The Mission
We exist so that people would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, believers would find their sweet spot serving in ministry, & Woodlake would expand the Kingdom of God through the Local Church.
Our Story
In 1919, a group of people attended an Aimee Semple Mcpherson revival and felt led to start a church. That church which began as a small mission in a house on the north side of Tulsa would one day become Woodlake Church. In 1942, that mission moved into a new location under the leadership of Pastor Marvin Hartz and became Capitol Hill Assembly of God. In that location, the church flourished and began to outgrow the walls of Capitol Hill. In 1974, Pastor Armon Newburn led the church in the construction of their new home on 31st. Upon moving, the church changed its name again and became Woodlake. Woodlake's next pastor, H. A. Brummett, led Woodlake to become one of the largest supporters of Missions work in the country. During his time, he also led Woodlake in building a sister church in Glenpool, Oklahoma that would one day become a Woodlake location. In 1995 Pastor Ted Heaston stepped in as the Lead Pastor of Woodlake. He led Woodlake through a decade of growth that included the purchase of 27 acres in South Tulsa which would later become Woodlake's current home.
In 2009, Pastor Jamie Austin became the Lead Pastor of Woodlake. Under his leadership, Woodlake continues to reach more people than ever in the church's nearly 100 year history. In 2014, Woodlake launched the Glenpool location and in 2015, the doors opened to Woodlake's current location in South Tulsa. In 2020, we welcomed an additional location in Turley. These leaders and locations have all been pointed toward one goal of sharing the hope of Jesus with those who need Him throughout Tulsa and ultimately the world. To the Woodlake team, these 100 years are just the beginning of what God is wanting to do. This story is not about Woodlake, it is about God and His work in our city and we want you to be a part of this story.
Our Statement of Faith
The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. This Statement of Fundamental Truths is intended simply as a basis of fellowship among us (i.e., that we all speak the same thing, 1 Corinthians 1:10 [KJV/NIV]; Acts 2:42 [KJV/NIV]). The phraseology employed in this Statement is not inspired nor contended for, but the truth set forth is held to be essential to a full-gospel ministry. No claim is made that it covers all Biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these fundamental doctrines.
What We Believe
THE SCRIPTURES INSPIRED
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.
THE ONE TRUE GOD
The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM,” the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
THE DEITY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His substitutionary work on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His exaltation to the right hand of God.
THE FALL OF MAN
Man was created good and upright; for God said, “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
THE SALVATION OF MAN
Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life. The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit. The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.
BAPTISM IN WATER
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Saviour and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life.
HOLY COMMUNION
The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements --bread and the fruit of the vine-- is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4 [KJV/NIV]), a memorial of his suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26 [KJV/NIV]), and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26 [KJV/NIV]), and is enjoined on all believers “till He come!”
THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry. This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth. With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as: an overflowing fullness of the Spirit, a deepened reverence for God, an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work, and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost,
THE INITIAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance. The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and use.
SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God. The Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.” By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.
THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION
The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven.
THE MINISTRY
A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church in: Evangelization of the world, worship of God, building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son, and meeting human need with ministries of love and compassion.
DIVINE HEALING
Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers.
THE BLESSED HOPE
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the church.
THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST
The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years. This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel, and the establishment of universal peace.
THE FINAL JUDGMENT
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH
“We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Our Culture
We are for those who don’t know Jesus yet.
Jesus came to show the world that they could have hope forgiveness, love, and a life beyond what they ever could have imagined before. That is why every service at Woodlake includes a chance for people to meet Jesus and say yes to a life with Him.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We ARe a Family.
We want everyone who comes through our doors to feel like they belong to a church family who loves each other and supports each other. Wherever you come from, you can belong here.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
We are focused on raising and reaching the next generation.
Reaching kids and students is one of the most important things we do. Stats will tell us that kids and teens hold onto the beliefs and habits they’re taught at a young age well into adulthood. That’s why our Next Generation ministries are all about working with parents to help them raise kids and teens that love God and love others.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
We are led by the holy spirit.
Woodlake is a church that believes in the gifts and power that comes from a life led by the Holy Spirit. God gave us the Holy Spirit as our helper and we want to acknowledge Him and His work in everything that we do.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”