Simon Cox Blog: Breaking the 200 Barrier: Cornerstone EFCA in Casper, Wyoming

Wednesday, 26 October 2016

Breaking the 200 Barrier: Cornerstone EFCA in Casper, Wyoming

Church seeks to meet the needs of a community that often travels on the weekends.

History of the Church

Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church of Casper, Wyoming, began in 1971. For the first several decades, the church was relatively small and occasionally faced significant difficulties in attendance and giving. About 15 years ago, Pastor Jack Olsen was hired, and the church has been blessed with growth under his leadership.

Several factors have contributed to our church growth. Let me share three.

Factors Which Contributed to Breaking 200

(1) Worship facilities/times. From 2003 through mid-2008, our average attendance was consistently around 130-175. In the fall of 2008, the elders began a building campaign believing that building expansion would facilitate growth.

In 2009, groundbreaking began and excitement in the church followed even before construction was completed. For the first time, attendance averages occasionally broke the 200 barrier. In 2010, with construction fully in swing, attendance averages were consistently over 200. The building was completed in 2011, and with the completion of the building expansion, attendance consistently averaged over 250. Because of the increase in worship space, growth continued steadily through 2012.

Another factor that has contributed to our growth came by adding a Saturday night service. In 2013, the church added a third worship service to our schedule. The decision was made with the goal of reaching students at the local college. Attendance began to consistently break the 300 barrier. During this time, the church began to grow toward a more “missional” perspective.

Currently, we are in the process of praying through further expansion. In addition to other ideas, because the Casper, Wyoming, culture revolves around hunting, travel, and camping, we are considering ...