About

Treasurer

Eileen Lee

Who We Are

Cornerstone Magazine Inc (CMI) was incorporated in the State of Florida on March 14, 2016. CMI is organized exclusively for religious, charitable and educational purposes, as a not for profit corporation within the ambit of §617 of the laws of Florida. More specifically, CMI is to promote, organize, publish and manage religious magazines among Christians gathering in local churches or assemblies in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for teaching and expositing the Bible which is the Word of God, for building up the body of Christ and the edification of individual Christians, for the spread of the Gospel of Christ and for to carry out related activities and purposes as determined by the Board of Directors consistent with the Corporation’s not for profit religious purpose.

No part of the net earnings of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of or be distributable to its members, directors, officers or other private persons, and that the Corporation shall not attempt to influence any legislation, shall not participate in any political campaign or shall not intervene on behalf or opposition of any candidate for public office.

Our Purpose

CMI provides a forum, both in the form of a printed magazine or in electronic format through the internet for the exposition of the Bible, its teachings and the spread of the Gospel of Christ, and for providing some publicity of the affairs and activities of independent local churches or assemblies unaffiliated to any central organization.   Although at the early stages, CMI plans to publish its Cornerstone magazine bi-monthly or six issues in a year, it is the hope that this will develop and grow into a monthly publication as CMI gains traction and readership.

Cornerstone Magazine will be distributed free of charge to all interested persons who cares to subscribe to it.  Although distributed free, it costs money to produce and distribute the magazines.  To defray for expenses, CMI is dependent on free will donations or offerings from interested Christians or local churches or assemblies.  The Christian groups who could be expected to support such a magazine as Cornerstone, are primarily fundamental evangelical Christians.

The activities of CMI are carried out on a volunteer basis, thereby reducing the costs of production and distribution.   No subscription fee is required though free will donations are welcome.  Honorariums are provided to editorial staff that are generally modest in quantum if judged by the standards of the world at large.  See Pro forma Financial Statement in Part IX of this Addendum (which corresponds to Part IX of Form 1023).  General account statements of CMI will be made public in its magazine from time to time so as to promote transparency in regard to its financial affairs.

The aim of CMI is to provide Bible teachings and exposition of the highest quality, for the encouragement and building up of the faith of Christians, and to provide a small forum for publicity of the activities and affairs of various Christian local churches or assemblies of the Plymouth Brethren persuasion.    CMI’s Cornerstone magazines are open to the public in general though its appeal would be, as can be expected, to fundamental evangelical Christians particularly Christians of the Plymouth Brethren background.

CMI is clearly not a church and holds no meetings whatever.  Its volunteers are drawn from across the spectrum of various independent local churches that are generally unaffiliated to any established denominations.  These churches or assemblies of Christians are generally small and based in various localities all over America and elsewhere in the world.  These churches are generally governed by their own recognized elders with no central hierarchy, authority or administration within each church or between the churches.   It is believed by the Board of Directors of CMI that its Cornerstone Magazine will meet a certain need among small fundamental churches especially in remote areas all over the country and the world that  generally go unnoticed and are underserved

CMI is operated and managed by volunteers.  There is no paid employee, officer or board member. The basis of service is voluntary and no compensation is accorded to any officer, director or agent for servicing CMI as an officer, director or corporate agent.   Modest honorariums or payments for editorial staff and other services to operate CMI are accorded upon approval by the board of directors in compliance with CMI’s Bylaws and conflicts of interest policy.  See the Financial Statement for projected amounts in Part IX of this Addendum.  Reimbursements of incurred expenses are likewise subject to approval of the board of directors in compliance with CMI’s bylaws and Conflicts of Interest Policy.  See attached Bylaws of CMI, Article III, Sections 1, 11 and Appendix A in Exhibit II and pages 5 & 6 of this Addendum.

Copyright

CORNERSTONE magazine is copyrighted only to preserve the integrity of the material. All rights reserved. Articles may be translated into other languages and used in English periodicals, provided no changes are made to the sense of the article, while showing a credit line “— CORNERSTONE MAGAZINE”. Sorry, unsolicited manuscripts cannot be acknowledged or returned. Printed in USA. 

