Three Sunday Mornings, Three Communities
Woodmont Christian Church keeps three Sunday services on the calendar and treats each as its own doorway in. At 9:30 a.m. an Informal Sanctuary Service gathers in the historic sanctuary on the corner of Hillsboro Pike and Woodmont Boulevard, with multigenerational hymns, a children's moment at the chancel steps, and Sunday School for everyone from newborns through fifth grade right after. At 9:40 a.m. The Bridge begins in Carpenter Chapel on the far south side of the campus, a contemporary, music-driven gathering with a children's area directly underneath. At 11:00 a.m. the Traditional Sanctuary Service opens with the Chancel Choir and call-and-response litany, with music that leans on Bach, Fauré, and Beethoven, and communion at every service. All three services are livestreamed.
Visitors who arrive between services can stop by the Connections Class at 10:45 a.m. in Room 232, where Executive Minister Jay Hutchens leads a weekly conversation on a biblical text, a current event, or a point from the morning sermon. Childcare, coffee, and pastries are on hand, and the Connections Director, Tammy Morgan, makes sure newcomers land in the right place.
A Spire on Hillsboro Pike
Woodmont has been growing disciples of Christ in the heart of Green Hills since 1943, and the building is as much a landmark as the ministry. The 220-foot spire, added in the 1950s, rises above the corner of Hillsboro Pike and Woodmont Boulevard and has become a visual anchor for the neighborhood. The campus has expanded in step with the congregation. A new chapel on the south end houses The Bridge, and a planned Family Life Center will add five children's classrooms, a gathering area, and a grand entry on the south end of the building. A second small house on the property, South Hall at 3605 Hillsboro Pike, hosts the Alcoholics Anonymous chapter and the Young Professionals gatherings. Campbell West, the former parsonage behind the church at 2103 Valley Brook Road, houses the Center for Hope & Healing and the GriefShare group.
The church's mission is "Growing disciples of Christ by seeking God, sharing love, and serving others," and four values carry it forward: Christ-Centered, Inspiring Worship, Transformative Groups, and Impactful Mission.
No Creed but Christ
Woodmont belongs to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a tradition that prefers unity over uniformity. The congregation summarizes that posture with a single line: "No creed but Christ." Members and visitors are welcomed from every walk of life, and Woodmont teaches that the words of Jesus matter much more than creeds, doctrine, theologies, and hierarchies.
The list of beliefs posted by the church begins with God as Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, and with Jesus Christ as the Son of God, God in human form. Sin is understood as something that separates people from God and from one another, and Jesus Christ is the one who makes it possible to overcome sin. The Bible is treated as authoritative and true, prayer and the Holy Spirit as powerful in everyday life, and the Church as people rather than a place. Baptism is by immersion at the age of understanding, the Lord's Supper is the central experience of worship and is open to all believers in Christ, and salvation is understood as a lifelong experience that begins when a person accepts Christ and is fully revealed after physical death. The church holds to the freedom and diversity of Christian thought and interpretation, and to the conviction that what unites Christians, Jesus Christ, is greater than what divides them.
Woodmont opens many of its services with the Preamble to the Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a confession that names him Lord, rejoices in God the maker of heaven and earth, gives thanks at the Table of the Lord, and yields the church to the One whose kingdom has no end.
Children, Youth, and the Family Life Center
The growth of the church in recent years has come largely through children and families, and a good deal of the staff's attention is on that ministry. Children's Ministry Director Abby McLean, a third-generation Woodmont member and Nashville native who grew up at the church, oversees everything from nursery through fifth grade. On a 9:30 Sunday morning children come to the chancel steps for the Children's Moment with their parents, then head downstairs to the Kids' Commons for Sunday School. On a 9:40 Bridge morning, families drop children in the Kids' Commons before the service. The 11:00 a.m. hour offers nursery care for babies and toddlers beneath the sanctuary and a Kindergarten, Preschool class in Room 134.
Grace Notes, the children's choir for kindergarten through fifth grade, rehearses Sundays from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. and sings quarterly in worship. Children learn healthy vocal singing, music reading, and improvisation, and they play percussion.
