Woodlake United Methodist Church
...A Work of Faith
Every day of the week the halls ring with the sounds of people in worship, in prayer, in Bible classes; choirs and orchestras rehearsing; children of all ages running up and down the halls; the Pastors, staff and committees doing the daily business of the church and the quiet sounds of counseling and consoling. But it wasn’t always this way.
In the summer of 1986 Reverend Dennis Perry arrived with his wife, two small children, a charter from the Richmond District to start a new United Methodist Church in Western Chesterfield, and faith. And it took a lot of faith. There was no church, no staff and no congregation. There was a need in the community to connect, or reconnect with God. The need must have been great because on a Sunday morning in September 1986, 107 people gathered under the open sky at the Woodlake Pavilion to worship Christ.
By October 1986 the small congregation had moved indoors and was calling the gymnasium of Clover Hill Elementary School “home”. At least temporarily. Time passed and Woodlake United Methodist Church (WUMC) continued to grow and serve the needs of the congregation and community. A full course of Christian Education and Sunday School complimented our Worship services by 1990 and the members numbered 300. Those members cast the die and decided that the time was right for a church home.
In September 1991 the 800 members of WUMC moved into the church on the hill by the lake. This allowed us to continue to grow and serve God in new and exciting ways. But we weren’t done yet. The paint wasn’t dry when the modular buildings were added as the “educational wing”. In the nineties we added risers and chairs in the balconies, added a third Sunday service and utilized the Woodlake Child Development Center and Clover Hill High School for Sunday School and Sunday evening children’s programs. In October 2002 we began holding Connect contemporary worship services on Saturday nights.
Over the past few years, we’ve been making plans and raising funds for even further growth. To date, we have over 1800 members. To accommodate this dynamic growth, we began holding our 9:30 and 11:00 am worship services at Cosby High School in February 2008.
In addition, we’ve expanded to a plot of land at the entrance of the Hampton Park subdivision right down the street! In May 2008, we celebrated the consecration of our new discipleship building and childcare center which houses 20 classrooms. In September 2008, we opened the doors to the new Woodlake United Methodist Preschool. And we’re not done yet! We have plans to continue construction at our Hampton Park property to include a larger sanctuary for 800+ worshipers and a Family Life Center featuring a gymnasium and fellowship hall. Thank you for your ongoing support and faith in this exciting adventure. Stay tuned!
At the new location, we'll have...
- A new worship and educational facility in ONE location
- A larger sanctuary for 800+ worshipers
- Better parking
- and a Family Life Center that will house a gymnasium and fellowship hall
