Christmas Greetings

Something New Every Day!

It wasn't that long ago that I could go for weeks without having anything to photograph at the construction site for the new building. Now, we can see changes taking place daily. The slab is finished, and more steel went up Thursday and Friday in spite of the rainy weather.

This photo was made from about where the main entrance will one day be. You can see the sloping floor of the future sanctuary. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

First Wall

Surprisingly to me, the first wall was erected this week, even before the slab was finished. Workers were still pouring concrete at the front of the building when I made this photo of a section of the back wall on a foggy Thursday morning.

"May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."
Psalm 122:7

Final Christmas On Old Clyde Road

I know we're all excited about the new building going up, but it's still a little sad that this will be the last Christmas we celebrate in this building. This year makes eight Christmases that my family has enjoyed children's programs, special choir presentations, and Christmas sermons in this building. Many of you have been celebrating Jesus' birth here a lot longer than that. There's a lot of good memories in this building. Pastor Alan asked me to make some photographs of the sanctuary while the Christmas decorations are up for the last time, so here's one to remember her by. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Some Assembly Required

"Some Assembly Required" - the words that every Dad dreads reading on Christmas Eve when it's time to play Santa Claus. Tools scattered all over the living room, assembly instructions written by someone for whom English is a second language, diagrams that don't match the parts you're holding in your hands - we've all been there. The construction workers at our building site are facing a similar scene as the pieces of our new building begin to pile up as work continues on the foundation. Hopefully, when our builders are finished, they won't face the dilemma many of us face when we're finished on Christmas Eve: left over parts.

All the freight companies are learning the new address of Woodland Baptist Church. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

This pile of sheet metal will one day be Woodland's distinctive blue roof.

I hope these pieces are numbered better than the ones for the last bike I put together!

This doesn't look like a church building now, but it will soon!

Concrete Evidence

A good bit of concrete got poured for the back part of the building this past week. You can't see it because it's covered by tarps for protection while it dries and cures, but it's under there (I peeked).

This area of the building will one day be classrooms, with our fellowship hall and kitchen just beyond. No more standing up to eat - imagine that.

Many Parts

Plumb lines. Conduit. Re bar. Excavators. More holes. Drain pipes. Crushed stone. Footers. Stone blocks. Concrete forms. PVC pipe.

The outline of a building takes shape.

Learning Curve

This construction project is a learning experience for me. When we learned that the next step would be pouring the slab, I envisioned the workers setting up some wooden forms and pouring concrete. Simple, right? Not so. That foundation is a lot more complicated than I thought. There's a lot of things that have to go under that foundation before the concrete is poured, like all the plumbing and electrical conduit, and footers for the steel beams that will eventually support the building. Watching this foundation take shape has been fascinating to me. All those pipes and conduits, and all the footers have to be in exactly the right place before the concrete is poured. If they're off even just a little, it will cause major problems later in the building process. It has been interesting to see the precision that is called for in building this foundation. There's a lot more to it than just "pouring a slab"!

Something To Build On

Last week's holes in the ground are beginning to turn into the outline of a building. Parts of the plumbing and conduit for the electric service are being put into place before the slab is poured. Footers that will support the steel uprights are recognizable now. Even for someone like me who knows little about construction, it's starting to look like a building! (Click on photos to enlarge.)

A concrete form for a footer, showing the large supporting pad underneath. These will one day support the entire weight of the building.

A completed footer ready for a steel upright to be attached to it.

Looking like a piece of modern sculpture, part of the plumbing system is in place ready for the pouring of the slab.

Digging In

Well, these holes ain't the prettiest part of the building, but they're essential to a good foundation. And we all know from Scripture how crucial a good foundation is. Soon, all these hole will be covered with concrete, so we won't have to look at them anymore. Even though we won't be able to see this part of the new building, it will be reassuring to know it's there - a good foundation.

Staking Out A Foundation

If you drive by the new facility site, you'll finally see something there besides dirt. Wooden stakes, chalk lines, and holes being dug here and there are the preliminary steps of putting in the foundation for our new building. Although it's only a rectangle of stakes and chalk right now, use your imagination and you can see our new building taking it's place among the beautiful mountains of Haywood County.

Breaking Ground - Finally!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ . . .

Yeah, I know. It's been snooze city here at Woodland Builds lately. But that's only because most of what's been going on with the building project has been behind the scenes, away from my camera. You know, the boring stuff like planning, meetings with bankers, applying for various permits, selling our current building, etc. All very essential, but all very boring. Now, however, the action begins!

