Woodside Bible Church
Encyclopedia
Woodside Bible Church is a non-denominational megachurch
. It is a multi-campus
evangelical church in Troy
, with satellite campuses in Warren
, White Lake, Royal Oak
, Lake Orion
, and Farmington Hills, Michigan
. In 2010, Woodside Bible was listed as the 86th largest church in America, and the 94th fastest growing by Outreach Magazine, with an attendance of 6,363. It is considered to be "one of the nation's fastest-growing congregations". The church is led by Dr. Douglas Schmidt, who has served as Woodside's senior pastor since 1991.
In July 2005, Woodside celebrated their 50th Anniversary as a church and, in September of that same year, merged with Redeemer Baptist Church in Warren, Michigan. This merger became Woodside's first satellite campus (Woodside of Warren), and was the first of a series of similar mergers with churches in similar condition. In addition to their central campus in Troy and the aforementioned Warren, Woodside now operates satellite campuses in White Lake, MI, Lake Orion, MI, Royal Oak, MI and Farmington Hills, MI.
In March 2007, Eastside Baptist Church of south Warren, Michigan, merged with Woodside Bible Church. The membership of Eastside Baptist moved to the Warren campus.
In April 2007, it was announced that First Baptist Church of Pontiac, Michigan's oldest Baptist church (established in 1822), would also merge with Woodside Bible Church to become the "Woodside of White Lake" campus. First Baptist Church of Pontiac was previously located in downtown Pontiac on Oakland Avenue. The stately structure, built of native fieldstone hauled from nearby farms, could accommodate 700 attendants and cost a total of $17,000. The last service in the downtown Pontiac church was Sunday, December 14, 1980. A 62-acre (250,000 m2) parcel of land on Highland Road west of Pontiac was purchased where a new building was dedicated on January 18, 1981. The official launch of the merged congregations was June 3, 2007.
In September 2008, Woodside Bible merged with Northwood Baptist Church in Royal Oak, MI, becoming Woodside of Royal Oak.
October 2009 saw the launch of Woodside of Lake Orion.
In September 2010, Woodside merged with Farmington Hills Baptist Church creating Woodside of Farmington Hills.
In 2010 Pastor Doug Schmidt joined with others to form The Evangelical Pastors Network, a group which provides inspiration and assistance for evangelical pastors.
Additionally, Ravi Zacharias
spoke at the Troy Woodside campus in late 2010, addressing The Evangelical Pastors Network.
42.616°N 83.124°W
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
. It is a multi-campus
Multi-site church
A multi-site church is one church that meets at multiple locations. Churches began to use the multi-site church model in the mid 1980s...
evangelical church in Troy
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a suburb of Detroit. The population was 80,980 at the 2010 census, making it the 11th-largest city in Michigan by population, and the largest city in Oakland County...
, with satellite campuses in Warren
Warren, Michigan
Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census places the city's population at 134,056, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb....
, White Lake, Royal Oak
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
, Lake Orion
Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part....
, and Farmington Hills, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. In 2010, Woodside Bible was listed as the 86th largest church in America, and the 94th fastest growing by Outreach Magazine, with an attendance of 6,363. It is considered to be "one of the nation's fastest-growing congregations". The church is led by Dr. Douglas Schmidt, who has served as Woodside's senior pastor since 1991.
History
Originally named Big Beaver Baptist, the church was founded in 1955, by Rev. Harold Moran and a few families meeting in homes in the Troy, Michigan area. A converted home was purchased the same year at 3193 Rochester Rd. The church remained at this address until 2005. In 1962 the name was changed to Troy Baptist Church. Larger auditoriums were built on the property in 1973 and 1980. The name was changed to Woodside Bible Church in 2002, and moved to the current location in 2005.In July 2005, Woodside celebrated their 50th Anniversary as a church and, in September of that same year, merged with Redeemer Baptist Church in Warren, Michigan. This merger became Woodside's first satellite campus (Woodside of Warren), and was the first of a series of similar mergers with churches in similar condition. In addition to their central campus in Troy and the aforementioned Warren, Woodside now operates satellite campuses in White Lake, MI, Lake Orion, MI, Royal Oak, MI and Farmington Hills, MI.
In March 2007, Eastside Baptist Church of south Warren, Michigan, merged with Woodside Bible Church. The membership of Eastside Baptist moved to the Warren campus.
In September 2008, Woodside Bible merged with Northwood Baptist Church in Royal Oak, MI, becoming Woodside of Royal Oak.
October 2009 saw the launch of Woodside of Lake Orion.
In September 2010, Woodside merged with Farmington Hills Baptist Church creating Woodside of Farmington Hills.
In 2010 Pastor Doug Schmidt joined with others to form The Evangelical Pastors Network, a group which provides inspiration and assistance for evangelical pastors.
Additionally, Ravi Zacharias
Ravi Zacharias
Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias is an Indian-born, Canadian-American evangelical Christian apologist. Zacharias is the author of numerous Christian books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner Can Man Live Without God? and bestsellers Light in the Shadow of Jihad and The Grand Weaver...
spoke at the Troy Woodside campus in late 2010, addressing The Evangelical Pastors Network.
External links
- Official site
- City of Troy, Michigan: proclamation of Woodside Bible's 50th Anniversary
42.616°N 83.124°W