In 1878, three German farmers, J. H. Roehler, Henry Holstein, and Jacob Bender lead a small congregation of faithful believers to found the German United Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul Church of Bloomingdale. The congregation purchased the former Congregational church building, and immediately set to work installing a new roof and redecorating the interior. By the turn of the 20th Century, the congregation had joined together with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches of America, and just before 1960 it merged together with the United Church of Christ.  Though the congregation remained part of the UCC in name, it had always functioned independently within the denomination, and in 2014, the congregation voted to formally separate from itself from the UCC and function as an independent, non-denominational Christian church. And, just like that, Cornerstone Faith Community Church was born, out of more than 140 years of rich, faithful history. 

Today, the congregation still meets in the sanctuary which was built in 1914.  The pipe organ in our sanctuary, which is still used on special occasions, dates to 1941, and it listed among the National Register of Historic Pipe Organs. Our congregation has been lead by just 14 pastors in the last 145 years, and has been home to many local businessmen and businesswomen, including the Bender family, one-time owners of the local hardware store and Wallace and Georgene Geils, owners of Case Lot Grocery and the Economart, predecessors to the big-box stores of today. 

Over 10,000 worship gatherings have been held by this congregation throughout its nearly fifteen decades of ministry.  While the music may sound different as the years go by, and the words transitioned from German to English, the spirit of this place remains the same as it was when those three farmers were determined to establish a church in their growing frontier town.  Faith in God, trust in Jesus and sharing the Good News of the Gospel always have been, and will always be at the heart of our mission.