What To Expect

On Main Street in Manchester, north of both downtown and Middle Turnpike, you will see a building marked “The Cornerstone Christian School” in big blue letters. Just north of that sign, there is a smaller blue sign which is the entry driveway to the church. The Church building sits behind the School building, and there are three parking lots from which to choose. Handicapped access is easiest from the first parking lot on the right.

Enter through either set of large glass doors, or the doors under the portico/drive through. There is a large, spacious lobby beyond the doors, where volunteers will answer any questions you have, point you to the restrooms (just past the left side of the lobby), show you where to hang coats, or help you find Sunday school classes, if you come early enough. There is usually coffee and snacks in the lobby, though the café closes 10 minutes before service time.

The doors into the main sanctuary are just inside each set of glass doors, so it is easy to find. The roomy sanctuary seats between five and six hundred people, so there is plenty of space. The sound is best near the middle of the room; worst under the balcony in the back.

Typically, the Worship Band will call everyone into the sanctuary with an opening song, which is followed by scripture and prayer. Then we will sing – lyrics projected on a screen, easy to follow – until it is time for family prayer. We take an offering during our services, but we encourage visitors to ignore this. The younger kids leave for children’s church most Sundays at a point about halfway through the service. We want them to hear the Word on their own level. Once the kids are gone, a message that explains how some portion of the Bible relates to our daily lives is presented. Often this is rounded out with a challenge and closing song.

If you sent kids to children’s church, or settled infants into the nursery, you’ll have to go pick them up at this point. There is usually a lot of conversation that follows the service, and you can stay around and chat for a long time, until someone starts turning off the lights.

The lobby contains a Welcome Center, where you can pick up more information about the church program, the beliefs of the church, and sign up for ongoing communication or scripture resources. We get really excited when people visit us, because we believe that God is always at work, teaching us new things and helping us to grow. And since there are visitors here every week, you’ll find we are pretty excited most of the time! We’d really like to have you visit us and see if maybe MCN is the place God has in mind for you.