SIOUX CITY - A dream realized - The new worship center for Cornerstone World Outreach was something churchgoers had dreamed of for the last 20 years.
"We no longer dream of the day when we'll be able to experience a new facility that better facilitates what we do," said the Rev. Cary Gordon. "We get to stand in there and enjoy it every week."
Gordon said that before moving into the new facility at 1625 Glen Ellen Road, things were being stored in the ceiling because they had no room or space in their old building.
The church was organized in 1982 by Pastors Larry and Eileen Gordon during a meeting at Sloan Elementary School. Since 1985, services have been held in a former furniture store west of the new center at 6000 Gordon Drive.
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With the new facility, space is no longer a concern, he said.
In fact, Gordon said the congregation is steadily growing and the church is preparing for the next phase of the building project.
"The next phase will be to complete the upstairs," he said. "We have a second floor that is unfinished, including a portion of the main floor, which is an office area. It's just a shell right now. That's phase two to finish those rooms. Finishing those will increase our functionality and square footage."
The next phase also will include the construction of a coffee bar, classrooms and a cascading fountain.
There is no planned date of completion for phase two, Gordon said.
"It's going to be up to our capital campaign program," he said. "We're going as far as we can as fast as we can."
Meanwhile, they continue to enjoy what the new facility has to offer.
The building features state-of-the-art acoustics that will rival any performing arts center in the Midwest, Gordon said.
Phase one construction cost $8 million and included the acoustics and lighting, a full theater stage and television video and audio editing capabilities.
But, the 52,000-square foot facility with an 850-seat auditorium still has room to expand and has some cosmetic defects, he added.
"We still haven't been able to put the ministry crest on the front of the building," Gordon said. "We haven't gotten that mounted yet. The building is missing some fine details but we'll get that done."
Also, the outside area around the building still looks like new construction, he said.
"It looks pretty raw, because this is the first year of landscaping," Gordon said. "In the future, we will have trees and we planted a considerable number of rose bushes and eight to 10 acres of wildflowers. We're waiting to see how they blossom this year. It could take a couple of years (before they bloom)."
