A Precious Cornerstone
A Brief History of the Cornerstone Bookstore
The Journey, Winter 2023
Written by John & Pat Pope
"Behold, I lay in Zion a Stone, a precious Cornerstone; Anyone who puts his trust in Him, will not be ashamed." 1 Peter 2:6
John and Pat Pope opened The Cornerstone Christian Bookstore 43 years ago with a vision of creating an atmosphere of love for people to come, browse, and talk openly about their faith. The bookstore, located in the heart of Boone on Blowing Rock Road, is a place where people feel welcomed and loved. What follows is John and Pat Pope’s story in their own words.
To give you an idea of how The Cornerstone came to be, we—John & Pat Pope, founders & former stewards of this beautiful Christian Bookstore—would like to briefly share a bit of our story. Forty-five years ago, the Father drew us to Himself and made us His own.
John & Pat Pope
After several years of teaching us His Word, He put a clear desire in our hearts to come to the NC Mountains to build a wonderful Christian Store—to create a place that would make His Word and the knowledge of His Goodness readily available in the Marketplace. So, in 1979, in simple obedience, we packed up & moved to Boone, obtained an SBA loan offered to new business start-ups, and began the incredible journey of building The Cornerstone Christian Bookstore.
Every dollar brought in was plowed back into the Bookstore for many years, with our keeping outside jobs for over 10 years to create personal income without drawing from store revenues. After 22 years in business, our Brother felt God had impressed him to build a stunning new building in a stellar location for The Cornerstone—with the sincere motivation to see the Kingdom increase and for God to be Glorified in the work. Wow! What an opportunity!
Amazingly the beautiful hand-hewn wooden rafters for the new building were actually being hoisted into place at the very "moment" of the world-changing events of September 11, 2001! It burned in our hearts—was God raising up The Cornerstone for "such a time as this?” The Lord has blessed it and the Store has increased in every way.
The following Scripture inspired the "name" of The Cornerstone for us; it proclaims that HE HAS DONE IT! HE has established it! And that this Great Salvation is "for anyone who will put their trust in Him!”
Pat & John Pope at the entrance to the Cornerstone Bookstore
Our goal was always to please Him, realizing we were not doing everything "perfectly,” but our heart was always to honor Him, to create and maintain a wonderful environment for customers, to bring together an excellent and wide variety of Books, Bibles & Gifts that would encourage Faith and inspire the hearts of people to "Go toward God," and to enjoy allowing Him to bring Glory to Himself through their lives. To be "salt and light" in the Marketplace!
We are convinced that the greatest miracle is the New Birth. Having experienced the wonder of the transformed life ourselves, we committed our lives to advancing the Kingdom of God. We believe that God birthed The Cornerstone in our hearts for the purpose of being a blessing to our beautiful mountain communities and to proclaim His great Love Plan of Salvation here and throughout the World. We see The Cornerstone as a huge "seed bin" full of precious Seed being made available to whoever will come!
Over the 43 years of being at the helm of The Cornerstone, one of the most gratifying memories we have is the hundreds—probably thousands—of people who have given testimony of how just being in the store has encouraged them in their Faith and given them Hope of God's reality and presence in their lives. Everyone, without exception, needs to know the Love of God and that He has the answer for their every need. We have notebooks filled with their comments and testimonies of how beautifully they have been impacted by The Cornerstone. How that encourages our hearts to be able to look back and read those heartfelt words!
What an honor to represent Jesus Christ in the Marketplace—keeping the Testimony alive and well in the public square! Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to Me."
“Cornerstone Named Nations’s Christian Bookstore of the Year”—printed in the Watauga Democrat, 2007
The Lord has Blessed us so much in these 43 years to be in the driver's seat at The Cornerstone, with all its ups and downs, hopes and dreams, tears and laughter. We pray the Store has been a Blessing and brought joy to His heart.
We are so grateful for all the wonderful people who have come into the Store throughout the years and have shared in the Blessing with us. Their relationships will continue in our hearts forever. We are so thankful for the priceless team of staff He has brought to work alongside us in this part of His vineyard. They are the ones that have so enhanced the blessing The Cornerstone has become to so many. They will always be dear to us.
Our earnest prayer for over 10 years, has been that He would provide someone to take The Cornerstone; someone who would have the resources and vision to enable it to continue to flourish; and that they would sense God's heart as they cause it to grow in its Kingdom impact. We are thankful He has answered our prayers in this and we will continue to pray for the Blessing of the Lord to be upon The Cornerstone & those entrusted to its stewardship.
We pass the baton with hearts full of gratitude, being amazed that 43 years have passed since we first heard His calling to come to the Mountains & build a wonderful Store where He would be pleased to dwell. How amazing are His Ways!
The Cornerstone Christian Bookstore—one of the most beautiful Christian Stores in our Country! Where God is honored and Jesus is Lord! Where people have experienced the goodness of God and found hope and encouragement in their Faith for nearly a half a century! God is Good. "Every day we thank Him for drawing us to Himself & letting us know Him & walk with Him and enjoy building The Cornerstone with Him. What a Blessed Journey it has been!"
