Our Ministries’ Programs
“Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17)
“Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do”. (James 2:18)
The words of the Prophet Isaiah and the Apostle James provide the foundation, the cornerstone of the programs described below. The words of Isaiah, written between 700 and 680 B.C., and the words of James, written between 40 and 50 A.D., serve as a reminder that we must be active in our faith.
Biblical Implementation
Real Stories. Real Impact.
Read about our different programs below and click to connect with us to see how you can get involved or learn more!
Refugee Centers for Victims of Human Trafficking
Victims of human trafficking who have been rescued from their assailants often need a safe shelter where they have access to food, water, clothing, sleeping arrangements, and other living essentials. Cornerstone also plans to build homes that will serve the temporary needs of those under the age of 18 years. Each facility will be managed by a qualified social worker who coordinates with government social agencies to enroll victims and to help place them in permanent homes. In instances where medical and or psychological services are needed, the social worker will coordinate with government agencies to provide these needed services.
(Example of a center to be built.)
Cornerstone plans to continue the legacy of Dr. Maynard Howe Sr. and the pastors, workers, and financial contributors who built the first homes for widows and orphans in the Philippines. Each home that has been constructed to date is designed to house two widows and four orphans. The concept of each dwelling unit is to provide the means for widows to earn enough money to cover the essentials needed to ensure a good quality of life for the residents, including food, water, clothing, heat, electricity, and other necessities. In some homes, widows earn money by doing seamstress work; in others, they support the household with proceeds from farm animals they raise on the property, and still in others, they provide needed services in their respective communities.
Future homes will advance the concept of building units that will house two to three widows and up to six orphans and equip each home with the essential living requirements for each resident. Local pastors and workers will determine the occupants of each residence, the required resources needed for the widows to support the household, and the time that is needed for the resident to become self-suicient. Cornerstone will provide the funds necessary to support each household until it becomes self-suicient. The construction of each home will be managed by a local on-site professional with experience as a home builder
Building Homes for Widows and Orphans
Educational Learning Centers For Children
Dorthy Howe, one of the founders of Cornerstone, had a special heart for children. As a result, the first educational learning center was built in the Philippines in her name. The center has been very successful in providing preschool education to a community of very poor children. With the assistance of local churches and certified educational professionals, Cornerstone plans to build learning centers in her honor for kindergarten and preschool children.
According to Professor Leon B. Ylagan, “Many of the children who have graduated from the learning centers have gone on to complete high school, vocational school, and colleges. Those who have graduated from vocational schools are working as mechanics, technicians, and in other professions. Those who graduated from college are working as teachers and office workers, and those who graduated from high school are working as truck drivers, farmers, and entrepreneurs of small businesses. Almost all of them are giving their time to the ministry as teachers, administrators, as well as providing construction and maintenance to new and existing learning centers.” Each learning center will be headed by a certified educational professional, and in some locations, the center will be connected to a church.
Over the past few decades, Cornerstone has been instrumental in helping local ministries build churches in several locations in the Philippines to further spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to support those in the community who are in need of food, water, clothing, housing, medical, or spiritual needs. The construction of each building will be under the direction of a local pastor, members of the congregation, and contractors in the area.
Building Churches
Major Beginnings
U P A N D C O M I N G P R O J E C T S
Major Beginnings is an Arizona based non-for-profit company that provides shelter and substance abuse disorder treatment for juveniles and adults. The company’s treatment program integrates trauma-informed care, evidence-based clinical treatment, and life skills development in a structured, caring environment.
The company’s current facility is located on 20 acres of land between the cities of Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. The building on this property houses patients and caregivers in a home that is equipped with private rooms for patients and separate quarters for the live-in caregivers. The company plans to build an additional complex to house 60 patients, along with a fully equipped kitchen, dining room, an exercise gym, and rooms for counseling and life coaching. This facility will be for female juveniles aged 8 to 18 years.
Food for the property will be grown in a specialized garden equipped with advanced technology to grow large volumes of organic food on a highly concentrated parcel of property. Recreation and daily exercise will be provided on the property in a well-equipped exercise facility on site, as well as in a National Park adjacent to the property.
In addition to the company’s current facility, management plans to expand to other locations in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico with housing and treatment provisions for female and male juveniles aged 11 to 18, as well as for both male and female adults. Special accommodations will be provided in each location for victims of human trafficking and for homeless children, including safe shelter, counseling, and, where necessary, referral services for permanent care.
Major Beginnings operates under a fee-for-service reimbursement model. Revenue is derived from insurance providers and, in some locations, from Trial Partners located near the company’s facilities.
