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The dream to have an independent Christian Church in the city of
Montgomery began back in the middle 70s. There was a small, but
faithful group of people who wanted very much to see a church
established that used the Bible only as her rule Book. In 1979 the Lord
favored the group by sending a minister that was fully funded by a
friend
of his, thus allowing him to work full time in getting the church up
and
growing. Soon after his arrival property was found on Virginia Loop Rd
with a house that had been empty for five years. The group had been
raising money, but they had to put up personal property in order to
obtain a loan to pay the remainder. In June of 1980 the congregation
officially became Southeast Christian Church and they began meeting in
the little renovated house on Virginia Loop Rd. (until this point they
were the East Montgomery Christian Church and they met in several
different rented locations). From this handful the congregation soon
was
over flowing the small meeting room in the house. By now it is 1985 and
again the group steps out on faith and builds a sanctuary that was soon
near capacity. However, the city of Montgomery began to shift and soon
families that lived in the neighborhood and attended services began to
move to other areas. Many moved out into the metro counties of Elmore
and Autauga. In order to be more central to the congregation a decision
was made to find property either on the east side or northeast corner of
the city. The property was put up for sale and in April of 2000 it sold
with the church then buying the current meeting place at 301 Dalraida
Rd. in east Montgomery. This was an emotional time for the church, but
God opened doors that no one could explain in locating the current
facility. On Easter Sunday in the year 2000 the group held their first
service in the new location. The body at Southeast is growing once
again, both spiritually and physically. Since moving in there has been
a new state-of-the-art sound and video system installed, walls erected
to create more Sunday School rooms, two large handicapped accessible
bathrooms, handicapped parking spaces, and a ramp has been put in place
to make getting in easier for anyone with a physical disability. It
was decided we needed a name for the church that didn’t reflect an area
of the city (i.e. Southeast Christian Church). At the annual
congregational meeting in August of 2000 there were several names
proposed and the name Cornerstone Christian Church was chosen. This
congregation has been the home church for many military families
stationed at both Gunter and Maxwell AFB in Montgomery. These families
have enriched our congregation with their faith and love. Cornerstone
welcomes any of our military that may be stationed here for a time, or
in for just a few weeks of schooling.
Even though Cornerstone is not a very old congregation we are part of a
movement that goes back hundreds of years. There were several
Christians at that time tired of the fighting between denominations.
They
also found many practices at that time that didn't seem to agree with
what the Bible had to say. It seemed that almost at the same time, in
different parts of America, several people came up with the same idea,
"Let's put aside all our traditions and creeds and take a fresh look at
the Bible." Thousands of people did just that. The Restoration
Movement was begun with a dream of uniting all Christians by
emphasizing only those things clearly taught in the New Testament.
People traded in their man-made rules and creeds for simple statements
of the Bible. It has now been many years and these principals that
motivated so many in the beginning continue to motivate people today.
Cornerstone is now a part of over 6,000 churches and 1.5 million
members
across America.
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