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!

Feel Free To Comment

Until recently, I hadn't figured out all of the options available from Blogger (the host for this blog) for adding comments from you, the viewers. The default settings required you to register for an account with Blogger. Understandably, that was too much trouble to go through just to add a short comment to a post. Well, that's all changed now!

Now you can add a comment without registering for a Blogger account. To post a comment, simply click on "Comments" at the bottom of each post, then click "Post a Comment". The screen shown here will appear. Type in your comment, and then click "Google/Blogger" if you have a Blogger account, "Other" if you want to leave your name, or "Anonymous" if you don't. Then click "Publish Your Comment". It's that simple!

Now you can let me, and the other viewers of Woodland Builds know what you think about what's going with our building project. Let us all know what you think!

The Unveiling

A good crowd turned out on April 15, 2007 for the presentation of Woodland's building plans and fundraising goals. After a covered dish fellowship supper, the rendering showing what the new church building will look like was unveiled. (Faithful viewers of Woodland Builds got a one-day, sneak peak of it two weeks ago.) Also presented were the church's fund raising goals as part of the capital fund raising campaign that will continue over the next three years.

Decorative centerpieces with a construction theme were on every table.

Joe Smith and Pat Conard were given the honor of unveiling the rendering of Woodland's new church building.

Bob Keeling and Ryan Campbell display a banner with our fund raising goals.

Beth and Ryan Campbell gave a stewardship testimony. And no, Ryan did not doze off during his own testimony. That's just photographer's error - I happened to catch him in mid-blink. Sorry about that, Ryan!

This is what our new church building should look like when completed. The rendering was done by local artist Andy Bailey, who was kind enough to send me a copy for use in Woodland Builds. Andy works for D. Wright & Associates, Woodland's architects for the project.

Where did it go?

Oooooops! Well, it seems I jumped the gun by posting a rendering of the new church building this morning. I posted it before finding out that the plan is to unveil it at a fellowship dinner later this month. So if you already saw it, pretend that you're Sgt. Shultz and forget what you saw. (For those of you too young to remember Hogan's Heroes, ask your parents who Sgt. Shultz is.) If you missed it, be sure to come to the fellowship dinner on April 15 for the unveiling.

Ain't it purty?

Dirt is not often described as "pretty", but I think this pile of dirt qualifies. The job of filling in the space that will be the pad for the new building has been completed. Later, fill dirt for parking areas will be added, but the space for the new church building is ready for the next step, the pouring of the slab.

This view shows how much higher the final grade is above the surrounding land. This will give our new building the protection it needs should Richland Creek ever get out of its banks during a severe storm. No more soaked carpets for us!

Construction sites are usually a "hard hat zone", and the new church site is no different. Besides the usual construction site hazards, the church site is routinely shelled with balls from the nearby driving range. (Yes, those are golf balls you see in this photo looking in the direction of the driving range.) Of course, that problem will be corrected long before the building is completed, but consider this: Hundreds of years from now, future archeologists will no doubt be puzzled by the presence of golf balls as they sift through the dirt of what they thought was the site of an old church. Let them figure it out!

What a difference a month makes!

I made these photos yesterday afternoon. As you can see by comparing these to ones I made a month ago, mucho dirt has been moved to our new building site.


This manhole is about 12-14 feet deep. The bottom of it is where the old ground level was. I'm guessing that the orange line indicates where the finished ground level will be. Not much more to go!


This photo is looking down into the manhole. Although it's dark down there, you can just make out the end of a drainage pipe that was lying on top of the ground before any fill dirt was brought in (See February 8, 2007 post). Now it's waaaaaay down there.

Standing Firm

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in Him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a day of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

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It's been a month since I last posted a photo to this site. There's only so many photos you can show of dirt being piled up, so I thought I'd wait a few weeks and then show a progress shot. I drove by the construction site yesterday, and it's really looking good. If the weather cooperates, I'll get out there today for some update photos. Meanwhile, stand firm.

Metal Church Buildings Not A New Idea

Through the wonder of the internet, I get to communicate with photographers from around the world. While visiting the blog of a new acquaintance from Istanbul, Turkey, I learned of a metal church there that dates from the 1890's. So metal church buildings are not such a new idea after all.

Check it out by clicking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_St_Stephen_Church

Church With A View

This is view of the new building site looking northwest. Pretty nice view, huh? (Photo made 2/11/07.)

Doin' the dirty work

The church construction site was a beehive of activity early Saturday morning as workers took advantage of the dry weather.

