Mission Statement

We are not ones to add a whole bunch of fancy words when what needs to be said is plain and simple. So the Mission Statement for the Woodland Oaks Church of Christ is exactly the same as the command given by Christ to his disciples before His ascension into heaven. He told them:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20)

Here we Raise our Ebenezer (A History of the Woodland Oaks Congregation)

“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:12)

Under the leadership of Samuel, the Israelites were able to defeat their archenemies, the Philistines. At the conclusion of the decisive battle, Samuel erected a monument of stone to commemorate the fact that it was only through the providential and sometimes miraculous assistance of Yahweh that Israel had come to that point in their history.

In the summer of 1992 some eleven families began to dream of a new congregation being planted in The Woodlands. They sought a new direction, a new beginning. They sought divine help from Yahweh. On Sunday, January 3, 1993, the dream became a reality as the new congregation had its first assembly in the Woodlands Executive Conference Center. Eighty-five souls were in attendance. After only three weeks in that facility the congregation moved to the conference room at Interfaith on Woodrush Road.

In April of 1993, the congregation leased 3,700 square feet of space and moved from the Interfaith facility to what is generally referred to as the “strip mall” located on Interstate Highway 45 and Rayford Road in The Woodlands. On Sunday, May 22, 1993, Brother Martin (”Marty”) Miller preached the first sermon for the congregation in this new building.

During this early period, the congregation focused on the establishment of elders and deacons, while leaving the role of preaching minsiter to be filled on a part time basis. Many men stepped forward to fill this role, most notably Shawn Jones, Kurt Chunn, and Carson Stevens.

Initially, the congregation selected R. J. “Sonny” Taylor and Sam Baldacchino to serve as elders. As time passed, Gary Erwin, Sam Bradley, Butch Merriman, and Mark Freeman were also selected to serve as elders.

In January of 1999, the congregation moved into a 13,000 square foot permanent facility located in the Alden Bridge village of The Woodlands at the corner of Alden Bridge E. and Crownridge. In June of 2001, the congregation selected Bob Odle to serve as its first full time preaching minister and Bob served in that capacity until February of 2007. In May of 2005, the congregation selected Cory Waddell to serve as its first full time youth and family minister and in December 2007, Ken Stegall joined the congregation as the full time pulpit minister. In January 2008, the congregation plans to open a 10,000 square feet education complex.

From those humble beginnings God has grown the Woodland Oaks Church of Christ into the congregation it is today: some 300 members, four elders, twenty-four deacons, two full time ministers, and two church secretaries.

As a church we sit in one of the fastest growing residential areas in the United States in the suburbs of the fourth largest city in our nation. Because of our God-given resources and because of our God-ordained place in this world we are perfectly positioned to make a huge impact for the gospel.

And so today we raise our Ebenezer saying, “hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.” May we continue to be faithful to the One who has called us into existence for His purposes.