Oasis First Wave Baptism Celebration Videos

8.22.10–What a day for our new NJ church! Although we do not Grand Open until 9/19/10, this past Sunday Oasis-Church-NJ.com celebrated its “First Wave” baptisms of people who have publicly committed to following Jesus. The following are some of the video clips of the dozen or so Oasis folks who shared their personal stories of how Jesus became real in their lives, and how Oasis had a part in God’s plan. The cool thing is we had 2 spontaneous baptisms and a number of peeps have already committed to being a part of our Second Wave in November or December. You don’t want to miss these, and more photos and videos will be up shortly on our Facebook group page:

Oasis Church Summer Outreach

(7/21/10)-For those that didn’t know, Oasis-Church-NJ.com has been meeting several times a month in the Summer to network with people in our community letting them know about our newly forming church. We recently took a number of community surveys to get a gauge on what this area’s needs are, and gave out hundreds if granola bars and flyers in the process.

I was amazed at the committment level of the several dozen OC folks who came out in nearly 100 degree temps to flyer this place up for Jesus.

- Posted from my IPhone

Casual, Contemporary Church Update

First of all, I apologize this Oasis-Church-NJ.com update has taken so long to write. The only excuse I can give is that God has done so many amazing things in the past few months, that I have had a difficult time keeping up. That’s a great problem to have!

So what has been going on? Well I  retired on 12/31/09, and have been able to devote myself full time to our Oasis church plant! Let me tell ya, when you take a faith filled leap in  a new direction God will honor that!

What We Have Going For Us

• First of all, we have a ton of  big mo (momentum) and enthusiasm on this no frills, imperfect but amazing TEAM God is growing here!  I LOVE these people! And these guys are actually stupid (or is it smart?) enough to believe God works wonders in ordinary, broken people.  Imagine that!
• Second, since we last wrote we have had  5 more monthly services, and have approached 200 folks (mostly unchurched) in attendance twice in the process.  We are really not about numbers (we intend to grow deep before we grow large), but as a church plant that has started from squat in Spring 2009,  I’d be totally lying if I said numbers mean nothing.  Hey, you can’t transform people if you don’t have any people.  Duh!  We have a least 10 baptisms to do this Summer, and that number is just gonna grow. Fact is, we have very little money in the kitty for marketing or anything else for that matter.   But we’re hungry and scratch and claw our way and celebrate over every hungry soul that darkens the door of OC, and finds Jesus.  I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way because we have had to totally rely on Jesus instead of our pocketbooks for success.
• Third,  we just finished another successful Alpha Course that has helped us grow yet another  (our 6th) Connect Group, and now meet in these at different locations on Sundays (there is a youth group here too), Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday Evenings. Feel free to join us at one of these locations!
• Fourth,  Jesus has  answered our prayers about the holes that needed to be filled in our systems by providing us with another great worship leader, an awesome visual/media specialist,  a person with administrative gifts, a wonderful sound tech and a teaching pastor! All these were on our wish list that last time we wrote. Is God amazing or what?
• Fifth, on account of these wonderful provisions , we have been quite comfortable in implementing our next phase strategy leading up to our Grand Opening on 9  /19/10, which is  having regular weekly services the first 3 Sundays of each month. We began this strategy on Easter Sunday.  On the remaining Sundays of each month when we are not having regular services, we will be taking church to the streets by planning fun activities  geared toward meeting and reaching out to those in our surrounding area. Sounds good?

What Still Sucks

While so much great stuff is happening in this casual new NJ church there are some things that still hinder us:

• One is in the area of our children’s ministry. While we offer three Sunday morning classes (Infants to 2 year olds, 3-4 year olds  and K thru 4th grade) we still need  about 50%  from the outside to help staff those classes on a weekly basis.  So please pray for us  in this area? Or maybe you want to volunteer? Thanks!

Overall, I guess that’s about it for now.  Before we leave, let me just say something to those who may be reading about OC  here for the first time, and are wondering what we’re about.  Quite simply, we are a newly forming church that is made up of imperfect, hungry and broken people who are simply doing their best to love Jesus and help others along the way know Him too.   If you’re on a spiritual journey looking for God and a place where you can come as you are, then this is “it”. There is no need to  hide your scars or act like you’re  “perfect” around us, because we won’t act that way around you. Deal?