Sunday, October 7, 2007, Woodland Baptist Church finally broke ground on it's new building. As early as this week we should start seeing some activity on the site that actually looks like construction. From now until the building is completed, there should be interesting scenes for me to photograph, and for you to look at every week. Here's some scenes from Sunday's event (Click on photos to enlarge.) :

Pastor Alan adds "the back of a pick-up truck" to the long list of places that he has preached.

Some of the crowd that came to celebrate the event.

Amber Rhinehart sings at Sunday's ceremony.


















Members of the Building and Grounds Committee, and the Design Team turn over the first dirt for the new building.

Woodland's oldest deacon, Vardy Fugate, assisted with the groundbreaking.

We're not building a church.

Recent Visitor Map from StatCounter

I enjoy the comments and questions by email I sometimes get from visitors of this site. They let me know somebody's actually looking. One emailer from Virginia questioned my use of the word "facility" instead of "church" in the blog sub-title. She thought it sounded too much like we're merely building an office, or a plant of some sort. Actually, I chose to use the word "facility" very deliberately because the building that will go up on Crabtree Road is not a church.

Woodland Baptist Church is an assembly of people, not to be confused with the building we inhabit at any given time. The New Testament never uses the Greek word ekklesia to describe a building, but rather, a called out assembly of people. Am I just splitting hairs over semantics? I don't think so. Would you refer to the house that you live in as your family? Of course not. Wouldn't you think it strange if a friend with a new home invited you to "come see the new family we built in Canton?" Of course you would. Your house is merely the building where your family resides, not the family itself. Just as only people can comprise a family, only redeemed people can comprise a church.

Of course, people will continue to refer to the building we meet in as "the church". That's just common usage of the term, and it probably will never change. However, I think it's important that we not allow ourselves to be so identified with a particular building that it becomes what we think of when we say "Woodland Baptist Church". People should come to mind first. We'll all be proud of our new facility when it's completed, and rightfully so. We're all working hard to make it happen. But this new building could be destroyed by a fire or a storm in a matter of minutes. Not so the church. This new building may one day face the wrecking ball to make room for another building. The church of Jesus Christ will stand forever; He said the gates of hell will not prevail against it. No building can make that claim. Only the church, "the called out assembly" that Jesus has built, will last forever. Only Jesus can build a church.

A Place To Park

One of the reasons our church decided to relocate to a new site was the lack of space available for parking at our current property. It's just a fact of modern life: more people equals more cars. The new location for Woodland will have plenty of level, paved parking close to the building. The fill dirt for the parking area is in place, and now we're ready to start seeing some site prep for the foundation. The official groundbreaking should be later this month.

More Dirty Deeds At The New Church Site

Yes, more dirt for Woodland! This time they're filling in the area that will be the parking lot for the new building.

Before the 4th of July celebration and dedication ceremony, many people had commented on how small the area for the new building looked from the road. It hardly seemed big enough for the size building we were envisioning. But after folks actually got to go on the property and walk around on it, they saw how large an area it really is. The area being filled now for the parking lot will make it even bigger. And there will still be some space behind the new building to allow for further expansion in the future. Buying this piece of property will prove to be a wise choice for many years to come.

First Church Function On New Property

Woodland held it's first official function at its future location on Crabtree Rd., a 4th of July celebration and dedication of the new property. Since the new location is an ideal spot to watch the annual fireworks show put on by Lake Junaluska Assembly, it was decided that this would be a good time to gather everyone together to dedicate the new property, and also enjoy a little food and fun for Independence Day.

Athletes in action?

For now, lots of room for games at the new property.

At Woodland, we love to eat!

Gospel singing mountain style.

Pastor Alan preaching during the dedication ceremony.

Another Sign Of Growth

A growing church needs a growing group of servant leaders. Welcome our newest deacon, Scott Sluder! (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Why We Build

(Click on individual images to enlarge.)

Celebration Event

The climax to the Vision to Victory campaign was the Celelbration Event held on May 20 at the Haywood County Fairgrounds. The adults enjoyed a barbeque dinner, while the children had their own party with food and games. After dinner, there was singing and testimonies, followed by a short sermon by Pastor Alan Davis. The evening was concluded as people turned in their commitment cards containing what they expect to give to the building fund over the next three years.

Who picked the caterer???

(Actually, the food was very good!)

Piles of barbeque and all the fixin's await hungry church members.

Bill Wilkerson and Pastor Alan Davis unveil the scale model of our new building.

The children's party included games, face painting, music, and lots of food.

Harold Medford shares his testimony.

Pastor Alan encourages Woodland from God's Word.

Bill Wilkerson built this scale model of our new building. Amazing detail!