Congregation completes work on new Woodland church

Reazo Redinger called it a labor of love and faith.

Redinger led 1,000 volunteers who built the new 40,000 square-foot Old Apostolic Lutheran Church off Dike Access Road in Woodland over the last year.

"It's amazing how well the volunteers worked together," said Redinger, the building project manager.

The need for a new location arose because the congregation, launched a century ago and now numbering 5,000 members, has grown too big for its two other locations, one each in Battle Ground and Brush Prairie. Both of those were built with volunteer labor in 1967 and 1995 and will continue to be used.

"Many churches are struggling to attract the youth. We don't have that," said Dave Halme, chairman of the church's board of trustees during construction. "I look out there (at the members) sometimes, and I'm like 'whoa.' I'm 61 years old, but the average age of the congregation is probably in the 20s."

Halme said planning for the new church started in 2000, but the site wasn't rezoned or supplied with utilities until last year. When work began, volunteers were divided into teams based on their trade. Teams worked in shifts to build the $4.5 million church, which leaders say is probably worth three times that. Donations financed the entire project.

"We were fortunate enough to have contractors in the congregation" in addition to architects, engineers and a wide range of trades workers, Halme said. The only work contracted out was for acoustic engineering of the slanted ceiling. The new church features two lobbies, a sanctuary that seats 1,400 people, a dining room, a large nursery and Sunday school classrooms.

All of the work was done on Saturdays and evenings on weekdays after many of the volunteers finished day jobs.

"There was a camaraderie between volunteers, and everybody was working together and enjoying themselves," Redinger said. "People with white-collar jobs came out to do Sheet Rock or something with their hands you could hardly get them to do at home."

Volunteers put in about 55,000 hours.

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Congregation completes work on new Woodland church