1989
< Click Here to learn what it took to get WJLU on the air!
On Saturday, October 7, 1989, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida a Christian radio station, WJLU FM. 89.7 on the FM dial was born! WJLU, owned by Cornerstone Community Radio, Inc., a Florida-based nonprofit corporation was ON THE AIR!
The purposes for which the station was organized are exclusively religious, charitable, scientific, literary, and educational within the meaning of section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The station began with a power of 1,000 watts with a tower height of 200 feet, covering about a 15 mile radius.
Dick Van Zandt founder of WJLU in the first studios off route 44.
Dick Van Zandt in studio in Port Orange.
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1991
In the Fall of 1991, it increased power to 5,000 watts and antenna height to 300 feet.
1994
In April 1994, the Cornerstone Broadcasting Corporation was organized under the laws of the State of Florida with a new Board. The assets of Cornerstone Community Radio were purchased for $353,000. and Cornerstone Community Radio then moved to Illinois.
In October 1994, WJLU received a power increase to 10,000 watts.
1996
In February 1996, WMFJ AM was acquired at a cost of $250,000.
1996
August 23, 1996, WJLH, Cornerstone Broadcasting Corporation, went on the air, serving the North end of Volusia County and Flagler County to Palm Coast.
Cornerstone Broadcasting Corporation owns three (3) towers: New Smyrna Beach (land & building is leased), Root Street location in Daytona Beach (complete ownership), and Flagler Beach (complete ownership).
Cornerstone Broadcasting Corporation also owns the studio/Headquarters building in Port Orange. This building and the equipment in New Smyrna Beach were included in the $353,000 purchase price of assets from Cornerstone Community Radio.
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On September 18th 1998 at 2:00pm 97.3 FM was born in Deland. Translator W247AK is located on the Cloisters building 400E. Howry Ave. The translator is 250 watts and the signal reaches Deland and Orange City.
1997
October 1998 The Cornerstone acquired the property on Root Street, a gift from the Beasley Corporation.
1998
On February 15th 1999 Cornerstone Connection became a part of The Cornerstone Broadcasting Corporation. March was our first edition. Cornerstone Connection is distributed throughout Flagler and Volusia Counties with a circulation of 10,000 copies. The mission is to provide Christian information as a free service to the community. Tuesday February 23rd 1999 97.3 FM in Daytona Beach was born. Translator W247AL is mounted on the WMFJ tower on Root Street. This translator is 250 watts filling a need for better reception in Daytona Beach especially in the down town area. On Sept. 30th 1999 The Cornerstone Web site was Launched, www.cornerstoneministry.org We prayed for it, We worked for it and God blessed us, Praise God! Effective October 1999 The Cornerstone became a member of the ECFA. Our membership is a demonstration to our donors of our commitment to the highest standards of financial integrity and Christian ethics.
1999
Feb. 28th 2000 history was made when all Christian broadcasters switched to a new digital satellite system. This promises a clearer and more reliable signal.
May 13, 2000 A new transmitter was installed for WJLH. Praise God! New is good.
2000
2001
August 4, 2001 The month of August began with major improvements to the WMFJ tower. The coax cable was remounted properly to the tower. A new micro wave dish for receiving the WMFJ signal was installed. The tuning cables were reinstalled to new brackets with stabilizing brackets mounted along the length of the tower. Two weeks later a new transmitter was installed and the Harris moved into the newly renovated room in the front of the building.
August 2001 WJLU & WJLH came online with our state of the art, live assist/automation system.
Sept 2001 Genrac stand by generators were installed at the WMFJ transmitter site.
December 2001 WMFJ came online with our state of the art, live assist/automation system.
December 2002 The property for the WJLH transmitter site was paid in full by a grant from a listener.
2002
May 2003 Genrac standby generators were installed at our studio's facility and at the WJLU transmitter site.
August 2003 The Cornerstone Website was completely Re-designed by Newkey Media Solutions and Launched on August 8th
2003
January 7, 2004 Bill Leisner President/ General Manager went home to be with the Lord. The history of Cornerstone Broadcasting along with his love and dedication to serving the Lord is his legacy. We will all miss Bill. Bill Powell was appointed new manager.
July 2004 Lightening strike, Hurricanes: Charley, Francis and Jeanne. December 2004 Made last payment on Studios mortgage. Halleluiah!
March 2004, The Cornerstone website gets another new facelift with new features such as a Blog section and MP3 Download Section. Designed by Newkey Media Solutions, LLC.
2004
August 2005 Deltona translator 102.7 goes on the air an answer to several years of prayer
2005
2007
Implemented new administrative software for the donor data base, Gift Works, and Quick Books financial software
2009
December 2009, The Cornerstone has always taught and practiced good biblical stewardship. From the founding of this ministry a plan to become debt free was implemented. The goal was paying off the smallest bill then applying payment to the next lowest bill and so on until the last bill was paid. The ministry now is debt free. Praise the Lord! That being said, we are still listener supported and not bill free. Expenses continue to rise so we are indebted to our listeners for support. We can do no more than what our listeners provide in support. Thanks to all who give. You are storing up treasures in Heaven
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After twelve years of prayer, hard work and many faithful donors, Bigfoot has become a reality. Bigfoot is the power increase for WJLH from 2,000 watts to 15,000 watts. Now The Cornerstone has a great signal from Oakhill to St. Augustine North along the coast.
