History

How we got here

 

The history of The Cornerstone is a brief one, as the Church has only existed as one body for a short period. It is however built on the foundations of four long-established congregations which took a leap of faith in 2005 in order to better serve God’s purpose in the 21st Century.

Over the course of 2004 the United Reformed Church undertook a review of its resources in the eastern side of Southend-on-Sea and Great Wakering, where five churches were operating individually in buildings that had seen better days. During a series of joint meetings it soon became apparent there were many things we would do better and more efficiently together, and after much prayer and consultation, four of the five became one in June 2005 – at that time still with individual premises.  However, the wind of the Spirit did not stop there and we were prompted to focus our life and mission in one area, and so made our home on the corner of Central Avenue and Bournemouth Park Road.

The sale of three church sites and buildings, enabled us to create a new centre for our church and community facilities.

We chose the name The Cornerstone partly because of our location, prominent on a road junction, but more importantly because of the calling to serve Jesus Christ in this particular place.  To use the words of an old hymn:

Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ the head, and corner stone.”