Baptism, Event, News | by Pastor Randy Lundy

Mark your calendars – our 6th annual celebration of BBQ & Baptisms is less than a month away! You are invited to join us on Thursday, Sept 1st, as we celebrate the redemptive stories of those who will be baptized in the name of Jesus, our Savior and our King! It’s going to be awesome.

On behalf of all the pastors and leaders, I want to personally encourage all of us to make this night the crescendo, the climax, the highlight of our summer! What could Jesus do through literally hundreds of people coming together to celebrate the gospel through physical baptisms and testimonies telling of the immeasurable worth and greatness of our Jesus – all smack-dab in the middle of Seattle’s most heavily-trafficked, stunning waterfront park? We’re praying BIG. Please join us.

WHY DO WE DO BAPTISMS?

The short answer – because Jesus wants all Christians to be baptized (Matt 28:19).

But it’s more than that. Baptism is one of the primary means by which we experience our new life in Christ. In baptism we physically identify with Jesus in his death (being immersed under water) and his resurrection to new life (being brought out of the water) for the forgiveness of sin (Rom 6:1-10; Col 2:12). It is an outward symbolic act that demonstrates the inward reality of what God has accomplished on the cross through His Son. In so doing, we are identifying ourselves with Jesus (Acts 10:48; Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27), the universal church (1 Cor 12:13), and the local church (Acts 2:41). It’s about getting dunked, yes. Following Jesus’ command, yes. But more than that? Oh YES! The gospel realities in play in baptism are almost impossible to overstate.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE THIS NIGHT AMAZING?

#1 We need to pray. For baptisms, for relational encounters, for providential conversations, for spiritual fruitfulness. For there to be an over-abundance of food, laughter, and fun. Jesus reminds us that “we do not have, because we do not ask” (Matt 7:7, Ja 4:2). Let’s ask him for everything that would make this night special and memorable.

#2 If you have not been baptized, this night is for you! Believe me, it’s awesome. And your step of faith will bring joy and fruit in ways you can’t even anticipate – in your life, in the life of our church, and the city that we love. Join us for the class this Sunday to learn more about getting baptized (more info below).

#3 If you would like to serve the church by helping with set up, tear down, or grilling for this event please sign up for a role here! Use your time or resources to serve Jesus and the church in this way, and make it something especially delicious and fun, just because you can. And just because Jesus is that good.

#4 Invite friends, coworkers, neighbors, carpool buddies, everyone you can think of! Spread the word, and let people know something’s really going down at Myrtle Edwards on Sept 1. The website is updated with the most current information, so you can direct people there as you’re extending the invitation to others.

#5 Finally, come worshipful and anticipating a spiritual and physical feast together. We are a family, and God is our Father. He loves to give good gifts to his kids (Matt 7:11). Let’s come anticipating a feast of his goodness together – in truth, in grace, in friendship. And lots and lots of ground beef and hotdogs. It’s grace upon grace, my friends.

WHAT IF I WANT TO BE BAPTIZED (OR LEARN MORE)?

We will be holding a Baptism Class this Sunday between the first and second gatherings (10:30-11:15am). If you have not been baptized as a follower of Jesus, please come and attend, learn more, and consider this step of faith and obedience to Jesus in your life. We’ll meet in the MPR room downstairs. This class is required for anyone who would like to be baptized at BBQ & Baptisms on Sept 1st.

[Update] If you are interested in being baptized or learning more, you can read more and sign up here! And as always, please feel free to email us at if you need any additional information or have any questions.

HERE WE GO!!

Sept 1st. Myrtle Edwards Park. It’s happening. Let’s come ready to enjoy one another, enjoy Jesus’ grace, and enjoy this beautiful city that he’s given to us. See you at BBQ & Baptisms, friends!

All grace,
Pastor Randy

Community, Uncategorized

This month, we launched a fourth community in Queen Anne! Garrett McGuire will be leading the new community, so we asked him to answer a few questions about Queen Anne West:

Our hope for Queen Anne West is that it’s a place the Lord meets with us each week and we get a lot of Jesus. We want to do life really deeply with each other; to do relationships in a way that is constantly encouraging each other in our sanctification and taking our holiness really seriously. We would love prayer for God’s favor on us. For His favor in our relationships with each other growing in depth, and also taking those roots and growing in our missional relationships. Whitney and I would also love prayer that community has favor on us in our shortcomings, especially in these early days. If you’re interested in joining us on Wednesday evenings, reach out to ! 

