Cornerstone History

Cornerstone Church of Hudson was birthed from an intense desire on the part of a handful of people to pursue a full Biblical expression of their faith. Their hearts’ desire was to examine the teachings of Christ and his apostles and to conform or reform their concepts of Christianity to Biblically supported doctrines. The founding members, ministry team, and building all originated from First Pentecostal Church, which was established in 1991 by Reverend Ron Spierings.

In 1993, through Rev. Spierings’ ministry and leadership, the fledgling congregation was able to purchase a building located at 1024 4th Street in Hudson, WI. Rev. Spierings enjoyed a brief nine-month season of ministry in the newly acquired facility prior to returning to his home town in eastern Wisconsin.

Eric Olson served as interim pastor for five months until Reverend Ron Cooper arrived in the spring of 1994 to lead the church. Under his teaching and ministry, the congregation was again encouraged and revitalized. During the summer of 1995, Rev. Cooper received and accepted an invitation to pastor a congregation in Mississippi.

The people of First Pentecostal Church again found themselves in need of a pastor to lead the congregation. By a unanimous vote, the congregation of First Pentecostal Church elected Reverend Eric Olson, a newly recognized minister of the UPCI. Over nearly ten years of ministry, through the mentoring and close affiliation with surrounding ministers, Rev. Olson brought the congregation to a place of stability and then growth. Pastor Olson continued his theological studies throughout his ministry at First Pentecostal Church; of particular interest to him were the doctrines of the early church. While researching first century Christian doctrines, Pastor Olson was captured by the simplicity and naiveté of the early church.

As Pastor Olson shared his observations with the congregation, a groundswell of desire began to take hold – the people, in unison, expressed a longing to embrace the simplicity and authenticity of the first church. With the intent of bringing first century Christianity to the 21st century, an examination of “church” practices was undertaken, and the manner in which church services were conducted was reviewed. The vernacular of the ministers was also analyzed, and one by one, every action, process, tradition, and ritual was brought to the scrutiny and verification of scripture. Changes were made based on making Biblical truth relevant to present day culture.

As an extension of the congregation’s desire to bring simple Biblical truth to the present, the church building itself was inspected for possible obstacles to the presentation of God’s word. The congregation was meeting in an old Swedish Lutheran church built at the turn of the century. The building presented a number of physical obstacles to the newly formed church's vision - "To cultivate an environment where people may encounter God, worship freely and receive encouragement." It was determined that a complete updating of the building was in order. Beginning in late 2004, a handful of members embarked upon the daunting task of remaking their 100-year-old building into a facility fully accessible to everyone. This involved reconstruction of nearly the entire structure, including the installation of a lift for people unable to navigate stairs.

With the completion of the building project, and in conjunction with a fresh emphasis on the simplicity of first century Christianity, Cornerstone Church of Hudson opened the doors to their new facility in May of 2007. The people of Cornerstone Church have been enthusiastically welcoming visitors, meeting new friends and embracing new members ever since.

Denominational Affiliation

It is our intent to avoid denominational labels. We are simply believers pursuing a full biblical expression of our faith.

We are Catholic

in that we believe in one universal church

We are Lutheran

in that we believe in salvation by God’s grace alone

We are Methodist

in that we believe in Christian living that glorifies God

We are Baptist

in that we believe in the necessity for believers to be baptized

We are Apostolic

in that we believe in adhering to the apostles’ doctrine

We are Pentecostal

in that we believe in experiencing all that God intended for His church