ABFs by the Numbers

Cornerstone has been gathering at 17017 12 Mile Road for Sunday services for over 30 years. With the exceptions of COVID and one great snow day when we couldn’t even plow the lot, we have met faithfully each week. One of our staple gatherings has been ABFs. ABF stands for Adult Bible Fellowship, and is basically like what used to be called "Sunday School." We currently have nine ABFs, including the college class, which we call Two28. We had some updates to classes earlier this year: the Crossroads class merged with the Harvesters class to form Harvest Road. Similarly, the Kindred Hearts class merged with the Open Door class to form Open Hearts.

The Purpose Statement of our church says, “Cornerstone Baptist Church exists to glorify God by helping believers become more like Christ through Worship, Instruction, Fellowship, and Evangelism.” ABFs are to cover two of the four purposes: Instruction and fellowship. We capitalize the "I" on Instruction because that is the main emphasis of an ABF; "f" for fellowship is secondary (Small Groups are the opposite of ABFs: stronger on Fellowship, lighter on instruction). ABFs meet every Sunday morning from 9-10AM in classrooms around the building.

Here are some facts about ABFs based on 2024 attendance:

·      804 official members of the church

·      650 names on all ABF rosters combined

·      44% of members attend an ABF on an average Sunday (assuming that all names on an ABF roster are members... that’s not true, but it’s close).

·      54% of those on an ABF roster attend on average each week.

·      68% of Truth in Action members attend each week (that class has the highest percentage of attendance)

·      4 classes get "Perfect Attendance" awards for taking attendance every week: Open Hearts, Salt & Light, Harvest Road, and Truth in Action.

Do ABF attendance numbers matter? Not really. But one of the main reasons we take attendance during the ABF hour is to help identify people who are missing. When someone attends an ABF regularly and then suddenly drops off, that helps ABF members, leaders, and elders to know we need to seek them out.

Are you in an ABF? If yes, see you Sunday at 9 am! If not, what is holding you back? ABFs are a great way to get to know people and to learn more about God's Word.

The kiosk in the Gathering Space has info about all nine ABFs, where they meet and what they are teaching on. Stop by this Sunday for more information.

Dave Kaynor

Admin Pastor

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