Second Chance Boutique is a program of Cornerstone Community Church, a non-denominational Christian ministry serving the people of Ocean City, N.J. and the surrounding areas of the southern New Jersey seashore.
Founded in 1996, Cornerstone has seen many incarnations as needs have changed – from a strong Christian youth program to community outreach, social services and helping our underprivileged friends and neighbors make ends meet when the going gets tough.
We're a non-denominational, Bible-based Christian charitable organization. We take Jesus at his word, when he said:
Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
We've spent a lot of years studying the legacy that Jesus and his disciples left behind. And, frankly – there's a lot in there that is open to interpretation and we don't fret when it leaves us questioning or confused.
But one thing, we're certain of. It's loud-and-clear clarion call, a common thread that weaves its way through every book of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation. Take care of your brother. Share what you can. Don't let your neighbor freeze out in the cold.
It's all there, clear as day. From Mosaic Law in the Hebrew bible to the first leaders of Christianity, writing after Jesus' death. If you see one in need, do what you can.
So we do what we can. We pay rents. We pay traffic fines. We fund transportation. We furnish the homes of newlywed couples, getting back on their feet. We pay doctor bills. We lend money. (Sometimes we even get paid back.) We put people to work. We've even -on occasion- bailed folks out of jail. That's how we spread the good news of gospel, the love of Jesus as we understand it. It's what we do – the ministry we've been called to.
We opened the Second Chance Boutique in 2009 to expand that mission. And you help fund that effort, every time you make a purchase.
We don't have a big church. (We rent space in a small one.) We don't have a centuries-old endowment. We don't have a million-viewer TV show. Nothing wrong with any of those things. But that's not us.
The way we look at it – paying mortgage and heat and electric and upkeep on a big church is just not a priority. And even though sometimes we wonder how we're going to pay our own rent – we'd rather spend the money we raise on helping our friends and neighbors.
You may share our beliefs. You may not. Or you may fall somewhere in between. That's OK. But we're willing to bet there's one thing we would agree on if we sat down for a chat and a cup of coffee. There are a lot of broken people in need, all around the world. We can't help them all. But we can do what we can to help those that cross our path.
Thanks for helping us do that, by buying from and donating to Second Chance Boutique.
About Cornerstone
