A Little History
Cornerstone Community Church actually began in August of 1995 as the merging of two churches, the church of the Gentle Shepherd and the Pleasant Valley Church. We are housed in the building at our current Davis Road location, and it has a history.
I’ve been trying to piece together that history, and have some rough ideas on how things unfolded back in the 1980’s and 90’s. Pardon me if this is not entirely accurate, and if you spot something amiss - feel free to contact me through the cornerstoneDalton@gmail.com address.
At some point in the early 80’s - probably early 1984 - a group of families who had been attending the Presbyterian Church in Dalton, along with the Presbyterian Church’s minister - Rev. Walter Kime - broke from their church and decided to form their own church - the Church of the Gentle Shepherd. There is a Charter for it’s founding, dated September 13, 1984, and it was signed by about 135 people, so a sizable chunk of the Presbyterian church left. It’s not clear what caused this schism, but my folks were part of the group who decided to leave, and I think it was policy and religious practices related, as the new church was more evangelical and charismatic than what they left. In any case…
They incorporated as a non-profit on August 7, 1984 and were worshipping together Sunday’s at a couple locations, including the Central Christian School’s gymnasium. In September of 1989, on the Davis Road property that had been given to the church (I believe) by Bill Farris, they broke ground for what would become their first church building (what we now call the Fellowship Hall), which is the western portion of our current building. This was the building where my father’s funeral was held in December of 1992.
The Gentle Shepherd church organized for a larger sanctuary, and plans were drawn up and bonds issued for it’s construction, which I believe started in the fall of 1991. The construction continued for over 4 years, and wasn’t completed until after the merger of the Gentle Shepherd and Pleasant Valley churches.
At some point in the 1994-1995 timeframe, with the sanctuary still not completed, and with membership at the church in decline, the pastor for the Church of the Gentle Shepherd took a position at Ashland Semenary. This left the church without a full time pastor.
During the summer of 1995, the Gentle Shepherd Church and the Pleasant Valley Church (located about 3 miles south) held a joint Vacation Bible School program together. This turned into worshiping together at the Gentle Shepherd church for a 3 month trial period, with services led by Pastor Timothy Hall who pastored at the Pleasant Valley Church.
In August of 1995, the Church of the Gentle Shepherd voted unanimously to join with the Pleasant Valley Church to form the Cornerstone Community Church. This was the last Sunday of August, and we have had an Outdoor Service at that time each year since, to commemorate the formation of Cornerstone.
Led by Pastor Timothy Hall, the church went to work finishing the sanctuary and building the membership of the new church. In October of 1995, the steeple was lifted into place. I believe services were first held in the new sanctuary in the fall of 1995.
Over the next 25+ years, Pastor Tim would grow the church and settle the bonds that had been used to fund the building of the sanctuary, and get us well on our way. Pastor Timothy Hull continued as our minister for 26 years, and retired in 2021 due to health issues.
You’ll find our more recent history in the ‘Our Story’ page of the website.