More About this NJ Church:

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New Jersey Christian Church Update

(12.20.09)-Well, it’s been a while since we last updated our New Jersey Christian Church plant news. As I look back on what our Lord has done in 2009, I truly fall on my knees amazed and overflowing with thankfulness.  Are we “there” yet? No, but God is on the move with this New Jersey Christian Church.

Just to bring some of you guys who are following us here up to speed, Oasis-Church-NJ.com is a church plant in Union County NJ who is planning on launching weekly services on September 19, 2010.  So save that date now, ok? Yeah, we know it’s not a great area to plant a church from scratch due to stagnant population figures and low numbers of housing starts, but this is where Jesus has led us. We came to Mountainside in March 2009 with 8 people who live 35 min away, and a five pronged attack strategy consisting of:

1. Relational evangelism-By training our launch team to reach out to their FRANs (friends, relatives, associates and neighbors) by inviting them to our small group gatherings and programs like ALPHA.
2. Servant evangelism- By facilitating and conducting free felt needs seminars on topics important to our target (ie: dating and relationships, finances, parenting, career, stress management and custody issue) at strategic locations such as colleges, libraries, top corporation employers and singles clubs and events across the county.
3. Saturation evangelism-A persistent and planned marketing strategy that consists of using every available resource to reach every available person at every available time, which includes aggressively using media such as mailings, posters, online invitations, signs, tv, radio, business cards, press releases and other media buzz.
4. Internet evangelism-By using our popular singles site and church website to blog,
   podcast and write keyword rich articles that will attract seekers and unchurched people.  Since we get tens of thousands of weekly visitors already, we also intend to start an Online Campus before actual weekly services start.
5. Personal evangelism- By reaching out to at least 20 individuals on a daily basis.

Why I Am Stoked About Oasis Church NJ

Why am I excited about what God is doing here?

• We have at least 4 prospering Connect Groups that meet weekly
• Since we last wrote we have put together what I think is a great worship band
• Our church has officially partnered with Christian Missionary Alliance, a denomination that cares a great deal about the Great Commission and Church Plants and Church Planters. (In fact, I am now an official licensed minister through them)
• Our first real preview service is not until Easter (4.4.10), but on 11.29.09 we decided to test our systems by beginning monthly Sunday morning gatherings without any mass marketing (outside of the internet) or any full time staff! We were overwhelmed when 181 people showed up (see above pic), many who were unchurched!  This was amazing since  so far we have only  had opportunity to fully implement our first 2 prongs of our overall outreach strategy,  It was a wonderful feeling as we had to scurry for extra seats since we only put out 80.  Although changed lives in Jesus is the ultimate goal, our little TEAM couldn’t help but be psyched and thankful for what they saw happening right before their eyes!
• As of 12.31.09, I am leaving my full time job in Family Court to dedicate my life full time to church planting. Yahooo! I was SO frustrated having only 15 hours a week or so to do church planting, but am now SO happy I can do what I love full time.  I also wasn’t to keen on the idea of cracking up, which is where I was heading if I continued to work 2 jobs and church planting. Since I will now have time to  do stuff like set up our online campus and actually spend time in the communities around our church (I live 35 min away), I can hardly wait to see what the Lord is gonna do next.

What Our New Jersey Christian Church Needs

Even though we have cool stuff going on, we do have some needs as a church plant. For starters, it seems we can gather unchurched and non-religious folk, but we are having a Dickens of a time attracting some Christian leadership to help fill in the gaps.  Quite honestly, some of our systems just plain suck. We need more staff in the area of child care. We also could use some creative arts/worship arts guys or gals and a teaching pastor or two, although He has brought a few guys to us who have potential. If there are any of you seminary students reading this and you’re looking for an internship, just give us a holler and we’ll set you up.

