Woodlawn

In the summer of 1947, Brother Felix and Sister Roxie Sartin began an evangelistic tour with a newly purchased tent and held their first revival in Foxworth. Oneness believers from the surrounding areas came to hear the gospel singing and Jesus name preaching. They were pleased with the attendance of the revival and would return in 1950 to pitch their tent on Lumberton Road in Columbia. In 1953, Brother Lee Broadhead came to Columbia to preach a revival and decided to stay on to build a church, but in a short time became discouraged and left.

Brother Johnny Magee, who had preached revivals in Columbia, met a preacher in Louisiana who had received the Holy Ghost two years before with an unusual zeal and desire to do something for God. Brother Magee told him that Columbia needed someone to build a church. Brother Ted (E.L.) Dyess was the man, and as he prayed about the matter, Brother Magee felt strongly that he was the man for Columbia. During a District Board meeting, Brother Magee began to pray God would send Brother Dyess to knock on the door of that closed meeting. Finally, before the meeting adjourned, the knock came that he was expecting, and Brother Dyess stood at the door, so he went to Columbia with instructions to look for Bill Nichols.

After finding the Nichols family, they called on the believers for a prayer meeting in the Nichols home. They met several times in their home while looking for a building to hold services. After much fasting and prayer, an old storefront was rented on South High School Avenue, and Brother Dyess started the labor, culminating in the First United Pentecostal Church of Columbia. God moved mightily in the services, and the building became known as the “Powerhouse.”

As the church was becoming organized, Brother Dyess began looking for a place to build. A lot on Mayson Street was found and purchased. Brother Dyess appointed Bill Nichols and Bennie Barber as trustees, and the three of them went to the Columbia Bank and borrowed $4,500.00 to build a church. Tommy Wallace brought his dozer to clear and level the lot, and the work was started. They did not have the money for blueprints, but Brother Dyess explained the floor plan to one of the ladies, and she drew it off on a large poster paper, using millimeters for measurements instead of feet and inches. Somehow, the plans were approved, and the men volunteered to work without pay. The Ladies Auxiliary, with Sister Dyess as leader, worked many hours, making candy, baking pies and cakes to sell, and raising money for the building fund.

While the building was going up, Brother Dyess had to find a job to help pay for materials. He got a good-paying job with a road construction crew in Waynesboro, getting up at 3:30am, driving 50 miles one way to work, coming in late, and working on the church awhile before going home. Many weeks later, he deposited his entire check in the church account so the bills could be paid.

In the early spring of 1955, it was finally time for their first service in the new church. The First United Pentecostal Church of Columbia began with ten members, and six of the original members still attend today. In 1956, Brother Dyess resigned, and Brother Charles Killingsworth was elected. Between the years of 1956 and 1973, there were six pastors: Brother John Spears, Brother Otto Varnado, Brother Oscar Dyess, Brother Donald Thornton, Brother James E. Davis, and Brother Floyd Odom.

In 1974, James Carney moved his family to Columbia. The church was still located on Mayson Street, but by July of 1976, Tommy Wallace had purchased land on the highway where a 400-seat auditorium was built. The church was renamed Woodlawn UPC, and during the dedication service, presided over by Brother T.F. Tenny, Lanny Wolfe wrote the song “Surely the Presence.”

Brother Floyd Odom resigned in January of 1987, and by March, the members of Woodlawn had elected Brother James Carney. Over the 27 years of his tenure as pastor, he led the church through a major renovation of the sanctuary, the building of the Family Life Center, and in 1996-98, the building of a new worship center, which seats 1,500 people.

In 2005, the economy was unfavorable, but God gave Woodlawn a word through Brother David Shatwell, “It’s not about over; it’s over because God is going to open the windows of Heaven, and you will be blessed like never before.” Three months later, Tommy and Janette Wallace gave Pastor Carney a paid-in-full Deed of Trust in the amount of $3,270,600. From that time, Woodlawn Church has given millions to the Kingdom, Bible schools in West Africa and El Salvador, water wells, and many other projects.

In 2013, Pastor Jerron Carney and his wife, Holly, were elected pastors of Woodlawn, and Pastor James Carney became Bishop of Woodlawn. In December of 2014, the worship center and student center were hit by a tornado, causing much structural damage, which led to extensive renovations, but God was faithful, and the church remained debt-free.

Woodlawn has been blessed abundantly over the past 65 years and has grown many ministries with wonderful staff, past and present.