Oasis Church North Florida

The Proposal to Plant Oasis Church NFL - Part 3

I wanted to share a little of the dream that God has given us and what we are praying and seeking to live as a church...the next few posts are from our proposal packet and are what we are committing our lives to...

We dream of becoming a church where these statements are true…

-     “No perfect people are allowed…” Everyone is welcome and accepted regardless of past, reputation, beliefs, etc…

-     “It’s ok to not be ok…it’s not ok to stay that way…” Our teaching will include both grace and growth, love and healing, acceptance and renewal.

-     “No one stands alone…” Simply, we need each other…we live life better as a team of friends than a bunch of individuals.

-     “Everyone needs to play…” There is no place for warming the bench or standing on the sidelines…everyone needs to be part of the action and get in the game!

-     “Who is watching me?” Everyone is older and/or further along then someone else…we all have influence and need to lead others to follow Jesus closer.

-     “Whatever it takes…” To be willing to change methods, teaching style, music, etc…(everything is up for discussion except the Bible and what it teaches us, which will never change)  to be relevant to those we are trying to reach.

Oasis Church North Florida dreams of…

-     being a church-planting church, partnering with like-minded pastors to plant new churches to effectively reach as many different people and cultures in North Florida with the gospel of Jesus

-     being a multi-site church meeting throughout North Florida as one church

-     partnering with/ building Oasis Centers to provide Christ-honoring solutions to real world problems

-     partnering with existing churches/ ministries to make the name of Jesus great in our generation

-     pray, partner, send resources and people to effectively impact one or two countries in our world

We will do this for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom.

Introducing our Oasis Kids Pastor

 

It is my privilege to introduce my brother, Jonathan Higdon, as our Oasis Kids Pastor! We have been talking about different things over the past few months but last week, we officially nailed down what he will be doing as part of our launch team.

Jonathan has the task of getting our ministry to kids and families off the ground. From getting the needed resources to training leaders to providing ministry direction and delegation, he will be overseeing all this as part of the larger Oasis NFL team. Some of the questions and issues will include what does kids ministry look like in a theater and what items are needed for a fun, safe, clean and secure environment. He will use his past experiences of working in both the KidsWorld and Surge ministries at Oasis Church in South Florida.

I am excited that he is on-board and I am pumped to see what God will do as we get closer to launching Oasis Church North Florida!

The Proposal to Plant Oasis Church NFL- Part 2

I wanted to share a little of the dream that God has given us and what we are praying and seeking to live as a church...the next few posts are from our proposal packet and are what we are committing our lives to...

Oasis Church Core Values

Matthew 22: 36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? 37 And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.

1.      Worship

2.      Community

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

3.      Mission

We want to see people come to follow Jesus Christ in a full commitment that results in them becoming disciple makers, for Christ, in the world.

Oasis Church process… what we will do as disciple makers of Jesus?

-Focus – weekend worship services – worship through music and Bible teaching

-Huddle – connect with our team for study, prayer, life – be real

-Play – get in the game by getting off the bench and taking action…do something in church and in community – everyone has a part in serving somewhere

-Lead – who are you influencing to follow God? - People matter to God and to us.

The Proposal To Plant Oasis Church NFL - Part 1

I wanted to share a little of the dream that God has given us and what we are praying and seeking to live as a church...the next few posts are from our proposal packet and are what we are committing our lives to...

Our Purpose…To Be and Make Disciple Makers of Jesus Christ

Oasis Church vision…

-to go after those far from God and lead them to follow Him and teach them to do the same for others far from God
- we want to “target” people who are very far from God, people who don’t like church, people who other churches cannot or will not reach
-this will affect budget, programs, music, calendar…everything that Oasis Church will do!

If we don’t launch Oasis Church, there will be people in North Florida who…
-will go to hell
-will not honor God
-won’t experience Jesus as Savior and Lord
-will not experience living in community with other disciples of Jesus
-will not know how to serve like Jesus
-will not lead others to become followers of Jesus

Simply put, Oasis Church will be a place where…

-people will be pointed to Jesus as the only hope and salvation
-people will learn to love God and love others
-people will join in and serve as one team to make a difference in our world
-people will be taught and given tools to make disciples

Planting Update

-the home office and the Panera office are up and running

-our first launch team meeting is this Sunday at 6pm at our house... we will be meeting four times over the next month to prepare for our first preview service on December 14th!

-we have sent out about 35 letters to family and friends as we continue to prayerfully raise the financial and prayer support for our church

-over 370 people have joined the 600 so far...wow! I am blown away!

-I have turned everything in needed for our assessment and interviews to join Acts 29, a church planting network of churches...I am looking forward to the next step!

-I have sent a follow-up email to about 15 churches as we are forming a partnership of churches to give life and support to Oasis Church NFL...will be following up with these over the next few weeks...

-marketing and promotion begins being prepared this week...it's coming soon...

- I have tabbed our Kids Leader...will announce him soon...

-still need a worship leader but we have some good leads...still trusting in God for this crucial team member!

- some big requests are coming soon...stay tuned!

Planting Update

-we are now living in Jacksonville! We moved up to the Northside last week and are renting a house about 5 minutes away from where we will be holding services... we are getting used to the area and are nearly done unpacking the essentials for life to be "normal"...

-our fundraising is going well...we are still going after the funds and resources needed to launch and get the word out in a BIG way...have you joined The 600??? We need your help to launch this church together!

-The home office should be up and fully functional tomorrow...finally have a place set aside to work on all the details leading up to the launch...

-I can't believe our first preview service is December 14...that is less then two months away! I can't wait to get things rolling in a BIG way!

-It has been amazing to step out and trust God...I am learning it is a daily stepping out and not a one time thing...yet, God has shown Himself is so many ways...who know what else He has in store??

A Good Soldier - Part 3

In 2 Timothy 2, we read that Paul is writing to Timothy, a young man he has mentored, discipled and sent out to lead in ministry, and challenges him live life as a good soldier (he also uses word pictures like athlete and farmer). I recently heard Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, talk for a few moments of this passage and the importance of what it means to the pastor/ church planter.

This post has to do with The Message...

What we talk about begins and ends with Jesus. He (THE man) left heaven to give His life and He fought for us (The Mission) and most importantly, He finished the work...it is done! For a church planter/ pastor to succeed, we teach Jesus as Warrior, King, and Hero. By teaching this, the planter stays on task, other men come on board with the mission, and our mission can have forward progress as we keep fighting Satan, sin, and death. We can do this because the victory of Jesus completed mission is applied to us! Jesus is our Message!

A Good Soldier - Part 2

In 2 Timothy 2, we read that Paul is writing to Timothy, a young man he has mentored, discipled and sent out to lead in ministry, and challenges him live life as a good soldier (he also uses word pictures like athlete and farmer). I recently heard Mark Driscoll, of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, talk for a few moments of this passage and the importance of what it means to the pastor/ church planter.

The Mission

-Don't get sidetracked by trauma and drama...need to gather men who are willing to be trained, willing to repent, and willing to learn....both doctrine and practice..."watch life and teaching"

-"By God's grace" force ment outside of Christ to follow Him...to be led by Him so that they can be the husbands and fathers they need to be so that the church will endure

-key thought...win the men, win the war in our city...by focusing ministry/ church on men following Jesus, a church will see women and children follow Him as well...and the city will be reached!