Cornerstone Church (Nashville)
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| Cornerstone Church | |
|---|---|
 Cornerstone Church | |
| 36°15′56″N 86°44′01″W / 36.2656°N 86.7337°W | |
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Assemblies of God USA (Pentecostal) |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor | Jeremy Austill |
 | |
Cornerstone Church is a Pentecostal Christian megachurch located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is associated with the Assemblies of God.[1]
Cornerstone Church was founded in 1983 by a group of 104 believers who had gathered for fellowship in the home of Ralph and Shirley Kidd.[2] Rev. Gene Jackson, the District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God had attended the fellowship there and offered the use of some land he had just bought as a place for worship. The church received the first donation from Sister Mattie King, mother of Shirley Kidd. The first morning worship service occurred on Sunday, July 10, 1983.[3]
Cornerstone's congregation increased, acquiring from Rev. Jackson the 21-acre campground which housed a small stone tabernacle, along with a church building. In the early 1990s, Cornerstone invited former youth minister and evangelist Maury Davis, a perceived unlikely candidate for pastor, to lead the church.[4] Davis had been a familiar figure on religious programming and had gained a wide following. A few months after being invited, Davis became Cornerstone's lead pastor.[5] The original church building on the property was destroyed by a fire, forcing an immediate move to another structure on the campus, a stone tabernacle that had been previously used for gatherings when the property served as a campground.[6]
The primary church building was completed in 2002 and its construction was part of a trend of larger churches in the United States that provided offices, classrooms and multi-purpose rooms. In 2005, the Family Life Center/Gym was finished, at which time worship services were moved to the newly built gym.[7]
The church saw significant growth, having to add more weekly services to accommodate growing attendance. By the year 2000, a new sanctuary was completed, and in 2006, the Education Building was expanded to add 30,000 square feet for adult education classrooms.[8] A 30,000-square-foot, three-story expansion was completed in 2015 with additional space for children and young people, Nashville's largest two-story indoor playground, updated technology, meeting rooms, and an expanded lobby and commons area with a rock baptismal pool and cafe.[9][10][11]