Greetings

. . in the precious and wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ to all members and regular attendees of Oasis Christian Centre. A warm welcome to all of you that have joined Oasis CC on our exciting journey.

I would like to personally thank you for all your love and support and for all that you have done to serve this local body of people.

This year has gone so quickly and as I reflect on this I truly believe that we have turned a spiritual corner. Something is wonderfully different at Oasis CC.

We have been looking at the subject throughout the year of Mark 12:30-31 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I trust that on a personal level you have been encouraged and challenged by what has been taught and that you are closer to God now because you have applied the Word of God to your life.

Our theme for 2008 is found in Matthew 28:18 -20: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

This year we are concentrating on the Great Commission; focusing on the lost in 2008.

I was given this wonderful prophetic scripture by one of our congregation the other month. Amos 9:13 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, I want to ask you all to join with the leadership here to believe together for wonderful and amazing things in 2008.

Birchensdale School

The feedback from the taster day has been extremely positive. Many people have expressed how much they enjoyed being at the school.

This is a major step for us and we are going to commence our meetings there in February 2008.

Thank you to all of you who helped make that day a success. In the next few weeks you will see some rotas on the board at the back of the church. Please fill in how you are able to serve Oasis CC in the school move. Many hands make light work!

The move, however, is so much more than just about moving location. It is a cultural and spiritual stepping stone for Oasis CC. In our new adventure we must focus on our community and on their needs. Please also pray for the finance needed for this step of faith.

Prophecy given by Mrs Hazel Reeves on Sunday the 29th April, 1990.

A portrayal was given of a large and roomy castle standing in beautiful and spacious grounds waiting to be explored.

However, a deep moat surrounded the grounds which prevented a group of people standing on the opposite bank from crossing over as the moat was too wide to jump.

On the edge of the water in the castle grounds was a man calling out ‘if you want to come across there is a way. Look closely at the water and you will see, just below the surface, stepping stones leading to where I am standing. You will get your feet wet in crossing, but do not be afraid, but do not be afraid, for these stones are firmly embedded in solid rock and you cannot sink. Just keep your eyes upon me, and you will come safely across’.

It was impressed upon the spirit of the one giving the prophecy that the Lord Himself is the One who has prepared a large place which has not yet been explored, which is greater than any experience that has been known to us, and He is calling to those who want to enter into this place to ‘come across the water’.

However, this cannot be reached by one single stride. Each circumstance through which we are to pass is to be seen as a stepping stone leading to greater things the Lord has prepared for us. We are not to look, at our present difficult circumstances and become discouraged, but to fix our eyes upon Him and the vision before us. This will require an exercising of faith, for we shall ‘get our feet wet’, but He is reminding us that our faith will not fail, for it is resting firmly on solid ground. We shall not sink or be submerged beneath the circumstance of life through which we are passing and the waves will not overwhelm us. We need only to keep our eyes on the goal before us, and step by step we shall be led into that larger place which the Lord desires us to occupy and explore.

Batchley Strategy

During the next few weeks as we move forward with our plans to relocate the Sunday morning meetings to Birchensale School, we want to put strategies in place that enable us to make the most of the openings God is giving to us as a church at this time and we need your help! You can:

Adopt a road in Batchley, pray for the people in it (guidelines to be issued later) and be willing so far as you are able to deliver any publicity leaflets to your road as and when required.

Be available to have a visitor or visitors for Sunday lunch

Be willing to have spare seats next to you for visitors and make them really welcome

As the community of Oasis Christian Centre, we have an incredible opportunity here of working together in partnership with the Holy Spirit to see people won for Jesus, it’s time for each one of us to “seize the day”.

The house next door

At the last meeting we discussed purchasing the house next door. As the majority of people voted for this the Leadership have decided that we will continue on the process to purchase the House subject to a structural survey.

In order to fund the repayments we will need to use some of the money that has been allocated to the building fund and will be writing to all members personally with further details about costs, mortgages, etc.