Conflict of Interest Policy

The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to protect Cornerstone Magazine Inc’s (Corporation) interest when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the Corporation or might result in a possible excess benefit transaction. This policy is intended to supplement but not replace any applicable state and federal laws governing conflict of interest applicable to nonprofit and charitable corporations.

1. Interested Person Any director, principal officer, or member of a committee with governing board delegated powers, who has a direct or indirect financial interest, as defined below, is an interested person.
2. Financial Interest A person has a financial interest if the person has, directly or indirectly, through business, investment, or family:
3. An ownership or investment interest in any entity with which the Corporation has a transaction or arrangement, b. A compensation arrangement with the Corporation or with any entity or individual with which the Corporation has a transaction or arrangement, or
4. A potential ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, any entity or individual with which the Corporation is negotiating a transaction or arrangement.Compensation includes direct and indirect remuneration as well as gifts or favors that are not insubstantial.

A financial interest is not necessarily a conflict of interest. Under Article III, Section 2, a person who has a financial interest may have a conflict of interest only if the Board of Directors or appropriate committee decides that a conflict of interest exists.

1. Duty to Disclose In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial interest and be given the opportunity to disclose all material facts to the directors and members of committees with governing board delegated powers considering the proposed transaction or arrangement.
2. Determining Whether a Conflict of Interest Exists After disclosure of the financial interest and all material facts, and after any discussion with the interested person, he/she shall leave the Board or committee meeting while the determination of a conflict of interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining Board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists.
3. Procedures for Addressing the Conflict of Interest
4. An interested person may make a presentation at the Board or committee meeting, but after the presentation, he/she shall leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest.
5. The chairperson of the Board or committee shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement.
6. After exercising due diligence, the Board or committee shall determine whether the Corporation can obtain with reasonable efforts a more advantageous transaction or arrangement from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest.
7. If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonably possible under circumstances not producing a conflict of interest, the Board or committee shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested directors whether the transaction or arrangement is in the Corporation’s best interest, for its own benefit, and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination it shall make its decision as to whether to enter into the transaction or arrangement.”

CMI has two directors who are trustees of a Canadian trust (called Cornerstone Magazine Trust) which performs a function in Canada similar to CMI in the USA.  Cornerstone Magazine Trust (CMT) has tax exempt status from the Canadian tax authorities.  The address of CMT is:

Cornerstone Magazine Trust

PO Box 246

Waterford, ON

N0E 1Y0

Canada

The two directors who are Canadian citizens are not officers of CMI.  The men who serve as trustees in CMT in Canada, receive no compensation for their services in CMT.   The Canadian CMT follows a Policy in respect of Conflicts of Interest similar to that of CMI. The purpose of CMT is to assist in the production of Canadian content for Cornerstone Magazine articles and for the distribution of the Cornerstone Magazine in Canada.  Voluntary free will gifts received by CMT will be used to defray costs incurred in the Canadian operations of CMT.

There will be only one identical Cornerstone Magazine per issue, whether distributed in the USA or Canada or elsewhere in the world.

CMI and CMT are not under common control.  They work independently of each other though they naturally collaborate to ensure they do not intrude into each other’s respective territories. The presence of at least two CMT trustees on the Board of CMI is to help avoid conflicts and assist in a smooth mutually respectful operation.  The majority of the Board of Directors of CMI are US citizens and they do not serve as trustees of CMT.

CMT has other trustees who are not members of the board of CMI.

Support

Though CMI may receive subscription fees from its website, CMI’s Cornerstone Magazines are distributed freely without charge or fee, to anyone who cares to subscribe for the magazine, with or without payment of any fee or money.   It is expected that any money or fees received through subscription of the Cornerstone Magazine will in the aggregate be insufficient to defray the expected costs of production and distribution of the Magazine.  They will have to be made up by voluntary free will offerings from local churches and individual Christians exercised about the mission of Cornerstone Magazine.

CMI does not strictly receive any donations from its website.  Donations are in general gifted to CMI directly by small church groups or assemblies or individual Christians who support of CMI’s work and mission.

CMI does not conduct any fund raising activities.  Its revenues are derived from freewill or voluntary offerings or contributions from independent local churches or assemblies or individual Christians.

