Written by Barrie Knox-Davies

 

It was a morning packed with excitement and enthusiasm as members of Cornerstone gathered at 8am sharp to set about getting the South Side venue ready for the service that was to start in two hours time.

Never was the saying “many hands make light work” more true than when referring to the venue’s heavy gym artillery – punch bags, mini trampolines and aerobics steps were all shifted and shunted around, partitions were assembled and blinds were raised to create the spaces so familiar to a Cornerstone meeting environment.

Very soon an auditorium took shape with the smell of freshly brewing coffee filling the air. Boards directing potential first timers and existing Cornerstonians were placed on all the right street corners – you wouldn’t have been able to miss the venue even if you were stumbling along the straight and narrow.

As 10am drew nearer so did many cars and people. Laughter filled the air and there was a real buzz. Pizza arrived too along with biscuits, chocolate brownies, cookies and coffee. The fellowship was thick with people easily mingling with strangers, making the most of the occasion to get to know each other.

The meeting got underway at 10:20am with praise and worship having a flavour of its own – something of Cornerstone, but songs and words adapted to suit the South, to much amusement of both the regulars and the fringe.

A prophetic word was shared calling the “valley of dry bones” to arise and mobilise into a great army. Marcus built on this word by emphasising that this work builds on that which existed before Cornerstone saw this prophetic vision, and that Columbine Road is like a river flowing down into the valley, with many different streams flowing into one – symbolic of the rising up of God’s people as one, moving towards the common goal of seeing the lost saved and preparing the Bride of Christ.

Marcus went further by calling all the people over 35 years of age to come forward – and then they prayed for all the younger generation seated / standing in the rows, saying that the older folk were there to raise up this generation to go beyond that which the older generation had achieved so far.

The meeting ended around 11:30am and with continued enthusiasm and fervour a number of people stayed behind to assist with restoring the venue to its former state – that of a gym aerobics / boxing studio.