Our Pastor
Pastor Chuck Ryan was born in 1973 in the little town of Hammond, Indiana. He grew up in a Christian home with parents who truly modeled what Christian family/parents should be like. He considers himself very fortunate to have such a solid family background.
Chuck graduated high school in 1991 and, after a brief attempt to “run away from God,” (basically after his ridiculous arrogance had run its course), Chuck fell to his knees and said, "God, if you can use someone like me, I will go where you want and do what you ask." God answered and Chuck went to Minnesota Bible College. He graduated in 2000 with honors and a double major in "Biblical Studies and Theology" and "Christian Counseling and Discipleship." All this is to say that if God can use a broken vessel like Chuck, He can use ANYONE... if they are willing to surrender to Him.
Chuck's first ministry was as a youth pastor in Hessville, Indiana. He was there for 2 1/2 years until he felt called by God to plant a church in Fitchburg, Wisconsin (a suburb of Madison). That did not work out so well, but if you ask him, Chuck will be more than happy to tell you about what NOT to do when planting a church. So he sent out a lot of resumes to a lot of churches. Since his wife grew up in Iowa, when Chuck saw that Cornerstone was searching for a pastor he thought, "Hey, here's a church in Iowa looking for a pastor! I think I'll send one to these guys and make my wife happy." This was one of about 35 resumes sent out.
Wouldn't you know it? This "Cornerstone Church of Christ" sent a portion of what their core beliefs and programs were all about as well as some of their methods and philosophies. Chuck said, "If these guys actually do half of this, then I think this is gonna be a good fit."
After much prayer and many sleepless nights, Chuck was invited to Cornerstone to give a trial sermon. The rest, as they say, is history. Chuck lives in Zearing, Iowa with his lovely wife Amanda, their two boys, Parker and Ben, and their daughter Olivia. They also have a dog named Eddie.
