Pictured: Page 4: 1001 E. Beltline Ave. in 1964 Page 6: (clockwise from left) A student signing a form in the 1960s. A group of students standing at the entrance of Wealthy Street Baptist Church in 1941. The men’s basketball team celebrating their 1999 NAIA championship. CU now offers degrees in a variety of health care related fields. The W. Wilbert and Meryl Welch clock tower, built in 2006. Page 7: Dr. W. Wilbert Welch, CU president 1951-1983 and 1991.
Humble and faithful in his asking, Dr. Welch led the school into an unprecedented season of answered prayers, perhaps the most famous of which happened at Leonard and East Beltline, the site of a large farm. There, Dr. Welch shared with a kindhearted widow his sense that God had marked the land for the training of men and women to follow hard after Him. She agreed. No one present at the moment will forget the thrill as God gave complete unanimity about the purchase of the 64acre tract where the school now operates. – Messenger, October 1964 When the school changed locations in 1964, Dr. Welch dreamed of 500 students. Before he retired, God brought more than 1,000 under his care. Growth wasn’t necessarily announced with fanfare. The night before
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opening classes at the new campus, Dr. Welch, his wife Meryl, Dr. Warren Faber and his wife Glennys scrubbed the floors of the classroom building themselves so it was ready to greet students. The late 1960s and early 1970s produced a defining moment. Under the leadership of Welch and deans Gerritt TenBrink and Don Veldt, the university navigated its way from a bible college to a liberal arts institution. The change from offering primarily a bible education was not met without opposition. “Christian education should prepare the individual to fulfill the calling that God had extended to him,” reflected TenBrink at the time. “This call is as genuine to the pastor as it is to the plumber. When a Christian seeks to serve God through his calling, he must not be ill-equipped.” When Dr. Welch sensed it was time to welcome new leadership in 1983,
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he transitioned to an advisory role for Dr. Charles Wagner and later for Dr. Rex Rogers — whose faithful stewardship of the school resulted in national accreditation, new dorms and academic buildings, international extension programs, more than a dozen new bachelor’s degrees and an adult education program. Today, thanks to an enduring, unapologetic faith in the foolish things of this world, Cornerstone has issued 7,499 undergraduate degrees. At the mark of 75 years, God has returned Cornerstone to its beginning — the construction of a sacred space for welcoming students with hearts hungry to worship and minds eager for biblical instruction. It’s a story only He could fashion. Gratitude extends to all the faculty, staff, alumni and community who have walked the road from Wealthy Street to the dedication of Christ Chapel. All praise is given to where it’s due. Soli Deo Gloria.