Being the pastor of a church in a YMCA, I often times get the question "So when are you guys going to get your own building?" I usually respond with "We have the biggest indoor baptistry of any church I know (The pool) and we have a rock wall in our kids area. We have a better building that we could ever build. Why would we leave it?" Then I try to take the opportunity to explain why we really love being in the YMCA and why we plan on never leaving the Y. So I'll try to keep this short, but I want to take this opportunity as Gray's (or Mr. Stallworth or the CEO of the YMCA, however you may refer to him) as his guest blogger, to Share why we love the YMCA.
There are so many details that I could share about our journey as we have really embraced the call to be a church IN the Y and not just a church AT the Y. However, for the sake of time, let me just share a few highlights of why we love being a portable church in the YMCA. First, there is absolutely no better way for us to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with. We meet in the Y's facilities on Sunday morning and when we finish, those facilities are used non-stop all week long. So there are no big buildings that sit empty while our church members aren't there. Not to say that church buildings are bad... because the aren't... they are necessary. However, God has given us an amazing opportunity, and we want to hold on to it. But the facilities are really just a very small part. Second, The Y already has all the programs we need for outreach. As a church we don't have to look into starting programs for our members and for the community. If our church members want to start a soccer league... Already done! If we want to reach out to people outside of our church all we have to do is join in on anything that the Y is already doing! Think about it. How many churches do you know that have 5,000 people from the community come through their doors every week?... Um, I can think of one... Oasis Church. Why would we ever leave that? Third, the YMCA is an amazing Christian organization, rich in history. As a church, we get to help the Y sow Christian values into the lives of people in our community. Most people see the Y as just a "Swim and Gym", but the Y is so much more, and we are committed as a church to helping the Y plant Jesus values into every area of peoples lives; Mind, Body, and Spirit. The fact is, A permanent church in a YMCA is a win, win, win. We win as a church, The YMCA wins, and most importantly the community wins.There is so much more that goes into this aspect of why we love being a church IN the Y and not just a church AT the Y, but maybe I'll have another opportunity to share in the future.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
February Newsletter 2011
As I am writing this, we are wrapping up our New Year's Revolution Series and I must say that God has really revealed to me what excites our church. I guess the best way to put it is "give it away". We've been talking about the potential each of us has and the potential that we have as a church to make a kingdom impact in this world. We asked some basic questions like are we really using our influence for God's glory? and how can we specifically use our influence for His glory? This Sunday, which will have already passed by the time that you get this newsletter, we will announce that our church is going to raise $5,000 to dig a well for people who have no access to clean drinking water. Our church has been waiting eagerly to hear how exactly we will be "giving away" our money. This is how we want to influence the world as a church. As individuals, we want to be consistently pouring kingdom principles into the lives of others.
If you would like to donate to digging the well, you can mail your contributions to PO Box 49772 Greenwood, SC 29649. Please be sure to mark it "Living Waters"
This February we will be doing a series called "I Killed Jesus". Please feel free to listen to our podcasts. It's going to be an intense series where we talk about God's Mercy, Justice, and redemption. We will also talk about the importance of sharing the gospel and our potential as a church to take the gospel into our community.
Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our sin; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
If you would like to donate to digging the well, you can mail your contributions to PO Box 49772 Greenwood, SC 29649. Please be sure to mark it "Living Waters"
This February we will be doing a series called "I Killed Jesus". Please feel free to listen to our podcasts. It's going to be an intense series where we talk about God's Mercy, Justice, and redemption. We will also talk about the importance of sharing the gospel and our potential as a church to take the gospel into our community.
Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our sin; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
January Newsletter 2011
The past month has been a really exciting time in the life of our church and in my life personally. On Jan 1-3 We took some of our college students to Passion, a conference for young adults, in Atlanta, Ga. I was fortunate enough to get to tag along and I must say that I was encouraged and challenged to see the faith and excitement of this generation! I have always told our church that God has a history of using young people to change this world and expand His kingdom, And I am convinced that this generation will be no exception.
We are currently in our New Year's Revolution series and God is rocking our church. This series is really challenging our church and me personally to imagine what could happen if we would actually use the influence that God has given us to invest in the kingdom, to give hope to the hopeless. We have no idea how powerful of an impact we have the potential to make in this world.
We will begin Financial Peace University on Feb. 23rd. Anyone can sign up by going to the front desk at the YMCA or by emailing the church at Web@ogreenwood.com. We will meet every Wed. at 7pm and the course will run for 13 weeks through May 18th. The cost is $93 per household. If you want to take the class and don't have the money, please email us and let us know. This course is well worth every penny. I suggest to anyone who is able to take this course, to please do so. I believe that there are so many people who want to give to kingdom causes, but they feel too constricted because they are too far in debt and just don't know how to budget their money. Can you imagine what would happen if only a small portion of christians would begin to budget money in their personal finances for kingdom impact?