Overall, I guess I’m gonna to start to rant, so I’ll close it up here  by wishing you all a Merry Christmas. Please pray for us? Promise? OK. And while you’re praying for OC please also remember all the NJ church planters, and especially my new buddies at Relevant Church who are out there  sacrificing everything like we are to bring others to Jesus. Stay Tuned.

Christian Churches New Jersey-Oasis Church NJ

(8.18.09)-Oasis Church is a New Jersey Christian church in the making, and I am really excited about what God has done so far.  Sorry this update has taken so long, but as a tent-making church planter, my time with Oasis is limited to less than 15 hours per week. But right now as I write this, I am so overwhelmed with gratefulness for our TEAM and all the blessings of the last few months.

New Jersey Christian Church Summer

Update and Needs

1. Where do I begin? Well, some dude  I met in person only twice wrote us a little check for $90,000 because  we communicated our vision to him, and he believed in us and our mission  to compassionately share Jesus with hurting and hungry people here in Union County and all around the world! Mark, I want to thank you, and  with Jesus’ help we will not disappoint!
2. We completed the Alpha course in late June 2009, and came out with four (4) healthy Connect Groups that have kept steam up through the Summer. I can’t believe we are getting over 40 people coming out weekly on a Sunday night for 2 hours in the dog days of Summer!  I  also can’t wait till we shift  to monthly Sunday morning gatherings to see how many folks we can reach at that time.
3. After Alpha we challenged people to join our Launch Team in this crazy but thrilling New Jersey Church plant  experience. I got tears in my eyes because it was so amazing to see these people, many still not believers, excitedly putting on Oasis T Shirts, wanting to become part of something big right here at the beginning. The end result is that we more than quadrupled our Oasis Launch team coming out of the Alpha Course. We are slowly discipling these people to become committed followers of Jesus.
4. Don’t think this has all been a bed of roses. We still have a ton of needs, and I’m hangin’ on to Jesus for dear life because I have no time. For starters, we are still “piss pot poor”  as church plants go, and  we’re short on Christian leadership for our systems, as most of our people are either pre-Christian or brand new believers.Additionally, although our launch date is still a ways off in 2010, we still need a worship leader who can play guitar, sing and be able to connect with Jesus and people in a passionate way. If any of you guys know of anybody like this, can you please give us a holler? Thanks.
5. Over all, this stuff (starting a church from scratch) is hard work, and not for those who lack faith, or can’t deal with the rejection and weekly ups and downs. In fact my advice  to anyone desiring to plant a church is to get his head examined…unless he knows God has really called him. Otherwise, chances are he will end up in the nut house from a nervous breakdown, go bankrupt or both. I’m not planning on doing either, but I could sure use your prayers. Mathew 11:28 and out.

Casual NJ Church Update

Our Casual NJ church plant had a great time at our Alpha Course retreat in May 2009.  In the middle of the food and fun, praying and bonding between churched and unchurched folks over a bonfire,  several people gave their lives to Jesus Christ.  This is what our mission at Oasis Church is all about!

One of those who became a Christian had been an agnostic who  hadn’t darkened a door of a church in over twenty years, and actually panicked when he first walked through our casual NJ church doors. I actually had to run out and grab him! He came back in and has had a wonderful time learning about God  at his own pace.  I’ll tell you, it’s amazing to see God change a life right before our eyes!

NJ Casual Church Mission

Seeing great stuff like what happened on the weekend reminds me why I’m even in this crazy business of trying to  plant a church from scratch in NJ.  Sometimes I whine about having to work full time and doing church planting, but then God keeps showing up in great ways like this. How annoying, especially when I’m in the mood for a pity party.

Overall, if you’re looking to get involved in a casual NJ Christian church, we’d love to have you come out and work with us in making an eternal impact in the lives of  others. I guarantee you will be blessed as well.

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Contemporary Christian Church Update

Oasis Church is a contemporary Christian church plant in Union County NJ. Since God led our little launch team of ten people out here to Mountainside, we have seen Him doing some outrageous things.

