A Church Family Serving Fresno Together
Woodward Park Church of Christ sits on North Millbrook Avenue in northeast Fresno, just a short drive from Woodward Park itself. The congregation describes itself as a church family that strives to have all of its members serving while showing Jesus' love to their city. Their hope and prayer is to shine the light of Jesus and glorify Him, and they give their lives and their families to making His gospel and His glory known to the ends of the earth.
Sunday Morning at Woodward Park
The main Sunday gathering follows the pattern described in the New Testament: singing, praying, preaching, giving, and remembering the Lord's Supper. Worship begins at 9:00 a.m., with Bible classes for all ages following at 10:30 a.m. The congregation sings a cappella, with voices only, because the church believes this is the pattern the New Testament consistently sets forth. Visitors are invited to come as they are. The focus, the church says, is on the heart of the one worshiping, not on how well anyone sings.
A Sunday evening worship service is held at 5:00 p.m. for those who want to gather a second time during the day.
Wednesday Evenings Around the Word
Wednesday evenings bring the church back together at 6:30 p.m. for a midweek devotional that begins in the auditorium with singing and prayer. After the devotional, members and visitors break into Bible classes for all ages. The church sees this as a time to study God's Word and encourage one another in their walk with Him.
Sequoia Kids and God Squad
Children from infancy through sixth grade have a place in the life of Woodward Park. Bible class is offered every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m., with teachers prepared to teach little ones songs and stories about Jesus. For parents of infants and toddlers through 24 months, an attended nursery is offered on Sundays where children can be dropped off so that parents can engage in worship free of distraction. Families are asked to sign children in and fill out a name tag for safety.
Sequoia Kids is a program for families with children in sixth grade and under, designed to build Christian bonds that will last for eternity through activities that bring families and friends together. God Squad, also for children in K through sixth grade, gathers for fellowship and special events. Vacation Bible School takes place over four weekday evenings in late July each summer, preceded by a Saturday work day to set up for the children. Trunk or Treat on the evening before Halloween brings families together with candy, costumes, and decorated trunks.
Youth Group and Mentorship
The youth group is for seventh through twelfth graders and is led by Kalib Graves, the youth minister. The group's calendar is full of outings: ice skating, scavenger hunts, a luau, a Super Bowl party, and an annual youth conference in Pacifica. The youth also lead worship from time to time, including at the church's Shaver Lake campus. A mentorship lunch kicks off a program where older men and women in the church share their knowledge, wisdom, and love of Jesus with the youth.
Young Adults
The Young Adults class meets every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. in Room 203. The group is geared toward individuals who have graduated from college and are making the transitions to professional and family life, with members who are both newly married and single. The defining characteristic is a community of individuals seeking to serve God, each other, and their community. Bible study mixes a variety of topical and textual studies in an informal, discussion-oriented format, with coffee and snacks enjoyed by all. The class organizes outreach such as providing backpacks to local school children and an annual blood drive. An Instagram account, @wpcoc.youngadults, keeps the group connected.
Sunday Morning Classes for Every Season
Several other shepherding groups meet during the 10:30 Bible class hour:
- Lee/Scheppegrell Shepherding Group meets in Room 106 and is made up mostly of young working and retired grandparents and parents of adult children, with older singles welcome. Ages range from 40 to 70. They meet once a quarter in members' homes for fellowship.
- Senior Saints meets in Room 114 and consists of older saints who are aware of the spiritual and physical needs of others. The group gathers for potlucks and other social activities, visits the sick and shut-ins, helps with transportation, and offers prayers for particular needs such as deaths, sickness, travel plans, and times of thanksgiving.
- Seekers meets in the auditorium and is taught by Joe Boe, the outreach minister. The group includes people from a wide spectrum of ages who are seeking a further knowledge of Biblical truths.
- Rekindled is another class option within the church family.
A Multilingual Congregation
Woodward Park has grown into a multilingual church family, with services and Bible studies offered in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Laotian.
Spanish Ministry. The Iglesia de Cristo welcomes Spanish speakers from Colombia, El Salvador, the United States, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, and beyond. Their schedule coincides with the English services. If family members do not speak Spanish, they may join the English services or classes. The Spanish group meets in Room 108, in the southeast part of the building. The group gathers monthly for women's Bible study and potluck fellowship in homes, attends annual Northern California Bible conferences, and travels together for outings to the beach, the mountains, and the snow, sometimes joining other Spanish-speaking Churches of Christ in the San Joaquin Valley, the Los Angeles area, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Sister congregations share connections in Firebaugh, Fowler, Madera, and Stratford.
Hmong Ministry. The Hmong congregation, called Hmoob Pawg Ntseeg, gathers on Sunday afternoons. Bible study runs from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., followed by worship from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. About twenty families are part of the group. Thao Vang serves as the Hmong Minister, having earned an Associate Degree in Biblical Study and a Bachelor in Ministry from Sunset International Bible Institute, as well as a Bachelor in Criminal Justice Management from Union Institute and University. He and his wife Gloria Vue have been preaching and teaching the gospel to the Hmong community in Fresno for more than fifteen years.
Laotian Ministry. John Soukkeo has served as the Laotian Minister at Woodward Park since 1996. The Laotian congregation numbers between 114 and 120 in weekly attendance. They gather in Room 112, in the northeast part of the building. Their schedule includes Sunday Bible study at 9:00 a.m., Sunday worship at 10:15 a.m., a Wednesday evening Bible study, and a Thursday evening home fellowship at 6:00 p.m. Annual activities include a workshop, a Ladies Day, a group trip, an Asian Conference that brings together Asian Christians from across the country and overseas, a youth volleyball tournament, and a Bible camp.
