A Church Built on Conversation
Woodland Hills Church sits on Van Dyke Street in St. Paul, Minnesota, and its most distinctive habit is what the congregation calls Gathering Groups: small groups that meet after the Sunday sermon to talk through what was just taught. Sessions run on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. The same spirit of conversation extends outward through The MuseCast, a podcast where the teaching pastors and guests unpack recent sermons, and through WH Audio, which carries full services on Apple, Spotify, and RSS. Services are livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot be in the room, and a mobile app carries bulletins, sermon archives, and event registration.
Heroes Gate, the 5•4 Hideout, and Vessels
Children from preschool through fifth grade are served by a ministry called Heroes Gate. The program includes a preschool, an elementary track for kindergarten through third grade, and the 5•4 Hideout for fourth and fifth graders, with Friday fun nights, family movie events, and meal-card-making hangouts mixed in. Heroes Gate publishes annual companion booklets that walk families through gratitude practices, and parents can subscribe to a dedicated kids calendar through Google or Outlook.
Students in sixth through twelfth grade meet through a separate ministry that holds small-group hangouts, retreats, and service projects throughout the year. College-age and young adults are gathered into Vessels, a community that meets weekly for teaching, prayer, and shared meals. Vessels runs its own Instagram and Facebook channels and welcomes newcomers at any point in the year.
SEM, a Seminary Without Walls
Woodland Hills runs SEM, an online seminary program that draws students from across the country. The faculty includes pastor and theologian Greg Boyd. The curriculum pairs traditional theological study with what the school calls a "justice journey," and the cohort gathers in person for an annual retreat. SEM accepts applications each fall, and tuition and travel costs are spelled out for prospective students.
A Campus Filled with Partners
The Van Dyke Street building hosts far more than weekend gatherings. The Corner Shelf food shelf operates out of the building, and around it the church has gathered a remarkable set of partner organizations that share the space, including a free food market, a daycare, a housing assistance program, the Open Arms meal-delivery service, a tiny home project for people experiencing homelessness, a program serving Congolese refugees, and the Plaza Theater, a community cinema. The church's own ministries add counseling, emergency assistance, funeral services, prayer support, and several ongoing support groups.
Creation care, racial reconciliation, and the arts are treated as core concerns. An Arts Group meets for shows, writing workshops, and nature outings, a Creation Care resource list helps households reduce waste and fossil fuel use, and a Race and Peace resource page offers reading and conversation starters for congregants and visitors.
A Wider Mission
A missions team supports a roster of long-term missionaries, including the Pothiers, the Onkens, the Pattons, the Halseths, the Workmans, the McNallys, the Catheys, and the Avignons, along with unnamed workers in restricted-access regions. The church also partners with a missions organization called Think-Say-Go. For those closer to home, the church lists a set of missional communities that meet in homes around the metro, men's Bible studies, classes, a spiritual practices group, membership classes, and a steady stream of volunteer opportunities. Throughout the week, the rhythms of Woodland Hills keep coming back to the same thing: people sitting together, asking hard questions, and looking after their neighbors.