The History of Cornerstone Church
Through a Pentecostal work in Winchendon in the 1940′s, one person was saved. Although this may not appear to have been a successful work to our eyes, it did pave the way for what was to become Cornerstone Church many years later. During the 1970′s, through the hand of God, most of the would-be founders of the Winchendon Assembly of God were saved. There being no Pentecostal church in Winchendon they all attended different churches in the area; Gardner, Athol, and Fitchburg Assemblies of God.
On January 1, 1981, with the consent of the pastor of the Fitchburg Assembly, a thirty-seven member meeting was held to determine whether a Pentecostal Church should be established in Winchendon.
The members agreed there should be a new church and became the founders of the then Winchendon Assembly of God.
For several years services were held at the United Parish Church in Winchendon and Pastor Charles Fraser became our first pastor, staying with us for a little over a year. He was concerned with establishing a strong body for this young ministry, as he knew a strong base would be necessary for the church.
God then sent us a man, Pastor Norice Gallop, who was not only concerned with the growth of the church as well as a major concern in the home and foreign missions field, but who also had experience in directing a church building program. We were able to obtain land on Route 140 for our church building and through a lot of hard work and rough weather, a building was erected. It was during this time that the name of the church was changed to Cornerstone Church of the Assemblies of God. The church building was dedicated to the Lord on September 7, 1985.
During this time Rev. Shane Ball came to us from Valley Forge Christian College upon graduation. He had been a convert of the Gallops and a friend. He became our first Assistant Pastor and eventually Interim Pastor when Pastor Gallop and his wife Bert moved on to the mission field.
Also, during this time Cornerstone School was formed with Ken Knowlton as principal and ran for several years.
In God’s timing He sent us Pastor Don Goldsmith to continue moving this church forward for the Lord. Pastor Ball moved on to establish a new church in Littleton, New Hampshire. In May of 1991, we had the privilege of attending Pastor Goldsmith’s ordination at the Leominster, MA Assembly of God. Cornerstone Church continued to grow from that early group of thirty-seven and we thank God for that. It became necessary to have an assistant pastor again and Randy Harris was appointed to the position.
In 1993, we spent a good deal of time preparing for the summer mission trip to Mexico. Money had to be raised, clothes collected, and shoes bought for the children in the squatter’s camps where our group would be ministering. Through a generous donation of 500 pairs of shoes by L.B. Evan Co. of Fitchburg, MA, the money raised for the purchase of shoes was able to be used for food instead. It took a trailer truck to transport all the supplies to Mexico. Pastor Goldsmith lead a group of 23 people of all ages on this first mission outreach to Mexico. We continued to be a missions-minded church with subsequent trips to Mexico and a trip to Cuba by Pastor Goldsmith in 1998. Our missions giving increased as God blessed so we were able to support more missionaries, foreign and home, as well as ministering locally.
In 1996, THE FAMILY CENTER was launched on Sunday evenings providing classes for all ages. Jay Lillie was now our Assistant Pastor to help Pastor Goldsmith with our growing congregation. We saw our Sunday morning attendance continue to climb upward in 1997, but more importantly than numbers was the powerful presence of the Lord that we sensed in our services. We began the year with a week of Revival Services with the theme, “LORD TAKE US WHERE WE’VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE!” with Pastor Goldsmith preaching. It was a very special way of starting a new year.
A special business meeting was held in March of 1998, and we voted to expand our facilities. The sanctuary was extended so we are now able to seat approximately 500 people. New chairs and carpeting were also added. The foyer was expanded along with the addition of more classrooms in the basement. God helped us to save money in many areas by doing the work ourselves. We also received help from people who were starting a Christian school (The Master’s Christian Academy) and wanted to lease room in the church. They helped to get the classrooms ready – old and new – in order to start the school in September.
