Cornerstone Church History

The story of Cornerstone United Methodist Church is short, yet filled with great accomplishments occurring at a pace that can only be attributed to God and the people He has gathered to serve together in this young church.

1999 :: Cornerstone came to life in 1999 when Rusty Hutson and his family moved to Auburn to plant a church for the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. The first meeting was held at the Auburn Wesley Foundation with a small group of 35 who learned that the church would be named Cornerstone United Methodist Church. They began with weekly Wednesday night meetings to plan, pray and grasp God’s vision for the new church.

2000 :: The group worked diligently behind the scenes and on January 9, 2000, Cornerstone held its Launch Service at Lambert’s Skate Center in Auburn with 220 people in attendance. The first service beneath the now-famed disco ball included Cornerstone’s signature smiling greeters, nursery and children’s workers, setup crews and a worship team to lead the services.

2001 :: With the life of Cornerstone quickly progressing, the Methodist Conference purchased 20 acres of land along Hamilton Road that the church now calls home. Cornerstone shortly received its charter during a special service in January, 2001.

The members and everyone who regularly attended this new and fast-growing church were dedicated to creating a welcoming environment where all who came would be recognized and accepted as the unique people God created. Cornerstone Café, with sausage biscuits, pastries and great coffee, played a central role in that plan. Distinct family-friendly events were planned, always a bit different, such as an evening vacation Bible school held in an open arena and Trunk or Treat for kids of all ages in the fall.

To help create a greater sense of community as the Sunday worship crowds grew, the Cornerstone Community Groups were launched to allow people to gather in family homes to get to know each other as they learned more about Christ together. These groups and the Life Development Institute continue to provide the backbone of Cornerstone’s spiritual growth opportunities.

2003 :: By 2003 and with attendance at worship services held in the Skate Center growing to an average 220, a Building Committee was tapped to weigh the options for building at the Hamilton Road property. Through a series of town hall meetings, everyone learned that the church’s future home would be a guest-friendly, all-purpose facility focused on children, youth and worship. The Building Campaign was launched in May, 2004, as attendance under the disco ball soared to 400.

2004 :: News of the December, 2004, groundbreaking for the new church home came quickly and was openly received. A building fund was created and by October 31, some $1.2 million was committed by members and Cornerstone attenders to make the building a reality.

Life at Cornerstone continued to pick up pace with the church offerings expanding to include the Free Friday Night Flicks movie series, Camp Cornerstone, a mission trip to Quito, Ecuador, the Maximum Impact Simulcast for community leaders and a growing youth and Community Group program. Attendance continued to climb.

2005 :: This new state-of-the-art facility opened its doors on Sunday, December 4, 2005, to a huge crowd. The day began with a farewell service at the Skate Center, followed by a caravan of cars, led by police escort, to the new church. That first worship service featured a new, larger disco ball, much to the pleasure of the crowd, and the children’s area known as KidzTown wowed everyone touring the building.

2006 :: Since that opening day in December, 2005, attendance has continued to climb steadily to an average near 750 and occasional days of 1,100 plus. In January, 2006, the church expanded Sunday morning worship to two services at 9 and 11 am with KidzTown worship under way at the same times. The church staff has grown to 13, including our new associate pastor, Josh Agerton, hired in late 2007.

Also growing continuously are the program offerings to members and attenders. What was once a program of Community Groups has emerged as the Small Group Ministry to include community groups, study groups, service groups, prayer groups and fellowship groups with enrollment above 360 participants. The youth program has grown to some 50 youth who also gather for small group study and evangelism projects on a weekly basis. KidzTown attendance has topped 200 children each week.

Present :: As we look ahead to the future of the Cornerstone Church, 2009-2010 has already brought welcomed new challenges that face the church with a slowing economy, while maintaining growth in numbers and maturity.  In early 2009 we launched a new website platform that will become the basis for a growing presence and dedication to the online community as well as our current members.

Cornerstone is embracing the challenges of continued growth under the guidance of a Vision Team formed to determine how to best meet the needs of the varied people who attend our church. Areas being addressed by the Vision Team include program development, building plans and staffing needs.