Women’s Study of Esther

Austin Burby

Austin grew up right here in the town of Portage. He is a CPA by trade who creates opportunities for his clients. He really loves his work. Austin is a wonderful joy to our church and he uses his talents in the accounting world to take care of our finances and our budget.

Austin remembers his conversion which occurred in the spring of 2010 shortly before graduating college. He had heard the gospel presented many times up to that point. Unfortunately, he was unwilling to bring himself to give up control of his life (which, ironically, he admits that he didn’t have control of his life anyway!). During a hectic week as he was finishing up college, Austin came to the realization where he knew he was both nothing on his own, and could do nothing on his own. He accepted the truth that he was lost and could not live without abiding in the death and resurrection of Christ. He needed the aid of the one true master and Lord. Austin gave his life to Christ on that Monday morning.

His passion for knowing the Word of God has confidently been moving forward since he has been at Cornerstone. He loves the content that is in and around Joshua 24:15. He notes that when you seen the context around it, Joshua is committing himself to be set apart from the nations around him. And on the other hand, if you read the text carefully, it was an indictment against Israel at the present time for Joshua knew that Israel, in general, was not going to serve the Lord. In spite of this, Joshua held his ground and continued to speak these convicting words to Israel. It is definitely an amazing passage.

He has been married to his beautiful wife Marion for over 10 years and they have three young children: Ainsley, Jameson and Hayden. His family is certainly a special joy to Cornerstone.

Carey grew up in the nearby town Westfield, Wisconsin. He is currently the Vice President of Facilities and Transportation at his family business, where he has been employed for over 25 years. Heading his responsibilities are project management, which involves designing and building new facilities, in addition to the redesign of current facilities to ensure proper functioning. Carey loves his job and will tell you he likes thinking outside the box to create solutions.

Carey came to know the Lord at a very early age. God has always been part of his life and through ongoing sanctification he has grown in his walk and his love for God. Carey enjoys being a member at Cornerstone Bible Church. He is committed to attending and contributing to men’s bible study and is passionate about God’s word and fellowshipping with like minded men. God’s word continues to amaze and humble him as he is constantly learning the way the Old and New Testament are weaved together. As a result of conviction and a deep love of the Lord, Carey has now begun to disciple others.

Carey has been married to his best friend Michelle for 29 years. He has two grown children, Cody and Reagan. Reagan is now married to her husband Levi and they have two children, Vincent and Bo. Carey enjoys spending time with his family and his grandchildren.

Dave Hopperdietzel

Dave grew up 100 miles north of Portage in Marshfield. He has been a Deputy Sheriff for 23 years and serves at the Dane County Sheriff’s Office. He is good at what he does, and he has lots of funny stories. If you need some good stories with entertaining value, Dave is your guy. We enjoy having him and his wife here at Cornerstone.

Dave came to know the Lord when he was 18 years old. He grew up in the Roman Catholic Church and found it hard to leave for one simple fact—it was the only tradition that he had known. At the time, he was having numerous discussions with his girlfriend about the truth of who God was and how the Bible was a book to be treasured and read. Dave strongly believed in a works based salvation, but never experienced the true grace of real deliverance. He came to the understanding that Christ was too great to be pleased with the works which a finite human could offer the one true God. Dave knew it would never be enough. Christ found Dave when he came to the realization that Christ did all the work. This is a truth that Dave loves; namely that Christ’s work on the cross and His resurrection really does cancel the debt of your sin.

One of the important aspects Dave has learned about God through his life is that God has always been, always is and always will be in control. By God’s grace, he has come to base his life on God’s sovereignty. Dave enjoys Cornerstone for two main reasons: There are great people here and the Word of God is valued and taught unashamedly.

By God’s providence, that girlfriend who had many conversations with Dave regarding the truth went onto fall in love with him. Dave married his wonderful wife Michelle 25 years ago and they have two grown children: Jacob and Rachel.