CMI will publicize its mission and its Cornerstone Magazine to local churches and expect to receive voluntary offerings or contributions (“freewill offerings”) to assist in off-setting the expenses and costs of producing and distributing the Cornerstone Magazine.  These offerings are not obligatory but purely voluntary and when made there is neither assurance nor obligation of  repetition or continuance by the donors. They are made without any overt or explicit solicitation by CMI.  These voluntary contributions are not in exchange for any services or products from CMI.  This method of financial operation is consistent with the beliefs of the Plymouth Brethren as a Christian group.

What We Believe

1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God to man and is the infallible guide for salvation and the Christian life (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
2. We believe in one God, the Creator of all, eternally existing in three persons, each co-equal; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2-10).
3. The Bible reveals the ruin of men and women because of their inherent sin nature (Romans 3:23-24). The only means of reconciliation with God is by individual faith in the finished and substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins (1 Peter 2:24). The believer is eternally secure, kept by God’s power (1 Peter 1:3-5).
4. We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:26-32), His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26), His vicarious death for us (1 Corinthians 15:3), His bodily resurrection (Matthew 28: 1-10) and His bodily ascension to Heaven (Acts 1: 9-11).
5. We believe that all who by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are born again, indwelt, and baptized into the Body of Christ, the Church, by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13), regardless of race, culture, sex, language or color.  All such believers are one in Christ (Galatians 3:28).
6. We believe that salvation is the unearned gift from God to any man or woman who receives it in faith on the sufficiency of Christ’s redemptive death at Calvary (Romans 6:23), and on Christ’s resurrection as proof of the efficacy and acceptance by God of Christ’s sacrifice (Romans 10:9).
7. We believe that the church is the visible expression of God’s kingdom in this age and is distinct from Israel (Romans 9:1; 11:26; Ephesians 3:10).  Membership in it is based solely upon a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2: 18-22; 4:5).
8. We believe the local church is an assembly of believers gathered together in a community with each other, and it is a visible expression of the invisible body of Jesus Christ, the universal Church which is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27). Cornertone Magazine Inc is not a local church or para-church organization but ministers to the needs of the believers of local churches and propagates what the Bible teaches through its publications.
9. We believe that the ordinances to be observed by believers in local churches commemorating Christ’s works for the Church are: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper/Communion.  Baptism is practiced by individuals as a symbolic expression of personal identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:1-4). The Lord’s Supper/Communion is practiced as a remembrance feast of Jesus Christ Himself, a symbolic reminder of His provision for salvation for the church, and to proclaim His death until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
10. We believe in the Headship of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18).  In gatherings of local churches, men who represents the “image and glory” of God pray with their heads uncovered; and women who is the “glory of man” prays with their heads covered (1 Corinthians 11:4-9) as symbol of submission of man to and in honor of Christ.
11. We believe in one universal Church, consisting of all believers past, present and future (Ephesians 4:4-6). Until Jesus Christ returns, believers should gather in assemblies (local churches) to remember the Lord Jesus Christ in the Lord’s supper, for worship, prayer, Bible studies, nurturing other believers, fellowship (Acts 2:42), and evangelism (Matthew 28:19-20). We believe in the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9) and our believers practice immersion baptism at the local assemblies where our individual believers regularly meet for worship, fellowship and service (Acts 2:41).
12. We believe in the personal, imminent, and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to rapture His Church prior to the seven year tribulation period. (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)
13. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return to Earth again, first in the clouds in the air to take His people to be with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18), and then to establish His Kingdom, having first judged the ungodly who will be committed to eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15), and then to reign in righteousness (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
14. We believe that Jesus Christ will occupy the place of highest honor – every knee in heaven, on earth and under the earth – shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Jesus Christ Who humbled Himself in obedience to God the Father and though innocent and sinless died a criminal’s death on a cross at Calvary for the salvation of every man and woman, and rose again from the dead the third day, is Preeminent (Philippians 2:8-11; Romans 14:11; Ephesians 1:18-22; Colossians 1:15-20).

This Statement does not purport to be comprehensive, exhaustive or complete.  The Bible itself is the sole, complete and final source of all that we believe and our ultimate Statement of Faith.  This Statement, to the best of our ability, accurately describes and summarizes what the Bible teaches, and therefore represents an abbreviated statement of our core beliefs and of what will be espoused in Cornerstone Magazine, and of how all persons associated with Cornerstone Magazine Inc will seek to live.