Cornerstone Fellowship

Cornerstone Fellowship began on May 6, 2001 with a group of about 20 people. Meeting for the first time in the home of Robin and Rust Brown, they began as a discouraged, disappointed group of praying believers. They had come out of a church situation that they found intolerable and were beseeching their Lord as to what they should do.

Led by Brian Town, the first meeting consisted of listening to a Swindoll audio recording and spending 90 minutes earnestly praying that God would direct their paths and give them wisdom as to their future. Many wept; all felt a tremendous sense of joy and peace as the recording ministered to them and the Lord's presence became very real.

The next week several others joined the group. For the first few sessions, a Swindoll recording was played. Then the children would go to the Ray Brown house for classes while the adults prayed.

The group continued to meet with the hope that the Lord would move among them. Dr. Bill Mounce and his wife Robin Brown Mounce soon arrived on the scene as a direct answer to their prayers. Bill knew many of these people from his time as the scholar in residence and associate pastor at Garland Avenue Alliance Church. He had been teaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary but sensed that God had something else in mind for him. Packing his belongings, he and his family on faith returned to their home in Spokane and waited on the Lord for their future.

Bill spoke to them for the first time on May 27. His sermon title was "Biblical Praise," taken from Psalm 107.

The next step was to choose a name for their fellowship. "Cornerstone" was chosen as it was the hope that Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone, would be the central focus of this group. The group didn't want this organization to be just another church. They wanted it to be a true Biblical fellowship. Thus Cornerstone Fellowship got its name.

The house church quickly sensed a need for leadership. Rust Brown and Brian Town were chosen to help Bill Mounce in the shepherding of the flock. Scotte Meredith took on responsibilities in the area of attendance and finances and gaining non-profit, tax-exempt status for the church. Robin Mounce headed up the children's ministry. Rust Brown worked with the youth of the church. Vicki Clark became the first church secretary.

A huge step in the history of Cornerstone Fellowship occurred when a church building on Division and Hastings became available for Sunday morning worship. Crossover Baptist Church had outgrown the building and was meeting at Shiloh Hills Elementary School, hoping to sell the property on Hastings and build a larger building elsewhere. The leadership inquired of Crossover and miraculously God provided with the able assistance of some wonderful people at Crossover. The church became available for no cost. This church was the meeting place of Cornerstone Fellowship from June 2001 through late March of 2002.

Soon the group began to grow. A steady increase in attendance was seen from May through the summer months. Bob Lento led the music. After the sermon, the children and youth went to classes while the adults stayed to pray and earnestly seek the Lord's face about the future of the church. Prayers were also offered for the spiritual and physical needs of the people.

Another step forward occurred when the church called Steve Yoell as the worship and administrative pastor. He was a familiar face to the believers as he had held the job of music minister at Garland for seven years. Marla Yoell, Steve's wife, is a very talented pianist, conductor, and singer.

In May, Steve and Marla were in the Spokane area considering a move to Spokane as the worship pastor at another church when they met with some old friends at a valley restaurant. When asked, "Are you interested in possibly coming to Cornerstone," they replied in the affirmative. After a time of prayer and searching for God's will, they began their ministry at Cornerstone on August 12, Marla's birthday.

The Christmas season saw the church continue to grow. The sanctuary at Crossover Church was becoming filled with worshipers, the number now close to 200.

The calling of Bob Hubbard brought a youth leader to work with the many young people at the church. Hubbard, a Wheaton College graduate, had worked with Mounce in Boston. He candidated on a weekend in January, preaching on a Sunday morning and having several meetings with various church groups over the weekend. The church issued the call and the Hubbards arrived in early February to begin their work at Cornerstone.

In early 2002, the church was faced with a difficult decision. The Crossover Church building had been sold and the body of believers needed to find a new place of worship. Several locations were discussed including a building on Division and a large lot on Five Mile Prairie. Nothing seemed to be what the Lord had in mind for the church. It was Brian Town who prayed, "Lord, we need your miracle so that we know where You want us to go."

Zeda Leonard heard that Shiloh Hills Baptist Church needed a pastor. Earl Appleby, the beloved senior pastor for many years, had retired. She alerted Steve Yoell and Bill Mounce to the situation at Shiloh Hills. Both Mounce and Yoell's credentials were with the Baptist General Conference. Cornerstone had the staff; Shiloh Hills had the building. As the elders of both churches prayed about the prospects, God's will was gradually revealed.

Bill Mounce preached at Shiloh Hills on February 24 while Earl Appleby came to Cornerstone to preach on the same day. Bill met with the Search Committee and then the church body at Shiloh.

After various meetings between the elders of both churches, a combined service was scheduled for March 17. A combined choir and worship team led the service. The auditorium was filled; God's Spirit was evident.

The following week both churches voted almost unanimously to merge. Cornerstone passed by-laws, voted in members, and elected two new elders, Mark Ainslee and Gary Tewinkel, on that same Sunday. The first official combined Elder Board met at Shiloh Hills on Monday night March 25. It was a glorious Easter when the churches combined for their first official service together. While many churches are splitting over trivial matters, to see two churches come together was a tremendous joy for the people of God.