Thank you so much to all of you, our supporters, for all that you are doing!
We are currently in our New Year's Revolution series and God is rocking our church. This series is really challenging our church and me personally to imagine what could happen if we would actually use the influence that God has given us to invest in the kingdom, to give hope to the hopeless. We have no idea how powerful of an impact we have the potential to make in this world.
We will begin Financial Peace University on Feb. 23rd. Anyone can sign up by going to the front desk at the YMCA or by emailing the church at Web@ogreenwood.com. We will meet every Wed. at 7pm and the course will run for 13 weeks through May 18th. The cost is $93 per household. If you want to take the class and don't have the money, please email us and let us know. This course is well worth every penny. I suggest to anyone who is able to take this course, to please do so. I believe that there are so many people who want to give to kingdom causes, but they feel too constricted because they are too far in debt and just don't know how to budget their money. Can you imagine what would happen if only a small portion of christians would begin to budget money in their personal finances for kingdom impact?
Thank you so much to all of you, our supporters, for all that you are doing!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
December Newsletter 2010
It's the holiday season and we are all so very busy. Oasis is just finishing our "OC Christmas" Series. We've been taking a look at Mary's call to birth the savior of the world. We've learned about the fears she may have faced and how she responded to the call on her life. It's been a really powerful series. In January we will be in our "New Years Revolution" series. We'll be looking at how God has the power to move in our lives in revolutionary ways. As we progress into this new year I look forward to all that God has in store for us. I've been spending time in prayer and I am really excited to put some challenges in front of our church. In my heart right now there is nervousness and excitement for the next year. Please continue to pray for us as we try to spread the hope of the Gospel. Thanks to each of you for your support!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Discussion time
Today at Oasis we really put a lot of answers and questions out there. This blog is just in case anyone wanted to open a public dialogue about any issues. So here is your chance!
Thursday, November 4, 2010

This past series was really awesome! It was titled Heterosexual Homophobe and I can honestly say that this has been the most exciting series that we have done since launching over a year ago. We handled many topics such as discrimination, Racism, Homosexuality, Hate and so much more. I want to encourage anyone to listen to the past podcasts. Thank you so much to my staff for the ideas and encouragement. I have an amazing staff! The next series coming up is "You Asked for it" Wow, it's going to be intense. We received questions that will blow you away. Click HERE if you want to listen to the past podcasts.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sunday Sum-up.
Today was pretty awesome!... other than my daughter throwing up on the way to church. Needless to say, Morgan and Campbell had to stay home today. She seems to be feeling better, but she has been sleeping most of the day. The message was straight up honest today. If you have any questions about the Holy Ghost and how He works in our lives, then you need to check out today's podcast and the rest of this 4 week series. Here are a few highlights from today.
-The Holy Spirit is mentioned over 800 times in scripture.
-The second verse of the Bible talks about the Spirit of God.
-There are churches that would refer to themselves as "Spirit Filled" that really weird many Christians out.
-There are also churches who are the exact opposite and would never dare even mention that the Holy Spirit has any authority.
-I believe the more biblical stance is somewhere more in the middle.
-The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Comforter and so much more!
-Many believers aren't living a spirit filled life because they either aren't aware of the Holy Spirit or simply resist the Holy Spirit.
-You cannot continuously resist the Holy Spirit because eventually you will grieve Him and He may stop pursuing you.
-There are 3 different ways that the Holy Spirit ministers to us.
1. He comforts us.
2. He counsels us.
3. He convicts us.
Do not resist His conviction!
P.S. Next week is going to rock! don't miss it! We also have a series coming up next that is going to be very interesting. It's going to be called "Heterosexual Homophobe" Before you start calling me a heretic, you may need to hear the podcasts. And yes, it will blow church people up!
-The Holy Spirit is mentioned over 800 times in scripture.
-The second verse of the Bible talks about the Spirit of God.
-There are churches that would refer to themselves as "Spirit Filled" that really weird many Christians out.
-There are also churches who are the exact opposite and would never dare even mention that the Holy Spirit has any authority.
-I believe the more biblical stance is somewhere more in the middle.
-The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Comforter and so much more!
-Many believers aren't living a spirit filled life because they either aren't aware of the Holy Spirit or simply resist the Holy Spirit.
-You cannot continuously resist the Holy Spirit because eventually you will grieve Him and He may stop pursuing you.
-There are 3 different ways that the Holy Spirit ministers to us.
1. He comforts us.
2. He counsels us.
3. He convicts us.
Do not resist His conviction!
P.S. Next week is going to rock! don't miss it! We also have a series coming up next that is going to be very interesting. It's going to be called "Heterosexual Homophobe" Before you start calling me a heretic, you may need to hear the podcasts. And yes, it will blow church people up!
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