In the fall of 1854 Joshua Lawson led a worship service under an oak tree on which is now Clanton Avenue here in Woodland. Soon after that service the Christian Church of Woodland was organized with twenty seven members, most of who had come to the area in ox-drawn covered wagons that very year. The same year a teacher/lawyer/preacher named John N. Pendegast arrived in California with his wife and five children after a harrowing journey from Kentucky, a journey on which John was seriously injured when Indians stampeded their wagon train and John was thrown from the wagon sustaining head injuries, a severely broken arm, crushed elbow and bruised hip. They arrived in California destitute, but as soon as Joshua Lawson heard that Pendegast had arrived in the state he urged him to come and preach a protracted meeting. Pendegast not only preached that meeting, but settled in Woodland with his family. Under the visionary leadership of Joshua Lawson and J. N. Pendegast the Christian Church of Woodland grew to become, between the years of 1855 and 1880, the largest and most influential congregation of the Christian Church in the state.
The congregation has served in many creative ways over the years. In 1861, out of concern for the education of young people, the church founded Hesperian College, Douglas Junior High School stands on what was once the college campus, and College Street is so named because the college was located on the south end of the street. Hesperian College is one of the predecessor institutions of Chapman University, a fine Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) related institution located in Orange, California. In its early years the Woodland Christian Church also played a part in the establishment of congregations in Vacaville, Buckeye Flat, Knights Landing, Madison, Capay, Winters, and Sacramento. An official history of Yolo County says, "The Church of Christ" (an early name for the Woodland Christian Church) is the spiritual organization upon which the people of early Woodland depended. It can safely be said that from the strength of this church the culture of Woodland and of Yolo County took shape."
Today the church continues that creative, compassionate ministry though weekly worship services, fine youth and Christina education programs, adult Bible study groups, serving meals at the Yolo Wayfarer Center, providing space in our building for important ministries like the Woodland Food Closet, Habitat for Humanity, and a Spanish speaking congregation called the Casa de Oracion or House of Prayer, and by continuing to share with the people of our community the life giving message of God's grace and love given in Jesus Christ.
Woodland Christian Church is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a Christian movement of some 4,000 congregations in the United States and Canada. We call ourselves a people of the Book (the Bible), we emphasize Christian unity, freedom and diversity. Membership is based on the simple confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Lord's Supper, which we celebrate each Sunday, is central to our worship and open to all who believe.
The symbol of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is the chalice which symbolizes the
centrality of the Lord's Supper in the life and worship of the Disciples
Saint Andrew's Cross, which is emblazoned on the chalice shows our Scottish heritage and our concern for evangelism