After many months of hard work we were finally ready for our Dedication Service, which was held May 22, 1999. We were blessed to have our first pastor Charles Eraser and his wife Jenny with us for the dedication. Bert Gallop was also able to be with us representing Pastor Gallop’s time as Pastor. Pastor Gallop went home to be with the Lord before he had the chance to see all that God has done at Cornerstone Church.
In 1999, our focus became “We Build People” with much time being spent planning our new ministry structure, developing our mission statement, and determining our vision and goals for the next five years. To facilitate this new ministry structure, Joan Legros, Bill Chadbourne, George Walters, and Jay Lillie were appointed as staff members to assist Pastor Goldsmith. Much time was spent by all in planning and developing the new purpose and vision for the church. We are committed to caring for people by consistently and continually:
- Leading People to experience new birth in Christ’s life and Membership in His family
- Motivating People to grow in Christ-like Maturity
- Equipping People to continue in Christ-led Ministry
- Challenging People to continue in Christ’s Mission to the world
- Encouraging People to bring glory to Christ by Magnifying God through prayer, praise, and worship
In the next five years we envision our church to have …
- 400 members who have experienced new birth in Christ and are committed to membership in His family.
- 20 small groups ministering to the various needs of me people in the church and community with five of these ministering to the needs of the elderly.
- 300 people who have completed and received a diploma through the Life Enrichment Process.
- 50 people actively involved in intercessory prayer meetings. – participating in the planting of one new home missions church.
- 200 people actively involved in ministry after the “We Build People” philosophy of ministry
- Impact upon the integrity of marriages and families in our community by providing support and encouragement through periodic seminars and programs designed for that purpose.
In the year 2000, the “We Build People” classes have been going on with many new people participating. God has blessed us but we have much work ahead of us as the year 2001 nears. The Lord has sent us additional laborers including Eric Lewis, as a staff member, to help with the vision set before us. The investment we make of our time and energy in planning and studying the dynamics of a healthy church will cause us in the coming years to reap a great harvest for the Lord. The harvest may be on the way as the Lord provided The Master’s Christian Academy with a beautiful building for their growing school and that leaves all the space in the church for growth in our body. Praise the Lord!
In 2001 the We Build People classes were very successful due to Pastor Goldsmith’s leadership and the dedicated and faithful teachers. On May 27, 2001 Pastor Goldsmith submitted his resignation to the church body as he felt a calling to continue in ministry on the mission field.
A Pulpit Committee was formed with Jody Clapp, Paul Hackett, Chad Lorion and John Moylan with Randy Harris serving as Chairman of the Committee. They immediately met with Pastor Otis Stanley, our District Superintendent and worked closely with him throughout the process. The District provided 16 resumes that included men from several states and one from Canada. After two telephone interviews four visits were made to applicants’ churches followed by formal interviews with three applicants. They traveled to a foreign land in search of God’s man for our church family.
The church body held a special business meeting in October and elected Pastor Barry W. Risto from Cobourg, Ontario, Canada our Senior Pastor. He was elected with 97% of the vote.
It took six months to nominate a candidate. The entire process took nine months. Pastor Barry and Debbie Risto arrived in Winchendon January 20, 2002. Praise the Lord!
In the interim we were blessed to have Pastor Calvin Miller and his wife Valorie guide us through the months of waiting for a new pastor. Pastor Miller was a loving, gentle shepherd for us during the transition.
Finally our new pastor and his wife arrived and after getting their home settled were ready to learn about the church and its people and to bring forth new ideas and vision for Cornerstone. To help accomplish all that God has for the church Pastor Joan Legros and Pastor Bill Chadbourne have continued to be of assistance to Pastor Risto in this very busy, growing church.
Pastor Risto brought forth a vision for a healthy church listing the eight quality characteristics, which are:
- Empowering Leadership
- Gift-Oriented Ministry
- Passionate Spirituality
- Functional Structures
- Inspiring Worship Service
- Holistic Small Groups
- Need-Oriented Evangelism
- Loving Relationships
