August & September 2018 Newsletter

Cornerstone News
This year began a new era for the Cornerstone large group, because we have completely changed the model. After a summer (and part of spring) spent reevaluating our large group, and we felt that God was calling us to change our current structure. After many prayerful meetings, the staff came up with a new model that incorporates different methods of learning. We have given a “subject” to each of our months, and then each week of that month will feature something different. On the first week, we break into groups to eat food, a small explanative talk on our subject is given, and then we have a few questions which prompt each person in the group to share a story based on the monthly subject. On the second week, we have our traditional Cornerstone that features the staff (or a guest speaker) giving a biblical talk based on the monthly subject. The third week features a more experiential, tactile style of learning based on the subject. The fourth, and last, week is designated for a worship/prayer/testimony night followed by fellowship (and food) at the Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland.

Change is scary. I get that. But sometimes it is worth the risk. We have had a few Cornerstones so far, and (I believe) this new format has strengthened the community. People are engaged, meeting new people, and deepening their relationship and love of Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for this new format. Pray for continued buy in from the leadership and that God works through these new experiences.

Meet the Students

Meet Savanna Lattanzi, a sophomore Political Science, Religious Studies, and Sociology major at Pitt, and read more about her:

I came into my freshman year knowing that I wanted to follow the Lord in college and committed to searching for the right Christian community for me; somewhere I could get plugged in and have a support system in this new season of my life. I thought I was going to need to church/fellowship hop, and try out a bunch of groups to see what fit me. But instead, the Lord immediately showed me how well He provides for me by giving me Cornerstone. Cornerstone felt right from the second I walked through the door. I felt welcomed, cared about, and pursued by the Cornerstone students and staff from the very first second they met me.

Because of this, I wanted to dive deeper into the community and to get as involved as I possibly could. As I spent more and more time in the Cornerstone community and began to find a home within, I noticed a few key things that our community does especially well. The first is the willingness of the students and staff to follow the Spirit wherever it may lead. This boldness has fostered a closeness to Christ that simply cannot come out of fear and limitations. Cornerstone’s willingness to step into uncomfortability for the glory of the Lord has inspired me. Another aspect I love about Cornerstone is the support that I’ve found in the people. Even when I mess up, which is both often and apparent, I am so loved and pointed back to Christ by the people around me. Getting this support and guidance from people who share my faith has been essential to my wellbeing at Pitt, and I can safely say that without it I may not have chosen to come back for my sophomore year. Although I often felt lost last year, I was always able to be rooted and be firm in my identity because of the community that the Lord has given me in Cornerstone.

And while Cornerstone is a place of safety, it also challenges me. As I became involved in leadership with Cornerstone, I quickly learned that I would not be stagnant in faith, but instead pushed to grow and draw closer to Christ through my team members. Leadership asks me to be better, to follow the Lord more closely, and to be a vessel and a witness in ways that I never expected. The Lord has both given me Cornerstone as the platform to do this but also has worked through Cornerstone to grow me and equip me to do so. I am certain that I would be a completely different person if it were not for Cornerstone and what the Lord has done through this group of people.

Financial Update

The month of August was good to us financially! As you can see from the chart, we met our goal and were 100% of what we need to be! We are so grateful for all of you, and that you felt a tug from the Lord to help support our ministry. We could use your help more than ever so that our goal is met every month. If you are a current supporter, I am asking that you up your pledge and give an extra 10% to 25% on top of their usual giving. If you do support me, or do not support me regularly, I ask that you pray about being a monthly donor. This will help to make up the difference from what I currently make and to help reach my new goal.

All of your generous donations are what helps makes ministry to students like Savanna possible, and helps me get out on campus. Now that I have gotten a raise, this is more important than ever! Remember that any gift is a good gift. We could always use financial help, and if you are interested in supporting this ministry (or giving extra), I would love to meet with you. Please email me at amoore@ccojubilee.org. Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

 The school year is not just back in full swing for me, but also for the boys. Benjamin is officially a middle schooler (and now twelve years old!), starting at Sci-Tech. So far, he adores the school. He is fully engaged in each of his classes, and even gets to take Lego Robotics as an extra-curricular class! Trust me, we are all jealous. Ben has also joined Bellefield/Church of the Ascension’s youth group, and has been eating it up.

Joshua is in his last year at Fulton, and has begun to look at middle schools for next year. After Ben raving about Sci-Tech, it has made it pretty high on his list. We just took him to the middle school fair to “window shop” for a new middle school. I think it overwhelmed him a bit, and he isn’t always the most talkative in large group situations. Regardless, it seems he is excited about the future.

Asher has begun third grade, and continues to be his sweet self. Teachers absolutely love him and his personality; he is always willing to help, and he is always willing to talk (sometimes a little too much). He turns nine next month, and is stoked for his birthday. He is asking (of course) mainly for video games.

