Our Lord’s growth plan for the church is simply stated in Matthew 28:19-20: "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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This is the Great Commission and we've tried to summarize it with this short, memorable mission statement:
We exist to help people know, love, and serve Jesus Christ.
Our hope is that God would use our lives to help others come to know Jesus, grow in their love for Jesus and serve Jesus as we go and care for the people in our lives, our community and even to the ends of the world. (John 17:3; Phil 3:8-9; John 14:15, 21, 23 Acts 1:8; Rom 12:9-13; 1 Pet 4:10; Matt 28:19-20). At Oak Tree, we have 4 regular opportunities for you to grow.
- Corporate Worship (Gathering on Sunday)
- Growth Groups (Gathering throughout the week)
- Discipleship/Equipping (Gathering one-on-one)
- Serving (see opportunities to serve here)
We believe if you participate in these 4 things you will grow in your faith and together we will make disciples!
Our Values
- WE HAVE A HIGH VIEW OF GOD
Christians make a big mistake whenever we bring God down to our level, thinking that God is just like us (Ps 50:21). Our aim at Oak Tree is to see God for who He truly is (John 17:3), in all His majesty, holiness and greatness, as our Sovereign Ruler and Creator.
- WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS CENTRAL
The Bible is God’s special revelation of Himself to His creation. God's word sufficiently provides all we need to know and understand God and His plan for our lives. The Bible is our highest authority in all matters concerning a believers salvation and spiritual growth. In other words, we look to the Bible to shape our worldview and receive direction from God. (Ps. 119:105; 2 Tim 3:16-4:2; 2 Pet 1:2, 1:20-21)
- WE ARE COMMITTED TO BIBLICAL PREACHING
This is the most important activity any church can do because it is in the preaching of God's Word that He is present and speaks to believers. Our focus is to open the Bible in order to prepare our hearts and minds to hear from God. Therefore, we go through books of the Bible in such a way that each person understands the text, and how it applies to their lives so that we can know, love and serve Jesus in a greater capacity.
- WE ALWAYS PROMOTE A BIBLICAL GOSPEL
It is very common in the church to think that the gospel is only for non-Christians. But, the gospel is not something we move beyond or advance past to something greater (1 Cor 15:3; Phil 1:21). The key to continual and deeper sanctification is the continual pursuit of growing deeper in the knowledge of the gospel—seeing more of its truth as revealed in the Bible.
- WE DEPEND ON GOD IN PRAYER
We depend on God in prayer affirms that only God possess the wherewithal to make disciples who know, love and serve Christ. We depend on God to work in the heart of believers, constantly relying on Him as we humbly ask Him to accomplish these biblical truths among His people. (Col 4:2)
- WE STRIVE TO SERVE OTHERS
We are called to love and serve one another (John 13:34-35; 1 Peter 4:10). We will always challenge our church family to be committed participants who do our part to serve the church. The local church provides us the greatest opportunity to utilize our God given gifts for the good of others and the glory of God (John 17:18).
- WE ADVANCE SHEPHERD LEADERS
The kind of people that God calls to lead at Oak Tree is extremely important to us. We expect our elders to be humble men, qualified, others-focused, disciple-making contributors, who work alongside and pray for our staff, serving in our ministries and being examples to the flock. (2 Corinthians 6:3-11; 1 Thessalonians 2:8-9; 1 Tim 3:1-13 & Titus 1:5-9)