GRAND RAPIDS — Joe Stowell was there, Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham, was there, and so it seemed…was everyone else in Michigan.

Approximately 2,000 guests from all over the state attended the Sept. 12 “West Michigan Welcomes Joe & Martie Stowell” gala dinner, making it an event drawing bigger crowds than both Bono and Bill Clinton when they came to DeVos.

When Stowell, Cornerstone University’s new president, took the stage and greeted the audience, he addressed that immediately.

“I guess what we’re experiencing tonight is what happens when you offer a free dinner in West Michigan,” he said, laughing.

Throughout the night, video messages played from several well-known Christian evangelists, including Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries; Howard Hendricks, professor at Dallas Theological Seminaary; Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Christian author and speaker Max Lucado; Joni Earackson Tada, founder of Joni and Friends International Disability Center; Ravi Zacharias, founder of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, and Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and the author of “The Purpose Driven Life.”

They all emphasized not only their respect and love for Stowell, but also shared how highly they value his friendships.

For more than an hour before the dining room doors opened, the halls gradually filled with community members, friends, and Cornerstone University students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Guests mingled in the corridors and out on the balconies overlooking the Grand River, sipping from goblets of chilled white grape juice and chatting pleasantly.

Dignitaries who attended included Grand Rapids’ Mayor George Heartwell, Wyoming’s Mayor Carol Sheets, Rep. Tom Pearce of District 73 and Sen. Mark Jansen of District 28.

Allison Bradshaw, director of advancement database services at CU, was in charge of guests and seating.

“I had to pull the mailing list together,” she said. “We started working on it the first part of June. We mailed invitations the first week of August. Within two days we started hearing back from people, and within three weeks we hit 1,800 RSVPs. After that, within a week we easily went to 2,200.”

At 7 p.m., the tall double doors opened, revealing hundreds of dinner tables. At each place setting was a complimentary copy of the book, “I Would Follow Jesus” by Joe Stowell.

Matt Stowell, Joe Stowell’s son, played background music with his band before the program started, and then also performed a song during the program. The evening’s emcee was Candace Matthews, chief marketing officer of Amway.

Heather Headley, Tony-award winning singer and Broadway actress, performed a stunning arrangement of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” to open the evening. Toward the end of the program before she sang “In Christ Alone,” Stowell expressed his delight that she was able to be there, since she is one of his favorite musicians.

The CU eight-member a capella group, Credo, sang an invocation, and Clifton Rhodes, a CU alumnus and pastor of Messiah Missionary Baptist Church, prayed before dinner began.

The menu consisted of Boston bibb salad with pistachios, gorgonzola and grapes; grilled beef tenderloin with gravy; cider-marinated chicken; potato tarts; asparagus and fresh baked rolls. There were two desserts: malted chocolate pie and strawberry Italian almond crème torte with peach sauce. There was also a vegetarian menu that included tofu instead of meat.

Despite the evening’s delightful food, guests and music, the gala dinner was about something more.

There were three main speakers for the evening: Anne Graham Lotz, Billy Graham’s daughter and founder of AnGel Ministries, Duane Litfin, president of Wheaton College, and Stowell. Each of them said they wanted Jesus Christ to be the real focus of the evening.

During her message, Lotz gave a gospel presentation using an analogy about being on the outside of a relationship, from Francis Hodgson Burnett’s “A Little Princess.”

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the inauguration of Dr. Joe Stowell than to make this night the night you enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” she said.

After Lotz and Litfin spoke, Ed Dobson, senior vice president of Spiritual Formation, introduced Stowell with a story about the first time he heard Stowell preach.

Dobson said Stowell used the analogy you can tell the level of businessperson someone is by the type of pen they use. Some use BiC’s, some use ball points, and some Mont Blancs. After the message, Dobson said he asked Stowell what kind of pen he used, and Stowell pulled out a Mont Blanc.

As Stowell walked up on stage after that introduction, Dobson said he had a gift for him, though it probably wouldn’t be as elaborate as some of the other congratulatory gifts he had received.

Dobson handed him a BiC pen.

Stowell laughed and said, “And here, you can have my Mont Blanc.”

He then began his message “Christ in Cornerstone,” about his vision for CU: that it would be a place of academic excellence and spiritual authenticity.

Stowell emphasized that CU is “at the core, a Christian University,” and that his prayer is that it would be a place where Jesus Christ truly is the “chief cornerstone,” not only in name, but in reality.

Cindy Robinson, CU alumna of ’82, sat at table 215 during the dinner. Neither she nor her husband Brad had ever heard of Joe Stowell before they got the invitation, but after listening to him speak, she was convinced CU hired the right person.

“You guys are blessed,” she said. “Truly blessed.”