alongside them. Globally, Cornwall sends short-term teams each year to international partner ministries, with trips designed both to meet physical and spiritual needs in the host community and to foster spiritual growth and healthier relationships in the team that goes. Mike Ford leads the local and global outreach ministry.
Child Dedications and Baptism
Parents can dedicate infants and young children at scheduled Bellingham events several times each year, with a parallel process at the Skagit campus arranged directly through Scott Moon. Cornwall treats dedications as a partnership between the family and the church, with the Explorers League team walking alongside parents as they raise their child to follow Jesus.
Baptism is held as a public, celebratory next step for anyone who has decided to follow Jesus. Cornwall practices water baptism by immersion. The four-step process starts with a brief video from Pastor Bob, moves through a registration form, a personal contact from a staff member, and concludes with the baptism itself at a regular weekend service. Baptism events are held at both campuses, with combined celebration services several times a year.
Leadership and Eldership
Pastor Bob Marvel has served as Senior Pastor long enough to celebrate a 25th-anniversary message series. He is supported by an Executive Pastor (Jeff Shaw, who also sits on the elder board), an Associate Pastor (Steve Osborne), a Discipleship Pastor (Dustin Reimer), a Go & Be Pastor (Mike Ford), a Campus Operations and Children's Ministry Pastor (Mike Libolt), a High School Pastor (Luke Diamond), a Middle School Pastor (Grant McEvoy), and a Skagit Campus Pastor (Scott Moon). The teaching team also includes Cynthia Cavanaugh, who preaches periodically, and occasional guest speakers such as Pastor Bryon Mengle, Pastor Kip McCormick, and visiting teachers.
Cornwall is governed in part by an elder board chaired by Phyllis Kramer, with Jeff Savage as vice chair, Dawn Urness as secretary, and additional elders including Rob Wurm, Jeff Shaw, Bob Marvel, Chantel Miller, Adam Bieghler, and Joe Belleme. Pastoral elders include Bob Marvel and Jeff Shaw.
Sermons and Online Resources
Cornwall's sermon archive runs back more than a decade and includes book studies through John, Colossians, Psalms, Joshua, and 1 & 2 Kings, alongside topical series on prayer, money, marriage, fasting, and the attributes of God. Recent standalone messages include Blind Faith, Forgive As, and One Church, One Location. Services are livestreamed on the church's online campus, and recordings are posted to YouTube and Vimeo, with audio available on SoundCloud. Each message typically comes with notes and discussion questions for small groups.
How to Get Connected
Visitors who want to take a first next step are invited to Belong Brunch, a light meal and brief welcome from Pastor Bob that meets after weekend services several times a year. From there, the church maps a clear path through baptism, small groups, serving, and a disciple-making rhythm that emphasizes being in the Word, in community, and on mission. A private online Facebook group supports the Online Campus community, and a prayer request line is open to anyone who would like the pastoral team to pray for them.
Giving and the Building
Cornwall encourages tithing as a worship practice and offers several ways to give: online through Pushpay (with a separate giving page for each campus), by texting the word CORNWALL to 77977, or by check mailed to the Bellingham address. Recurring gifts can be set up as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly transfers, and contribution statements are mailed for tax purposes. The church's overall vision is to glorify God by altering the spiritual landscape, one life at a time, through Jesus, and the building itself is designed to support that vision with a worship center, a Commons, classrooms including Room 202, The Loft for students, and The Hub at the Skagit campus for youth and adult ministry.