Contact: Doug Decker, 417-844-3050
Thirty Years and Looking Forward
In June 1979, a group of believers began meeting in a Springfield home as an interdenominational fellowship. Businessman Jess Gibson, a former Dale Carnegie course instructor was selected as their primary teacher and leader. “Cornerstone Word Church” had been born.
Numerical growth soon forced the congregants to change their meeting place twice. Stone Chapel on the Drury College campus served as an interim worship location, but was also soon outgrown. A 150 seat chapel, formerly operated by an order of nuns as part of their Day School for Girls and located in southwest Springfield at Elfindale, became available. Cornerstone Word Church began to utilize it as their new home, maintaining the property for its owners. Later, the congregation was blessed to be able to purchase 13 acres at the Elfindale site as a more permanent home.
Under the leadership of Pastors Jess and Paula Gibson, Cornerstone Church has continued its influence upon the Springfield area for over thirty years, offering not only the Christmas drive-thru lighting display for which it’s most recognized, but popular concerts, school system support, storm cleanup, a food pantry and ‘Clothes Closet’, a 24-hour prayer line, a five minute daily morning television program, Candidate Forums, a popular wedding chapel and many other points of impact.
This Sunday, October 11th, the Church will be celebrating not only its 30th Anniversary, but Pastor Jess’s 75th and Pastor Paula’s 70th birthdays. The 10:00 am celebration will take place at the Church campus, located at 1701 S. Fort, one block north of Sunshine. The public is invited to join this look back over Cornerstone’
