Church in Washington , United States of America
Cornwall Church
(formerly
Cornwall Park Church of God
) is an
Evangelical
Christian
megachurch
in
Bellingham, Washington
affiliated with the
Church of God Movement
,
[1]
with an average weekly attendance exceeding 2,500.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The church that would become Cornwall began around 1900 (shortly after the foundation of the
Church of God Movement
in 1881) as a
home-based church
in Bellingham established by Simon Decker, a
pioneer
and early follower of the movement.
[2]
In 1920 the church obtained a location on Broadway Street in Bellingham.
[2]
[3]
The church survived the
Great Depression
solely on donations from rich members, as all
tithes
(then an average of $3.00) went directly to the pastor's salary.
[2]
By 1934 the church had a congregation of 40.
[2]
In 1946, Charles Ford became pastor. Under his mantra, "It is better to have a hundred people working than to do the work of a hundred," the church's attendance reached 100.
[2]
Ford obtained four
city lots
on
Meridian Street
(adjacent to
Cornwall City Park
, named after
Californian
pioneer Pierre Barlow Cornwall)
[4]
with the hope of one day building an official sanctuary. Ford served till 1967, taking a ten-year sabbatical from 1950 to 1960.
[2]
In 1967, Ford was succeeded by Charles Milliman. Under Milliman's pastorship, the first official church building was constructed on Meridian, and the congregation was given the name "Cornwall Park Church of God". However, attendance did not grow until 1985, when 29-year-old Ken Long succeeded to the pastorship of Cornwall.
[2]
Under his direction, Cornwall appealed to the collegiate community of Bellingham (from
Western Washington University
) and began several
outreach
programs.
[2]
With attendance averaging at 350, services were moved to the adjacent
Boys & Girls Club
.
[2]
When Long left for First Church of God in
Vero Beach, Florida
in late 1992,
[5]
his
youth pastor
Bob Marvel became interim pastor. Soon thereafter, in 1993, Marvel was chosen as senior pastor.
[2]
After Marvel's accession, Cornwall experienced rapid growth. In February 2002 Cornwall moved to its current location on Northwest Drive in Bellingham to accommodate its expanding congregation, at which point "Park" and "Church of God" were dropped from its name.
[2]
Salt on the Street
[
edit
]
"Salt on the Street" is a weekly
evangelistic
outreach
program founded by Cornwall Church in 2000 that provides food and clothing for the
homeless
and
poor
of
Whatcom County
,
Washington
.
[6]
[7]
Based on the concept of the "
salt of the earth
," the program holds weekly outdoor church services and provides aid in overcoming
drug
and
alcohol addictions
.
[8]
Youth Programs
[
edit
]
Cornwall Church also serves three age groups of kids. Explorers League offers age appropriate learning environments from birth through 5th grade during each weekend service. 6th though 8th grade students have a special gathering called the Edge. It is held on Tuesday nights (6:30-8pm). High school freshmen through seniors have their youth group, Encounter, on Wednesday nights (also 6:30-8pm)
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
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