Since its first service on January 19, 1975, First Baptist Church has been a Fountain Hills pillar for almost 50 years. It’s time for a bit of a change, however, as church leadership has announced an impending name change to Cornerstone Family Church.

Pastor Tony Pierce said church leadership and the congregation are enthusiastic about the name change, which encapsulates the new vision statement of the church: Jesus, our foundation; family, our focus; the world, our mission.

“The last Sunday in August we will have service here as First Baptist Church,” Pierce said. “That week, all signage will change, and on the first Sunday of September it will become Cornerstone Family Church.”

Blessed with a rich heritage and history, the church will remain Baptist with the unique biblical distinctions that Baptists have always cherished.

According to a press release, the name Cornerstone Family Church will better represent the community and what the church’s local body of Christian believers’ values are and strives to demonstrate. Furthermore, the church places a priority on family, both being a family of God and loving its congregational families.

“First and foremost, the church believes that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, echoing the apostle Peter’s words as he quoted the prophet, Isaiah, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious. And whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame,’” the press release said. “The cornerstone is traditionally the first stone laid for a structure, with all other stones laid in reference to it. Jesus is the chief stone upon which all other living stones are built as a spiritual house. As a church body, everything members do should be based on who Jesus is, what Jesus, taught, and what Jesus did and continues to do.”

As a multi-generational body, the church ministers to all age groups through programs like Team Kid, Vacation Bible School, Youth Group, Bible studies, music ministries, men’s and women’s activities and ministries for seniors.

An outgrowth of a Bible study group held in the double-wide mobile home of town pioneers, Elden and Alda Light, First Baptist was the first community church to erect a permanent church building in Fountain Hills on the 3.4-acre site where it sits today. Through the decades, it has been known as a Christ-centered, Bible-believing church that is a place of healing for those who are wounded by the struggles of life.

“Cornerstone Family Church will remain uncompromising when it comes to its commitment to the authority of the word of God, to missions, to evangelism, to discipleship, to family, to being led by the Holy Spirit, to loving one another, to serving one another, and to being a biblical church,” the press release continued. “All are welcome to attend church services, and the church invites anyone who is looking for a place to call home, to come and experience the love of Jesus, the precious Cornerstone.”