Youth ministry has its own rhythm. Middle schoolers in sixth through eighth grade meet for Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. in the youth lounge with adult sponsors. High schoolers in ninth through twelfth grade attend one of the early services and gather in the youth lounge for donuts and fellowship around Sunday School. The Youth Group meets every Sunday from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. during the school year, mid-August through May, with separate tracks for middle and high school. Jubilation, the youth ensemble choir led by Director of Young Adult Ministries Moriah Domby Pirtle, sings roughly four times a year.
High School Youth Director Katie Gossage, also a fourth-generation Nashville native who grew up at Woodmont, has been in professional youth ministry for more than nine years. Lockwood Barr serves as Interim Middle School Youth Director and Russell Carpenter, a fourth-generation Woodmont member, is the Youth Ministry Assistant.
The Center for Hope & Healing
The Center for Hope & Healing is the umbrella for much of the congregation's care work, and it lives in Campbell West, the former parsonage behind the church. Director Vicki Askew, a spiritual director and trauma-informed care Master Facilitator trained through Lipscomb University's Program for Spiritual Formation and the Trauma Healing Institute in Philadelphia, leads a team that includes Dr. Ben Curtis, a retired Belmont University Professor of Religion, Pastoral Care, and Spiritual Formation; Rev. Beth Patillo, an ordained Disciples minister and Gallup Clifton Strengths Coach; Mary Clare Pyron, a Wellness and Life Coach and Nurse Practitioner; and Sandy Smith, a graduate of the Shalem Institute's Spiritual Guidance Program.
The Center is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offers individual spiritual direction, faith-based Clifton Strengths coaching, group spiritual direction, trauma-informed care group sessions, retreats, and other short-term offerings. Sessions and classes are open to both Woodmont members and the wider Nashville community.
AA, Al-Anon, DivorceCare, and GriefShare
Woodmont has hosted one of the largest and longest-standing Alcoholics Anonymous chapters in the Nashville area for years. AA meets at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in South Hall, a private house on the south side of the campus at 3605 Hillsboro Pike. Two large Al-Anon chapters also call the campus home: Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. in Room 105 on the lower level of the main church building. Each meeting has its own parking and entrances.
DivorceCare is a 13-week program for people working through divorce, separation, or relationship crisis. The fall and spring sessions meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 111 on the lower level, and participants may join at any point in the cycle. GriefShare follows the same 13-week rhythm on Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. in Campbell West. Anne Stauffer facilitates both groups.
Stephen Ministry is the congregation's one-on-one caregiving program, a confidential, Christ-centered response to life's difficult seasons. Stephen Ministers are Woodmont members specifically trained to walk alongside people going through job loss, deployment, the death of a loved one, divorce, and health issues. Prayer requests are gathered through the connection cards on Sunday mornings, and a Stephen Minister can be requested by checking a box on the same card.
Pastoral Care and the Minister Team
Pastoral Care at Woodmont is a shared responsibility. Rev. Farrell Mason, the Minister of Pastoral Care and author of Alma Gloria, The Olive Tree, The Angel and the Raven, Pocket Cathedral, and SoulFull, walks with members through the long seasons. Rev. Justin Gung, the Minister of Pastoral Counseling, brings a particular love of Scripture and a desire to help people of every age experience the love of God. Dr. Roy Stauffer, the Minister to Older Adults, came to Woodmont in 2008 after thirty-five years as Senior Minister at Lindenwood Christian Church in Memphis, and his portfolio includes Adult Education, Small Groups, Discipleship, Pastoral Counseling and Visitation, and Special Events. Parish Visitor Anne Mitchell assists with visitation and serves as liaison to the elders.
Discipleship and Small Groups
Woodmont's Discipleship ministry centers on a three-class series called Seeking, Sharing, and Serving, each taught by Senior Minister Clay Stauffer and Executive Minister Jay Hutchens. The classes cover what it means to follow Christ in everyday life and include workbooks and slideshows for participants.
Life Groups, Sunday School classes, Men's and Women's groups, and a long list of interest groups meet throughout the week. G.E.M.S. (Greet, Eat, Meet, & Socialize) gathers on the fourth Tuesday at noon in Room 105. Heavenly Helpers offers a hand to neighbors in need. Sit & Stitch meets every Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Gathering Hall for needlework and conversation. The Book Club meets on the third Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The Visitation Group lifts up those who are home-bound or convalescing and meets on the third Monday at 11:30 a.m. in Room 105 from September through May. The Green Chalice Ministry focuses on recycling, conservation, and creation care. The Racial Bridges Ministry works to build relationships and equity across Nashville.