Dump trucks rolled in almost every minute as they hauled dirt being dug from a site on Howell Mill Road.

As soon as the dirt is dumped, a bulldozer moves in to spread it out before the next load arrives.

Church Building For Sale

Now that there is a "For Sale" sign in front of Woodland Baptist Church, I wonder what people are thinking when they see it? "Are they moving?" "Are they going out of business?" "Who would want to buy a church?" "I wonder how much a church goes for nowadays?" Who knows what they're thinking. I just know God has a buyer out there, because the Bible says He will provide for all our needs.

I've heard rumors that one inquirer just wants the property to build houses or apartments. I really don't care what the next owner does with it, but it would be nice if another church bought it to use as a church. Just in case the building is torn down by the next owner, I plan to make a series of documentary photos of the building and its interior to remember her by. There's a lot of memories in that building.

You've Got Dirt!

Brian Noland called me last night to let me know that the dirt has finally started arriving - 25 or so loads on the first day! I went out first thing this morning to get some pictures. What had been dumped yesterday had already been spread and compacted as you can see in the picture. Lots more dirt will be needed to raise the grade 10-12 feet above what you see here, but at least the filling has begun!

It pays to ask questions.

On my last post I poked a little fun at WNC Paving for not coming through with any dirt yet. After visiting the site this morning and talking with some of the workers there, I learned there's some drainage work that has to be done first. So that's what's going on now. Drainage pipe has to be installed first before they just start dumping dirt. Speaking as a native of Louisiana, trust me, good drainage is important. So now I'll be a little more patient about the dirt. As Paul Harvey says, "Now you know the rest of the story."

Anticipation

Meanwhile, back at WNC Paving headquarters . . .

"Silt fence in place?"
"Check."
"Compactor at site?"
"Check."
"What about an excavator?"
"Check."
"We'll need a grader too."
"Check."
"What about the dirt?"
"Uh, er, uh, the dirt?"
"Yeah, the dirt. It's a fill job, remember?"
"Uh, oh yeah, the dirt. Uh, yeah, this week, uh, weather permitting, of course."

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Well, it looks like everything is in place for the dirt to start arriving. The anticipation of seeing that first load dumped is building - to an excruciating level. Maybe this week. We hope.

Pray for good weather. Pray for dirt.

Capital Fund Campaign Kick-off

Preaching a sermon from Matthew 21:33-41 titled "Whose Vineyard Is It?", Dr. Bob Entner of TLC Ministries began our Capital Fund Campaign at both the 8:20 and 11:00 worship services. The sermon centered on the subject of stewardship, and the responsibility we have to properly manage what God has entrusted to each of us.

At the evening service, Dr. Entner gave an overview of what will take place over the next few months as each family seeks how God will have them involved. There was an emphasis on the need for sacrificial giving, and the long-term importance of what we are about to begin. Dr. Entner also explained that this is not just a means of raising money, but an opportunity for spiritual growth for our church.

Well, it's a start . . .

The wait for dirt has so far gone unrewarded, but wait! There is something happening at the new church site. The first structure to be erected on the new site, a silt fence, is in place!

OK, this may not seem like very big news, but it's actually evidence that dirt is coming. (I know we've been hearing that since mid-December, but remember, we walk by faith, not by sight.) The silt fence is in place to contain any run-off from the dirt that is coming. So if the silt fence is up, the dirt can't be far behind. Stay tuned for further developments!

While we're waiting . . .

Many businesses have a phone system that lets a caller listen to music when they've been put on hold. Since this blog has been put on hold while we're waiting for our fill dirt to start arriving, I thought I'd offer a little music while we wait. For your listening pleasure, Timmy Burnette, Paul Thomas, and Justin Rhinehart. (Photo made 12/05.)

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Merry Christmas to all from the gang at Woodland Builds!

What we're hoping to see this week . . .

Experts at blogging say you have to post at least 3-4 times per week to keep your audience interested and coming back. The problem has been that there hasn't been anything going on to photograph lately. Oh, there's been plenty going on. The Design Committee has been selected, permits have been applied for, talks with real estate agents and bankers - a lot of "behind the scenes" type stuff that is necessary and important, but doesn't make for much photographic interest. (Seen any permit photos lately? Boooring!) So, I've posted an artist's conception of what it should look like when the dump trucks finally start rolling in, hopefully sometime this week. Photos of the real thing should appear soon, I hope.

Meanwhile, keep praying for the Buildings & Grounds, and Design Committees, and for Woodland's pastors and deacons. They're working hard, and the photographic evidence should start appearing soon!