Contemporary Christian Church
Blessings

One prong of our outreach strategy was to do the Alpha Course as a way of of reaching the unchurched and growing connect groups (small groups) simultaneously. Our 3/22/09 kick-off attracted 101 folks including our 10 team members! Now into week seven in early May we have four healthy and bonding small groups made up mostly  of unchurched people  seeking for more of God. And we also thank the Lord for the folks to have stepped up to become part of our newly forming contemporary Christian church band.

Another prong of our contemporary Christian church strategy includes a steady dose of Servant Evangelism in the surrounding communities of Union County:

At least once a week this Summer Oasis-Church-NJ.com will be engaging people with simple acts of kindness like the water bottles we gave recently  gave out to thirsty people on a steamy hot day at the Westfield Spring Fling.

Overall, every week  we are meeting people who are buying into our vision for a contemporary Christian church in Union County that will compassionately share Jesus with the hungry and hurting here and all around the world.

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Mountainside Church-Our First Outreach

Well our Oasis Church Launch Team has been using a Mountainside church as it’s base of operation for the past 5 weeks now, and tomorrow (March 22) will be our first sustained outreach  assault on Union County. Tomorrow we are sponsoring the Alpha Course at 5PM, We are a tiny group of 8, but we have big plans for a huge turnout. How many unchurched people are we expecting to attract? Let’s just put it this way: My wife cooked enough chicken to feed 100 people, so if this Mountainside church outreach thingy blows up in our faces, I’m gonna be forced to eat chicken for the next year. Can somebody pass the honey mustard?

Mountainside Church Alpha Checklist

I’m writing this on Saturday  evening, and I’m beat and have nervous expectation.  We’ve done everything we could to make our first outreach a success, and so now I’m just gonna rest in God’s hands. What else can I do?

• We educated our team on the imporatance of friendship evangelism
• We attended church planting seminars
• We trained our small group leaders
• We practiced Servant evangelism in Mountainside and the surrounding central Jersey towns
• We distributed tons of flyers
• We invited friends and family
• we fasted and prayed

Tomorrow this Mountainside church experiment will either sink or swim. I’m counting on the latter: I can’t stand chicken.

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Oasis Church in Union County Update

Our Oasis Church Planting Team rocks! It’s as simple as that. The commitment level of these people, some of whom are not even Christ followers at this time, utterly amazes me. Believe me, it’s not easy planting a church from scratch in NJ. As one other church planter from the South bemoaned to me recently, “This ain’t Christian Wonderland like it is in the Bible Belt.”  Hello? This is freakin’ New Jersey, okay?

In all honesty, there have been several times in the past few weeks that I have felt like giving up. My faith has been battered and tried. But last Sunday was a turning point. Last Sunday we were out in the bitter cold handing out flower seeds and information about our up and coming Alpha course to passersby in the highways and byways of Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Union, Westfield, and Watchung. I wanted to stop after an hour. Not them. They wanted to keep going, and going and going, just like that bunny battery dude. That’s when I knew this tiny Oasis TEAM was something special and that God is about to do some amazing things.

Hey, I’m not stupid enough to think it has anything to do with me. It doesn’t. However, it has ALL to do with faith and the power of vision. Our vision is simple: We will compassionately share Jesus with hungry and hurting people here in Union County New Jersey, and all around world. The fact that this little TEAM is naive enough to actually believe we can pull this off with God’s power is the reason we are about to turn this place upside down for Jesus. Stay tuned.

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Oasis-Mountainside Church in Union County-NJ

Well, it’s official. As of 2/4/09, Oasis-Church-NJ.com is a Mountainside, NJ  contemporary church with a  Vision and Mission to reach all of Union County and the world. Why not right? Located at 1180 Spruce Drive, we are renting the amazing and spacious facilities of Mountainside Chapel, whose people were miraculously gracious to our Oasis church planting team. Thank you guys, for putting people and the Great Comission first before your own needs. How rare is that!

Mountainside Church Strategy

In the process of growing a church launch team from scratch here in Mountainside, we will be meeting on Thursdays at 7:00PM and Sundays at 4 PM for fun, fellowship and community outreach. Feel free to join us! I promise you will be blessed.

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