Every Blessing

Pastor Robin

Pastor’s Letter 2006

Greetings

Greetings, in the precious and wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ to all members and regular worshippers of Oasis Christian Centre.
We thank God that our church is regularly full and we need a larger place to worship together now. As I explained in our last business meeting we have been looking at various options to allow further growth until we rebuild. We are currently exploring the option of having multiple services on Sunday mornings and will be speaking with you further on this very shortly. I believe that we can look forward to an amazing year and as we step out in Faith for our new building.

‘Christology’

We have just finished part two of this six week series. This week Rev Gordon Neale, will be preaching on Palm Sunday, we will then be looking at the themes on the Death and Resurrection, Prophet, Priest and King, and then at the second coming.

‘Building’ for the Future

In May we are starting a six week series on Nehemiah. We are looking at why and how God used this man and the social, moral and spiritual reforms he made, many of which lasted until the time of Christ centuries later.
My desire is that we leave a legacy at Oasis Christian Centre that will be handed down to our Children and Grand Children.

Our 30 Year Celebrations

On Saturday June 10th we are having another international food evening, where we can taste foods from the different nations represented at Oasis Christian Centre.
On Sunday June 18th we are having a family service and a BBQ in the garden.
On Sunday June 25th we are having a special 30 -year,–Celebration in the morning and evening and Rev Denis Phillips will be ministering at both of those services.

‘Believing’ for the Miracles

Following our 30 years celebrations we will be looking at various miracles of Jesus Christ in the gospels and believing for miraculous signs and wonders following the preaching of the Word.
The Elim Church in Redditch was planted following a crusade where many people were saved and many miracles were experienced. Join with us to believe that once again Oasis Christian Centre and Redditch will experience the miraculous power of God daily. All things are possible with God!

‘Believing’ for the Promise

In the autumn we will be looking at the heroes of the faith.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith and Hope go hand in hand together. Expect God to perform what he has promised us in Christ Jesus. Faith demonstrates to the eye of the mind the reality of those things that cannot be discerned by the eye of the body.
What we believe and trust God for today will determine the future of Oasis Christian Centre.

Project Oasis

We have now submitted our plans to Redditch council for planning approval. Please pray for favour with them. I have also spoken to our immediate neighbour about our new building, and she has said that she has no problems with the plans as they are. Please also pray for favour with our other neighbours that there will be no objections.
From today we now have the official Oasis Building Fund that will come under the banner of “Project Oasis”.
Before we can start the building stage we will need to raise somewhere in the region of £120,000. I am pleased to inform you that we have already received gifts of £5,100 last week towards this.
Diane Tolson, our treasurer shared our strategy on how we can help raise the £120,000 required. I have summarised this below:
If a person gave an extra amount each year we could raise £70,460.
10 people £0.50p a week= £260.00
25 people £1.00 a week = £1,300.00
25 people £5.00 a week = £6,500.00
25 people £10.00 a week = £13,000.00
20 people £15.00 a week = £15,600.00
20 people £20.00 a week = £20,800.00
10 people £25.00 a week = £13,000.00
Plus we can get back the Gift Aid too!

A pledge form is available today for you to take away and fill in. Please be so kind as to return to Diane Tolson by the end of April after you have sought God’s wisdom on this, so that we can plan finances for this exciting project.

Please do not pledge finances if you are not going to honour it.
If you are going to pay monthly our preference is by Standing order but if you prefer we will give you an envelope with a unique number on it that you can use on a monthly basis.
There will also be a gift day in June in which you may want to give a one-off donation to the project.
You can of course give at any time to the building project as you feel led, but please use the building envelope designated for this and remember to gift aid it!
If you gift aid the money Oasis Christian Centre will receive an extra 28p in the pound. So, for example, if you give£100 we will get an extra £28.00 back from the government.
By breaking down the figures like this I hope that you can see that this can be done. As we do our part God will do the rest.
I know that this will mean a sacrifice for all of us. We may well need to give up something to make this happen. In the scriptures we find that King David wanted to build an altar to the Lord and he saw a field where he wanted to do it. He could have taken the land for nothing because he was the King. Indeed Araunah, the owner of the land, would have give him it to him but David said in 2 Samuel 24:24 No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.