Emily has recently quit her job at Chick-Fil-A to focus mainly on nannying. Emily is an extreme introvert, and waiting on customers for a good part of the day really takes a toll on her energy levels. Though she was good at what she did, I don’t think Chick-Fil-A wasn’t as good of a fit as nannying. Working with kids is not only something she is good at, but something she is passionate about as well.

I pray that you are well! God Bless!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

June & July 2018 Newsletter

Meet the Students
Meet Morgan Crane, a (now) Sophomore leadership student at Cornerstone:

I came to Pitt in the fall of 2017, unsure of what it would look like to be a Christian in college and unsure of whether I would even be able to find genuine Christian community on a large, secular campus. Cornerstone gave me that and so much more. This ministry became my sanctuary. It is a place of worship. It is a body of believers that celebrates brokenness and vulnerability, understanding that weakness is the way to knowing God's strength more fully.

I found that although I was surrounded by (mostly) new faces, we were bound by the great love we share for the same great and holy God. As much as Cornerstone was and is my sanctuary, it is also a place and a people that challenge me, refusing to let me stay stagnant in my relationship with God. Before Cornerstone came into my life, I was angry at God. I didn't read the Bible, I scrutinized it. I looked for anything I didn't like so I could throw it back in God's face and prove that He was not who He said He was, all the while maintaining a facade of faith.

God used Cornerstone to pick me up out of my self-righteous fury and mold me into a leader in the Christian community who believes in the power of His name above all else. The beautiful and unexpected ways in which God has used Cornerstone and Pitt's campus to transform my heart throughout this past year is something I will never stop thanking Him for.

Financial Update

We are getting closer to meeting our new monthly goal. In the month of May, with some one-time gifts, we reached that new goal; 100%! In June we made $3,703; 87% of where we need to be. We could use your help more than ever so that this new goal is met every month. If you are a current supporter, I am asking that you up your pledge and give an extra 10% to 25% on top of their usual giving. If you do support me, or do not support me regularly, I ask that you pray about being a monthly donor. This will help to make up the difference from what I currently make and to help reach my new goal.

All of your generous donations are what helps makes ministry to students like Morgan possible, and helps me get out on campus. Now that I have gotten a raise, this is more important than ever! Remember that any gift is a good gift. We could always use financial help, and if you are interested in supporting this ministry (or giving extra), I would love to meet with you. Please contact me using the information in the "about me" section of the blog, or email me at amoore@ccojubilee.org. Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

Summer has been unusually busy. Usually when the students are gone, and the boys are finished school, things go into “super chill” mode. It seems that this summer is a bit different, however. There have been a lot of Cornerstone staff meetings and early planning, which have kept me busy. I also just took an intensive seminary course (8 hours a day, for a week) on the book of Galatians. The class was incredibly intense (pun intended), but also incredibly fun. The only bad part of the summer, so far, is that I’ve battled 2 pretty severe flare ups of gout. I’ve had gout for about two years and it is extremely painful and debilitating.

As I mentioned, the kids are out of school. Benjamin finished his last year at Fulton and will be moving on to the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy. It is always hard, but amazing, to watch him grow up. On the last day of school, he (along with seven other students) were selected to give a speech. It is cool seeing how far he has come.

Asher just recently completed a week of the Pittsburgh Gifted Center’s summer camp. He had a blast learning about outer space and art. Joshua has spent most of his summer playing outside with friends. He has also been spending his indoor time modifying various Nerf guns to shoot farther. Admittedly, it has been pretty cool.

Because of the boys’ summer vacation, that means that Emily has been working less at Chick-Fil-A and has been home taking care of the boys (and me when I had gout). She has started her nannying job again, which she loves, and that has kept her busy. She will continue nannying throughout the upcoming school year as well. God has really given her a gift to work with and love children.

Hope you are having a great summer! God Bless!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

May 2018 Newsletter

Cornerstone Update
The school year has come to an end, and the majority of College students have gone home for the summer. Instead of taking time to recover in May, we have already begun to plan for the fall semester. This is partially due to the fact that my coworker, Mark Michaelis, will be in Philadelphia. Mark will be working with students in the CCO’s experiential trip, entitled “Encounter Philadelphia.” We are trying to plan everything we can for the upcoming semester while we still have him around. Let me just say, that I think that we have some exciting things planned for Cornerstone.

This summer, instead of having our usual large group gathering (which we have called Common Ground) we will be hosting a bible study on the Ten Commandments. I will be co-leading the Bible Study along with my coworkers Bobbi Perkins, Juliet Casinelli, and Dan Isadore. We will also be having another Bible Study, led by my former CCO Fellow Jordan Trump, on the book of Romans. It should be a great summer.

