Pastors Letter 2011
Dear Church
Just to confirm that Esther and I will be away from 4th to 24th September. We will be taking a holiday aboard as a belated celebration of our 25th Wedding Anniversary.
During this time I have arranged for Rev Bob McDonald to be with us from 4th to 19th September. Bob will be available for pastoral appointments Monday to Friday. Should you need to make an appointment with him please ring 07530964503 or email admin@oasisredditch.church Alternatively you can contact our church elders; John Hill 07984525171, Jerry Judson 07923492770 or Diane Tolson ditolson@yahoo.co.uk
If I could remind you of the following:
Prayer Meeting
There will be a prayer meeting on Mon 5th Sept, 7:30pm at OCC, please make every effort to attend this. We will be focusing on praying for those that need a healing touch from God, including Sharon Curtis and June Waldron. We will also be continuing to pray for Terry and Judy and Hope and Kindness, the state of our nation, and unity and breakthrough for the church. It would also be good to pray for Bob and the work that he does in Romania.
Normal prayer requests should go to prayer@oasisredditch.church
Back to Church Sunday
On Sunday 25th Sept there is a national Back to Church Sunday campaign, where we have the opportunity to invite people to our church service. Please take time to pray for who you can invite and for divine appointments where you can invite people to this service. I will be talking about what it means to be born again, looking at the account of Nicodemus and Jesus, in John 3.
Please also pray that many people will come to know Jesus in our nation and in our town.
The Oasis at Winyates
With regard to The Oasis at Winyates shop, I want to encourage you to visit, where you are able and see the excellent outreach that is happening there. In just a short time a number of people have been really blessed and impacted in the Winyates, Matchborough and Church Hill communities, as people are travelling regularly now from communities outside Winyates.
We also need some help moving the Rag Bag materials from the shop to church Rag Bag bin, if you are able to help please see Katrina Youster.
CAP Money
We will be advertising over the next few weeks a free budgeting course run by CAP, Christians Against Poverty. The ‘CAP Money’ course will run Wed 5th, 12th and 19th October, 7pm at OCC, it is free, confidential and extremely helpful. In the course you will learn how to make a budget, however high or low your income, and stick to it, and you will rapidly see the benefits of doing so.
Please take this great opportunity to register on the course if you need help or know of anyone who needs help in this area, please encourage them to register too.
To register on the course please either phone Graham Clark 01527 892470, email admin@oasisredditch.church or register online www.capmoney.org
Notices
If you have a notice that you would like to go in to the church notice sheet or be announced on a Sunday please can you email admin@oasisredditch.church or give it to Sarah O’Rourke in writing. The notice sheets are printed bi-weekly on a Thursday, any new notices need to given to Sarah by the Monday.
Sunday Services
Could I ask that on Sundays everyone helps as much as possible with the tidy up at the end of the service please.
Gift Day
Every year we have an annual gift day for our building project and I would like to personally thank you for all the sacrificial giving that you have made so far.
At the moment we still need to raise £68,177 and on Sunday 9th October we will be taking a special gift day offering. If you are new to the fellowship and not sure how to support this project we take a special collection using envelopes provided for the building project, where you can place your building fund offering.
If you are a tax payer and you don’t already gift aid to Oasis Christian Centre then this is a great way of adding to the amount you give, as we are able to claim tax back on your offering. Alternatively, as a number of people do already you could set up a monthly standing order; information on how to do this can be obtained from Diane Tolson, Chief Finance Officer.
A few people have also loaned OCC amounts of money from £1000 to £5000 for a period of 1 to 3 years. If you feel you would like to do this please see me on my return from holidays to arrange for a legal document to be drafted. This money is underwritten by Elim International Offices, so that your money is completely safe.
Also with your regular giving it would be helpful if you are able to set up a monthly standing order to reduce the amount of money being taken weekly to the bank. This does not preclude you from giving extra in your envelopes. Once again if you pay tax please consider using the gift aid scheme.
All giving to the church is kept in complete confidence.
In writing this letter I would like to take the opportunity to thank you personally for faithfully and sacrificially serving the Master at Oasis Christian Centre. There are many unseen things done by so many of you that have made Oasis Christian Centre the place it is today, a place where people matter!
It is wonderful to see new faces within the church family and we hope that you will find a spiritual home here and many good friends to help you mature and grow in your walk with Jesus Christ.
We are currently studying the life of Jesus – the greatest life of all. During this season I pray that each of us will encounter Jesus in a much deeper and more powerful measure than we have ever done so before; that our encounters with Jesus will radically transform our whole life and that through it many lives will be touched with the love of Jesus and that many people will come to know Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord.
As the return of Jesus comes ever closer can I encourage you to seek after Him, trust Him and serve Him, as He calls us to in His Living Word.
Together, let us keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. Expect the unexpected and miraculous and be united together to see the kingdom of God grow in our town and experience heaven touching earth.
Watch this space on our church website www.oasisredditch.church for 100 daily bible readings focusing on Jesus.
Every Blessing
Pastor Robin