"Yes, Oasis is a legitimate church."

Are those guys for real?

This might seem like a funny heading and a weird thing to write about. In fact, for those of you who have been part of our fellowship for more than three years it might seem like sort of a "Duh!" statement. Well, believe it or not, it isn't.

For local churches, typically new (less than 15 years old) churches, who do not have a building or do not have the "traditional" feel of what the local culture is used to church looking like, feeling like, sounding like, etc. it is often hard to be taken seriously. That is, until some of those "legitimacy" items begin to appear in the church. Having no building, office space, or any "landmark" of our own that we can be identified with can present some challenges for a young church. Don't get me wrong, these challenges are good ones. Needed ones. But they are challenges nonetheless. Let me give you some examples:

• If someone has an issue in life and needs some biblical pastoral counseling... In a traditional church it is easy to just say, "Let's set an appointment for you to come to the pastor's office for a counseling meeting." In Oasis we may have to meet in a park, a coffee shop, a restaurant, or a living room; perhaps even late at night. Additionally, at Oasis it is our prayer and hope that each member of the fellowship is growing in their biblical knowledge, discernment, and godly wisdom to be able to offer a listening ear and biblical counsel whenever a friend is in need of advice.
• If someone is in need of food, clothing, or shelter... In a traditional church it is typically easy to say, "Go to our church (meaning "the building") where we have a food pantry. Someone will help you there." In Oasis we take careful effort to first meet the needs of those in fellowship with us, but also the stranger and outsider as well. How is this done? Without a building or a centralized food pantry it is necessary for each member to be hospitable in their own way. If someone came to us in need of food, clothing, or shelter we would then connect them with a family, or families, in our fellowship who have the means to help. The church is people, therefore it is people (not pantries) who help people. PLEASE NOTE: That is not to belittle food pantries. We believe pantries are wonderful tools for ministry. However, not to be used at the sacrifice of people serving people.
• If someone wanted to be baptized... In a traditional church it is easy to say, "Let's go over to the church (meaning "the building") and baptize you in our baptistery (a large tub of water that is built into many church buildings)." In Oasis we have to schedule baptisms in pools, hot-tubs, ponds, or the river (although we have not yet done one in the river). Either way, the baptism is just as legitimate.
• If someone wanted to join the church or get more involved in the ministry of the church... In a traditional church it is possible that a person might first have to behave a certain way or do certain things before he/she is welcome to participate in ministry. At Oasis we recognize that people are more likely to "identify" with a group even before they partner with or "join" the group. Community is very important to us. We are first in community with Christ, but we are also in community with one another. And some people come into community with Oasis even before they really know Christ. That's okay. Subsequently, we also recognize a great responsibility is placed on the church to provide a biblical, family-like structure for the local church body. This means there is leadership, and membership, and commitments that people make to the local congregation called Oasis once they decide that this is the church family they want to call their home (see "The Gospel & Oasis 101"). In that sense we are like many other "traditional" churches." By the way, "tradition" isn't always bad. When tradition is firmly rooted in the Word of God alone, then we are all for it!

We could make this a very long post by continuing to create scenarios like the ones in the bulleted list above, but hopefully you can see the intent here. Yes, we are still very young (in terms of church life). Yes, we do things a little differently, look a little different, sound a little different, etc. Yes, we do not have a building or property of our own. But are all of those "legitimacy" items really necessary to make a church "legitimate"? In the eyes of some, perhaps, and unfortunately, yes. But we aim not to please man. I ask again, in the eyes of the One who has sent us to this little mission field in Ohio, are we legitimate?

We find our validation, not in whether or not our services are listed in the newspaper, or our sermons are on the radio, or we have a nice marquee sign out in front of our building that put us into debt. We find our validation in Christ alone, and in His Word alone. Look nowhere else. Consider nothing else when wondering, "Is that church legit?"

God is in the midst of doing great things among the fellowship of believers called Oasis. This has been "Part 1" of a three-part article. Stay tuned...

Comments

[Sharon]

Good stuff, Chris. Sometimes I get frustrated that Oasis isn't treated "fairly" (in our local society)compared to "traditional churches" with "traditional buildings". It's a shame that most churches are "identifiable" by their building NOT their people. ie: "It's the big church on the corner." or "I go to the brick church up on the hill." I think it is great that Oasis has become more "visable" lately. Since the Meigs Homecoming parade I have heard people saying things like, "Oasis is the best kept secret in Meigs County." Well, people, the "secret" is out! And it was never meant to be a secret! LOL Come on out to the Meigs Middle School some Sunday morning around 10:00am & find out. We are a people who love Jesus & love to have fun loving Him.....

YOU ARE WELCOME........

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Good Post.