Meet the Students

Meet Sam Smallwood, a (now) sophomore student leader, and read more about him:

Faith has always been an important aspect of my life since I was a child, but I could not have foreseen how much stronger it would grow in my short time at Pitt so far. When I was beginning my freshmen year last August, I knew right away that I wanted to get involved in some sort of Christian ministry around campus. As fate would have it, on the Wednesday during orientation week at the "Maintaining Your Faith in College" workshop, I met Andy Moore and Morgan Mitchell at the Cornerstone table. In that moment, I felt God telling me that this is where I was called to be, that Cornerstone would grow me into the person I am meant to become and allow me to carry out his work impacting the members of the Pitt community at large.

I made my presence in the group felt from the start, arriving 20 minutes early for the first Wednesday service of the year and confusing everyone with my punctuality. Luckily, I was welcomed in with open arms and along the way, I have met some of my closest friends at Pitt who have played a huge part in my spiritual growth. From this time on, I immersed myself in Cornerstone. My favorite thing within the organization quickly became our weekly Freshmen Bible Study every Thursday night. In high school, I was never invested enough in scripture and I knew this needed to change when I went to college. So every week, I always looked forward to Bible study more than anything else. I could see the changes that this time in Cornerstone was having on my life. I was growing stronger in my faith and becoming closer to God than I ever had been before. But towards the end of my first semester at Pitt, I felt like I could be doing more to help others reach this same point in their lives. That is when I decided to interview for a position on the Freshmen Ministry Team, taking on a leadership role that shaped the next five months of my life and continues to do so now.

In my eyes, this past spring semester at Pitt has been one of the greatest periods of growth in my life across the board. I was really tested a lot spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, but I feel that I am a much stronger person now that I have made it out to the other side. I had to juggle very challenging coursework with being the President of my Hall Council and leading Freshmen Bible Study, and at times I got knocked down. But I always had people who picked me back up. I attended Jubilee and reaffirmed my place in all of this. And I had the reassurance from God that I would make it through these tough trials still standing tall. Without Cornerstone, my first year at Pitt would have looked a lot different. I would not have these important people in my life. My faith would have been stagnant. I would have lacked the strength to get through these difficult moments. But here I am today, stronger than ever because of that decision I made all the way back in August to check out Cornerstone. And now, as I soon enter my sophomore year, I will do all that I can to make sure that our campus ministry can have that same impact on a new group of students.

Financial Update

For the past four months, we have included a financial ask letter to go along with our newsletter where we asked you to “tithe your tax return.” We thank everyone who responded, going above and beyond anything what you may have felt comfortable doing. We are so overwhelmed at your kindness, selflessness, and generosity that we are at a loss for words. Thank you all for making everything possible!

Our financial journey is not over, however, for we are receiving a raise of an extra $350 a month! It is hard receiving a raise, mainly because the burden of raising the extra money falls on us asking you all for more help. We are stepping out in faith, again, and knowing the God will provide financially. In this step of faith, we are asking for you to be a part of this ministry through financial giving. We are also asking that my current supporters give an extra 10% to 25% on top of their usual giving. This will help to make up the difference from what I currently make and to help reach my new goal.

If you would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. This is what helps makes ministry to students like Sam possible, and helps me get out on campus. Now that I have gotten a raise, this is more important than ever! Remember that any gift is a good gift. We could always use financial help, and if you are interested in supporting this ministry (or giving extra), I would love to meet with you. Please contact me using the information on the front of this newsletter or email me at amoore@ccojubilee.org. Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

Things are going well in the Moore household. Benjamin and Joshua both made the Elementary National Honor Society (Asher is not old enough, though he did make the high Honor Roll). This is the first year that their school (Fulton Elementary School) has had the Honor Society, so it was cool watching them inducted amongst the first class.

The boys just have about a month left in school, and then (hopefully) we can begin a rather relaxing summer. For Christmas we bought season passes for Sandcastle (a local waterpark), so it should be a rather fun summer. Sandcastle should also be a fun replacement for baseball, since Josh and Ben are taking the year off.

I am continuing with my education, and just finished taking “Basic Hebrew.” I’ve always heard that Hebrew is a language you just get, or you must work extremely hard at. Luckily for me, it was something that I took to. This summer, I will be taking a class on Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians.

Emily recently got a job a Chick-Fil-A and has been spending her mornings doing that before the boys get off from school. She will be cutting back on her Chick-Fil-A hours once the summer hits and the boys are on vacation. She will also be nannying again, in the not-too-distant future, for some friend’s kids. Also, Emily had a terrific Mother’s Day. The boys bought her the movie Black Panther (yes, that was a gift for her and not for themselves), and we ate at the local Mexican restaurant Patron.

We pray that his newsletter finds you well. God Bless!

In Christ,
Andy Moore