Our Story

Cornerstone Christian Academy of Vilonia was built in 2014. Our owners, Shane and Alexis Cauthen, felt called to open the facility after an encounter with the Lord one night in June of 2013. Alexis was a high school English teacher at the time, and during a worship event she attended, she felt the Lord was calling her to quit her job and pursue full time ministry. At the time, she had no idea what that meant exactly, but after talking with her husband, they both knew the Lord was leading them on a new path. One month later, they were approached about the possibility of opening a childcare center in the Vilonia area, and after much prayer and consideration, they decided to follow the Lord and pursue the possibility. Without the money or the knowledge to open a childcare facility, they prayed and fasted their way through every step of the process. Miracle and miracle came as doors opened before them, and they stepped through each one as they walked by faith.

Then, in April of 2014, one week after finding out they had been given loan approval to begin building, a massive EF4 tornado ripped through Vilonia destroying their home and devastating the entire community. While it would have been easy to give up on their God-inspired dream of opening a childcare center, they moved forward and broke ground on CCAV in June of that year. They rebuilt their home and built the 6500 square foot facility simultaneously. They moved into their new home on Christmas Eve of 2014 and opened the doors of CCAV on January 5, 2015.

Since then, CCAV has existed to provide quality early childhood education to the Vilonia community while teaching Biblical foundations and raising a generation to love and follow Jesus. Our vision is one of love and faith, and while we are far from perfect, our hearts are focused on glorifying God in all that we do.

We believe in the foundational truths of scripture and rely on the Word and prayer to guide all of our decisions. During the building process, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 became a founding verse for CCAV. We cling to the instructions of that scripture in all that we do at CCAV, especially the words of verses 16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”