A Brief History (Please see our church anniversary booklet for an overview of the early years at Woodmar) During

the 1980's, Woodmar continued to flourish as a neighborhood church. The long tenure of associate pastor Mike Tupper, fostered the growth of small groups and integration of young families into the life of the church. During this period, a significant change was occurring throughout Hammond as many families began to move out of the area. This relocation resulted in a less committed younger population of the church and eventual withdrawal of most young families. Throughout the early 1990s worship continued to flourish yet other programs diminished. This can be partially attributed to the migration of church members out of the area and coming back to Hammond on Sunday mornings. Around 1993-94 under the leadership of Cindy Reynolds and later Paul Arnold, the church began to study together the idea of becoming a Reconciling Congregation. Although the church ultimately chose not to, it was a time of great discussion and some tension within the congregation. A pastoral change to Paul Arnold, and elimination of an Associate Pastor position, brought about a church committee restructure, new staff and a renovation project. The committee restructure moved from the traditional approach to a more streamlined approach. Our new structure was headed by a Visioning Council that oversaw three major teams: Nurture, Growth, and Action. Tasks forces would be formed for specific tasks and programs within each team. This process made it easier for decisions to be made and work to be done. Although this structure was deemed successful, it also had an unintended consequence. Since there were less committees, there were less available spots on committees for people to serve. Rather than serve on task forces or be involved with hands on programs, the persons that were no longer on committees felt left out. Through our Visioning Council, a task force was created to begin to look at our aging community center. After much discussion and outside consultation, the church voted to do a major renovation to the gymnasium and narthex. Although the congregation financially supported a significant amount of the project, a mortgage was taken out to supplement the cost. We will be paying down the mortgage for years to come. The renovation project resulted in a renewed excitement in the congregation and its renewal to be in ministry. Around the same time and through the late 1990s staff changes and positions were changed