Young Professionals & Couples, led by Moriah Domby Pirtle, gathers on the second Wednesday of each month from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at South Hall for dinner, conversation, and time together, with childcare provided. A weekly Sunday study runs from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. at Campbell West and reflects on the sermon, the Bible, or books like Dream Big by Bob Goff.
Outreach and Giving Back
Missions Director Jerry Johnson oversees a wide calendar of outreach, including Habitat for Humanity, Room In The Inn, Angel Tree, The Nashville Food Project, Morgan Scott Project, Guatemala Missions, Walk Thru Bethlehem, and the Fall-Hamilton Elementary partnership. Over twenty-two percent of the church's annual budget goes directly to non-profit organizations in Nashville, and in a recent year members supported more than fifty organizations through the Outreach Grant. Recipients include ABLE Youth, Faith Family Medical Center, Harvest Hands Community Development Corporation, Safe Haven Family Shelter, Second Harvest Food Bank, Siloam Family Health Center, Tennessee Innocence Project, Woodmont Baptist Food Pantry, and many others.
Woodmont prints a Francis of Assisi line on its outreach materials: "Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words." Members are invited to use their gifts to serve the church, the community, and the world.
Weddings, Music, and the Wider Campus
Woodmont hosts weddings in the sanctuary, garden, or campus for active members who have been members for at least one year and for the children and grandchildren of active members. Music Director Michael Graham, who came to Woodmont in 1986 and has directed the Chancel Choir and planned the sanctuary services since 1996, oversees soloists, musicians, and ensembles drawn from the Woodmont community and the wider Nashville music scene. Graham taught choral music and music theory at Nashville School of the Arts for fifteen years and has also taught at Trevecca and Fisk Universities.
The Bridge's creative ministry is led by Andra Moran, a songwriter, singer, author, and worship designer who has served on staff for fifteen years, released eight full-length albums, three EPs, and a bilingual album titled Chant Spontané for the Reform Church of France, and co-authored Brim: Creative Overflow in Worship Design. The Bridge is designed to welcome "the restless, the weary, and the wandering" through contemporary music, art, and liturgy.
The Staff Who Lead
Dr. Clay Stauffer has served as Senior Minister since 2007. A fourth-generation Disciples of Christ minister and a graduate of Texas Christian University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of the South, he was the youngest minister in Woodmont's history to hold the role. He was named one of Nashville's "Top Forty Under 40" in 2010, received the Fred Craddock Award for excellence in preaching from the Christian Church in 2011, and is the author of What the World Needs Now: Virtue and Character in an Age of Chaos, Spiritual Reflections on Faith, Values, & Culture, and Preaching Politics. He is an Adjunct Professor at Vanderbilt University, a regular columnist for The Tennessean's Faith and Values section, and a trained speaker and life coach through the John Maxwell Team.
Alongside him, Rev. Farrell Mason serves as Minister of Pastoral Care, Dr. Roy Stauffer as Minister to Older Adults, Rev. Justin Gung as Minister of Pastoral Counseling, and Jay Hutchens as Executive Minister. Michael Graham directs music, Moriah Domby Pirtle directs young adult ministries, Abby McLean directs children's ministry, Katie Gossage directs the high school youth, Rev. Ashley Buchanan serves as Assistant Children's Minister, Vicki Askew leads the Center for Hope & Healing, Tammy Morgan serves as Connections Director, Jerry Johnson directs missions, and Andra Moran serves as Creative Director of The Bridge.
Woodmont Christian Church is governed by a board chaired by Kempton Presley, with William Liles as Chair-Elect, and by an Elder body that includes Bonnie Burks, Marcus Crider, Vance McGuigan, Terrell McWhirter, Michelle Milam, Mary Clare Pyron, Kirtley Whittington, Karen Woolridge, Louise Beasley, Paul Dent, Jade Forlidas, Cathy Johnson, Tim Perry, Patty Bea Presley, Pam Richardson, Alex Waddey, Marshall Alexander, John Bearden, Charlie Biter, Will David Coleman, Billy Crawford, Katy Dieckhaus, Jim Hester, and Lindi Jobe.
Across eight decades and three Sunday services, Woodmont's welcome has stayed simple. The motto is "No creed but Christ," and the doors are open.