History of Cornerstone

The Church's history goes back to about 1825 when members of the Stoney Street Baptist Church in the centre of Nottingham were holding cottage meetings - like our house groups - in the Hyson Green area of Nottingham. The meetings grew and a small chapel was built on Court Street in 1828.

For some years the Church was under the oversight of Mansfield Road Baptist Church, but in 1878 it became fully independent and it affiliated to the Baptist Union. In 1883 a new large church was built on Palin Street, with an ajoining school room and six other small rooms (total cost £5000!).

Over the next 80yrs or so, there were 6 different ministers, and some spells without a regular minister. The church was rather on the liberal side with a tendency to many social activities; the Sunday school anniversary and the Annual Bazaar being the highlights of the year.

After the Second World War, membership was very small; the morning congregation was about 8 or 10, and the evening congregation about 30 or 40, and there was talk of closing the church down. That did not happen, mainly because of the youth work that was being done - Sunday School, Guides and Brownies, Scouts and Cubs, and Youth Club, and these kept the Church going. Nearly all the other small Churches and Chaples in the area closed down, but obviously God had other plans for the Hyson Green Baptist Church.

There were three events in the sixties that changed the Church. Firstly the Church was involved in the Eric Hutchings Crusade which took over the Ice Stadium for 5 weeks in 1961. During the Crusade many members had their faith renewed and a number of friends who were taken to the meetings came to know the Lord. It was a strengthening time for the Church, and Bible-study prayer meetings started on Thursday evenings.

The next event was in 1965 when one of the Rove Scouts was drowned in a loch in Scotland. The funeral was taken by Rev. Tom Hamer, and after the service the Church Secretary asked him if he would take over the part-time supervision of the Church (he was no longer in full time ministry). He agreed, and under his guidance in the next few years, the Church purchased a manse and then invited a minister.

So, in 1969, Peter and Valerie Lewis arrived at the Hyson Green Baptist Church - and the Church has never been the same since! In the following years, through Peter's ministry, God has changed the church from a liberal/social one to an evangelical one, and the church grew both numerically and spiritually, and has continued growing into the church it is today.

In 1978 the Church decided to leave the Baptist Union becuase of its liberal attitude which was far removed from the Church's position then. In 1981 the Church affiliated to the F.I.E.C (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches). This is not a denomination, but a grouping of independent churches all accepting th same confession of faith.

By this time the Church's premises at Palin Street were becoming very diapidated; the area around the church was changing with the old terrace houses being demolished and the families moving out; and the youth work was declining raplidly. After much prayer and searching, the decision was taken in 1983 to move to 2yr old social club premises on Raleigh St near Canning Circus. (The club had gone bankrupt). For ten years these premises were very suitable and the Church continued to grow.

The Church could no longer be called the Hyson Green Baptist Church of course, and so, after much prayer and discussion, the name was changed to the Cornerstone Evangelical Church, though it still remains a Baptist Church practising beliver's baptism.

During the seventies, students from the univeristy and Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent) started coming to the Church, only a few at first, but the numbers gradually grew. Peter often spoke at Christian Unions around the country, and students coming to Nottingham had heard about his ministry, so the numbers increased. With the move to Raleigh Street, it was easier for the students to travel to the Church, so the numbers grew, and again the same thing happened with the move to Wollaton. It has been wonderful to see the way in which the Lord has brought so many young people under a fine Biblical ministry, and it has also been good for the Chruch in that quite a number of students have been so happy at Cornerstone and in Nottingham that they have found a job in the area and stayed on as members.

During the time at Raleigh Street the Lord led the Church into cross-cultural mission for the first time. Graham and Linda Cox (Doctor & Pharmacist) went out to work at the hospital at Nebobongo in Zaire for four years; and Claire Evans (Powell) went out to Thailand for a year and later became a lecuturer at All Nations College. They were the first ones, and since then there has been a steady stream of members going into various forms of Christian minstry abroad - and many others into ministry in this country too.

Whilst at the Raleigh Street premises, a new Church - the Kingswell Fellowship - was planted in Arnold; this consisted mostly of the members of Cornerstone who lived in the Arnold area of Nottingham. Although this caused a loss in membership, new members were soon coming to the church and, by 1993, the premises were bursting at the seams on Sunday mornings. Often people had to wait outside until the children had gone to their classes before they could get into the service.

So, another move followed, this time to the Margaret Glen Bott school in Wollaton, Nottingham, in 1993. The members have continued to grow whilst we have been here; when we came to the school there were only 25 children, we have more than that in the creche alone now! We have a full time youth minister becuase this ministry is now so large. When we came to Wollaton there were only about 15 'more mature' members, now there are over 80. This has helped to provide a greater balance in terms of membership age.

With the increase in nubmers, so has the amount of staff needed increased. Peter and Valerie work full time, as well as Colin (Assistant minsiter), Pete (youth minister), Spencer (church manager), Naomi (Church Secretary) and two apprentices.

This is where God has led us thus far, His hand has been upon us, guiding and leading, and we constantly pray that we may know His way ahead for Cornerstone in the future.