2010
Throughout the year, thanks to Josh Jones our webmaster, we were able to do a total facelift of our website. Take a spin around; not only can you listen online but you will find a wealth of information including The Cornerstone business sponsors, our program guides, and links to your favorite Bible teacher.
2011
MARCH: Marked the completion of The Cornerstone studio remodel. Thanks to Jay Arnold, Lou Mueller and the entire staff. Most people’s first impression is WOW.
JUNE: The Cornerstone acquired a construction permit to put a 1000 watt FM station on the air in Key West, Florida. The cost was only $12,500. The Lord works in mysterious ways. This was not in the plan but impossible to pass up. The programming will emanate from our studio here in Port Orange. We have until 2013 to have it up and running.
JULY: You can now listen to The Cornerstone on your iPad, iPhone or Droid phone by installing your free app from their app stores. Check out the other key features the app provides including programs guides and easy e-mail or call us.
August: The Cornerstone began broadcasting song titles, artists, and program titles across your car radio via our new RDS system (radio display system) Now we can keep you up-to-date with music, weather, special messages (when necessary) as you drive down the road. We can also do a better job by showing you the businesses in the community that support this ministry. This month The Cornerstone has upgraded the automation system, giving us the features of the latest in technology.
September: After many years of trying, we received a grant from a private foundation to purchase a phone system that will allow us to do call-in programs. This is a state-of-the art system that will enable us to camp several calls at once with a delay that will let our on-air talent field calls from listeners.
2012
Renovated the production room - Boy scouts help clean up Root street property - Added billboards and bus benches to get the word out - Added ventilation system at WJLH which drastically reduced our electric bill. Thanks Terrance Sicilia
2013
In 2003 the journey began and the prayers were many but we were finally granted a construction permit for a St. Augustine translator W268BX 101.3FM. It should be up and running in 2015.
In June 2011, we acquired a construction permit for a 1000 watt FM radio station for 91.1 FM in Key West, Florida. November 2013 Key West 91.9 WKWJ came online, reaching Key West. The web site is WKWJ.ORG thanks to Josh Jones. A special thanks to Lou Mueller our engineer who made this possible with his technical expertise. Thanks to the staff for all the support that was necessary to make this happen. The programming is similar to our WMFJ 1450 but there are many programs that are exclusive to Key West. It is our desire to provide local announcements and local programming in addition to the top evangelical programs you are accustomed to on The Cornerstone. The programming will originate from our studios here in Port Orange. Welcome Key West to the family of radio stations known as The Cornerstone.
2014
Thanks to Zack McDonald for getting us together with Mullinax Ford, we acquired our first station vehicle, a 2010 Ford Explorer. It looks and runs like new. Although it has 105,000 miles on it, praise God! it is paid for and half the graphic costs were paid for by rewards savings from using our credit card.
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p. s. We do not carry a balance on our credit card. Look for our vehicle around town!
2015
101.3 FM gave its first cry on air on December 14th 2015 at 12:45pm. 100% Christmas music heard all around the old city. What a wonderful Christmas gift to be blessed with!
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2017
Cornerstone Broadcasting launched their internet TV channel for Roku, Amazon Fire,
and Android TV devices in March of 2017.
2018
We were blessed with a donation that helped us purchase a generator that we
installed in Flagler.
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2021
In an effort for a further reach of our 1450am programming, we decided to extend it by way of using the FM airways. 96.9 FM was born on February 11, 2021! We are beyond grateful for those involved in making 96.9FM a reality. We are even more thankful that God continues to bless The Cornerstone and for His graciousness by allowing us to grow in this community!
96.9FM
This is the maintenance we have had done throughout 2021 thanks to our faithful listeners who support this ministry. Click on the photo to enlarge and see captions!
2022
2022 has been a very pivotal year. Some of the things we have been able to do are hard to give a good visual. The changes, however, have been significant. First, we have changed the way we send our signal from the studios to the 90.3 transmitter. We are now sending a much cleaner and overall better sound to the transmitter which in turn produces on your radio a richer better sound. Also, we now have a backup in the event of damage it will switch to our old system. This should improve our reliability.
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Probably one of the most significant improvements has been the upgrade of our automation system. This includes computers and software. One of the most impacting improvements is that all the switching went from analog to digital. The switching is where we have had the most problems. To properly get the magnitude of these changes requires a visit to our studios. We were able to eliminate several computers and hundreds of feet of wires and provide a complete backup to our whole system.
The circled pieces of equipment are new!
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2022
HURRICANE IAN & HURRICANE NICOLE
The Hurricanes took a toll on The Cornerstone. Many repairs needed to be made in order to get us back on air. The pictures speak for themselves. Click on the image to view them full size!