About Cornerstone Communities:

Downtown Cornerstone is a community of communities scattered throughout the city, declaring and displaying the gospel of Jesus Christ in relationship to each other and the city. These are communities of diverse, imperfect people that are committed to living out the implications of the gospel in every sphere of life. These are communities of radical grace, sacrificial service, and joy. These area communities that eat together, pray together, laugh together, and study the Bible together – in essence, share life. These are communities that build up the church by encouraging people to faith in Jesus Christ and build up the city through deeds of justice and mercy. These are communities where you can be who God created you to be, yourself. It’s our hope and prayer that everyone who calls Downtown Cornerstone home will find a community like this.

If you are not currently participating with a DCC Community and would like to be involved with Queen Anne West or another community, email .

City Life, News | by Pastor David Parker

Downtown Cornerstone,

This Sunday we spent some time talking and praying about the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the slaying of five officers in retaliation, and the violence that has opened up the hearts and wounds of many. I have been deeply moved by the events that have taken place, and believe that we would be remiss if we did not take time to consider how we can and should respond.

The issues of race, cultural bias, and racial injustice are complex and difficult. These issues are also real and affect every one of us as a church family (whether we realize it or not). For some of us, especially if we are white, the issues of racial injustice may feel confusing, or, easy to dismiss or rationalize. But if we are to be a people who are a gospel people, we cannot ignore this issue.

If we seek to love our city and desire to bring the Gospel to bear in the lives of those around us, we need to care about justice and the issues in front of us. Ultimately all issues of racial injustice are gospel issues. In Matthew 25, Jesus reminds us that when we minister to the marginalized, we are ultimately ministering to Jesus. And inversely if we ignore issues of injustice and those marginalized, we ignore the very heart of God.

Our righteousness is not evaluated by our deeds, but God calls us to faithfully respond when injustice is placed in front of us. With that in mind, I have three encouragements for how we can respond:

WE NEED TO WEEP WITH THOSE WHO WEEP

If we are to care, we need to weep with those who weep, and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). We can weep together because the Gospel reminds us that we are all people who are in need of redemption and who long for restoration.

If you are a black brother or sister, we mourn with you for the injustices that have happened and continue to happen in our country. Even more, our Savior mourns with you because through His life and the cross, He perfectly understands what it’s like to face injustice, suffering, racial tension, being wrongfully treated, abused, and ultimately wrongfully killed. We weep with you now and remember that one day He will wipe away every tear, every injustice, every longing of our hearts and souls, and He will make all things new.

WE NEED TO LISTEN AND LEARN

If we are to care, we need to listen and learn. We need to seek to understand what it’s like to view life through the eyes of our black brothers and sisters in this city. We need to proactively ask questions and have a posture of heart that is open to having our presuppositions challenged. Most of all, we need to learn about how God feels about these issues and let our hearts be broken by what breaks His heart.

WE NEED TO PRAY AND SPEAK OUT

We need to pray and speak out. If we see life that is not in step with the gospel, we need to be a people who are moved by the gospel to action. Proverbs 31:9 says, “Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” We need to be bold and unafraid of sharing how Jesus has created each of us with equal dignity, value, and worth. We need to be wiling to have hard or awkward conversations that confront racism. And most importantly, we need to remember that Jesus went to the cross to ultimately bear the weight of racism, injustice, and sin.

We live in a world full of brokenness that can feel overwhelming, but I believe that God is calling us to consider how we can adorn the beauty of the Gospel in all of life. We need to seek justice where we can, in our given area of influence, and more than anything, we need to proclaim the name of Jesus as the only one who can ultimately heal this brokenness.

Friends, as we pray into this issue, especially in our city, let’s ask God to give us humble hearts that are willing to learn, to make us a people who are able to empathize, and to make us a church that is able to speak out in appropriate ways, so that Jesus would be made to look as good as He is.

For the Glory of our King,
Pastor David