The Church at Woodforest to begin services on December 20

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Church at Woodforest will hold its first service, a community candlelight service, 6 p.m. Dec. 20 at Stewart Elementary in master-planned Woodforest.

The church, a new worship community of The Woodlands United Methodist Church, also has a prayer breakfast scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 27 at Woodforest Golf Club. Regular Sunday services will begin 10 a.m. Jan. 10 at Stewart Elementary, 680 Fish Creek Thoroughfare.

“We’re creating a new space for community connections with God and each other, said the Rev. Brent Parker, pastor of the Church at Woodforest. “Christmas is the perfect time of year to join friends and family to celebrate the season in a casual, contemporary style.”

Earlier this year, The Woodlands United Methodist Church purchased a 12.8-acre tract of land in Woodforest from The Johnson Development Corp. at the southwest corner of Woodforest Parkway Northwest and Fish Creek Thoroughfare. The Woodlands United Methodist Church will provide initial staffing and operational support to the new facility, which will ultimately become a self-supporting congregation with a full scope of services.

Construction of the church is expected to begin after a sustained worship community is established, said Parker, who was named pastor this spring.

The Church at Woodforest is the community’s first worship facility.

“It’s been an exciting year in Woodforest,” said Virgil Yoakum, general manager of the community. “Not only did we announce our first church, but we opened our first retail, a CVS Pharmacy. Plus, a Kiddie Academy has purchased land in the development for a child care facility.”

Information about the Church at Woodforest is available at www.churchatwoodforest.org. For details on Woodforest, ranked No. 3 on a recently released list of the Houston area’s most active developments, visit www.woodforesttx.com.