The Deaf Ministry
Woodward Park embraces its Deaf members and is committed to sharing the gospel with the Deaf throughout the community. ASL-interpreted services and classes are offered, and ASL classes are available for hearing members who would like to be more involved in the Deaf ministry. Those interested can reach the church office at (559) 446-2550.
Global Outreach
The church's reach extends well beyond Fresno.
Ethiopia. More than 1,000 congregations of the Lord's church have been established in Ethiopia through this outreach. The work is supported by five preacher training schools, 625 water wells that provide water for more than 2.5 million people every day, five schools for the deaf, three kindergartens, two computer training schools, more than 1,000 students at World Bible School, an Amharic radio broadcast from San Jose, California, that reaches 90 million people, and solar audio players distributed across the country.
Central America. David Ramirez leads the gospel outreach to Central America, with the work concentrated in Nicaragua. For many years he has used his vacation time to travel there to preach and work, and he plans to devote even more of his time to this work after retiring from the post office. He works with a number of local preachers and helps raise funds for their ministries.
Mexicali, Mexico (LABIM). The Latin American Bible Institute of Mexicali trains men who know and understand the Hispanic culture and speak the Spanish language, continuing the charge given through the Apostle Paul: "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." LABIM offers residential full-time training in Mexicali, as well as live broadcast training through the internet for those who cannot relocate, in partnership with Sunset International Bible Institute.
Serving the Community
Neighbor 2 Neighbor. Once a month, the church gathers early on a Saturday morning to serve food to the hungry in the community. Volunteers meet at the church at 6:00 a.m. and serve from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Grief Support Group. A grief support group meets on Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. for those walking through grief.
Brother4Brother and Sister4Sister. The men of the church gather for a regular breakfast at a local restaurant, and the women meet Saturday mornings for fellowship, with regular Ladies Days that bring women together from across the Central Valley.
House on the Rock. The church supports a designated outreach ministry in the community.
Equipping the Saints
Each year Woodward Park hosts Equip, a three-day Bible teaching weekend that brings in speakers from around the country. Recent years have focused on studies of Genesis (2023), Ephesians (2022), 1 and 2 Thessalonians (2024), and James (2021). The pulpit minister, John Poole, has also led multi-part series on Atonement, Apocalypse of Hope, Wonderful Words of Life, and Experiencing Immanuel. An archive of sermons going back to 2016 is available, and four services each week are livestreamed: Sunday morning worship, Sunday morning Bible class, Sunday evening worship, and Wednesday evening Bible class.
What the Church Believes
Woodward Park does not have a formal creed, but lists several beliefs the congregation considers foundational for their unity in Christ.
They believe the Bible is the only inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God, with the New Testament as the authoritative source of information concerning the will of God manifested in the person, life, and teaching of Jesus Christ. They believe in one true God, eternally existent in three personalities: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, atoning death on the cross, bodily resurrection, bodily ascension into heaven, and His personal return in power and glory to judge all mankind.
They believe that salvation cannot be gained by human effort, but only through God's grace in the redemption He provided in Jesus Christ, a redemption which is responded to by faith and which leads to a life devoted to obeying God. They believe that God commands everyone to be baptized, immersed in water, for the forgiveness of their sins to gain entrance into Christ's kingdom. They believe that worship consists of singing (non-instrumental), praying, preaching, giving, and observing the Lord's Supper each Sunday, a pattern found consistently in New Testament worship. They believe in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who enables every Christian to live a godly life, in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, and that all who by faith are baptized into Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual Body, the church.
The motto of the congregation is a call to unity, liberty, and love: "In essentials, we have unity. In non-essentials, we have liberty. In all things, we show love."
The Pulpit and the Shepherds
John Poole has served as the pulpit minister since August 2015. Born and raised in Texas, he studied at Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock and at Lubbock Christian University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Bible and Ministry. During his time in Bible training and at the university, he made several trips to Bogotá, Colombia, where he worked with one of the congregations and met his wife, Johanna. Thao Vang serves as the Hmong Minister, Kalib Graves as the Youth Minister, Joe Boe as the Outreach Minister, John Soukkeo as the Laotian Minister, and David Sarabia as the Spanish Minister.
The elders of the congregation are Gabe Bacus, Loren Lee, Jim Minor, John Vidinoff, Greg Burns, Santos Perez, Kevin Hinton, Don Edwards, Terry Hinton, and David Lock. They are committed to leading the congregation in ways that promote continued spiritual health and growth, encouraging members to be involved in Bible study classes and to live a sacrificial life of obedience and service to Jesus Christ.
Deacons with ministry responsibilities serve in Young Adults and Youth Ministry (Matt Beene), Children's Education and Vacation Bible School (David Reddell), House on the Rock Ministry and Neighbor2Neighbor (Cedric Rowe), Youth Ministry and the Shaver Lake Church of Christ (Jeff Smith), the Deaf Ministry (Keith Williams), and Worship Singing (Jeff Young).
Shaver Lake
In addition to the main campus on North Millbrook, Woodward Park supports the Shaver Lake Church of Christ at 40590 Ockendon Village Road in Shaver Lake. Sunday morning worship at Shaver Lake begins at 10:00 a.m. The mountain congregation is listed as a separate ministry of Woodward Park.
Plan a Visit
The church building is located at 7886 N Millbrook Avenue in Fresno, California 93720, and the phone number is (559) 446-2550. Anyone curious about the pattern of worship followed here is welcome to set up a Bible study to look together at what the Bible says. Giving is available online, and four services each week are livestreamed for those who cannot be present.