Gary's Story

Early in the year 2000, I began to feel that God was calling me to start a church in the

Hailey Road area. There were a few reasons for this, including the fact that there was

no other church in that immediate area. I believe that there are many people who are

interested in spiritual things and want to know more about God and I believe that God

is interested in them.
I met weekly with five other adults in order to pray about the above things. After a few weeks we all agreed to try and start the church. It would depend a lot upon the availability of a place to meet. We prayed that if it was God's will, then we would be able to meet at WCPS. The school governors agreed to let us hire the school hall.
We decided to meet for one hour on Sunday mornings from 10.30-11.30. The services were to be, and still are, very relaxed. We try to make everything easily understandable and fun. We use very visual means to communicate the good news about Jesus, including animal stories, quizzes, puppets and sketch board. Each week someone shares a personal story telling how God has helped him or her in his or her lives. We sing lively songs and have a relevent talk.
We decided to have out first meeting on the 14th of May. We prayed for confirmation, asking that if the new church was God's will, then 40 people would attend within 10 weeks. On the third week, 45 people attended.

The church is called Oasis Family Church. We hope that it will prove an oasis for people on Sundays who have had a busy, stressful or difficult week. Also we want the church to be a church that relates to whole families; a church where people of any age can come along, being welcomed, accepted and can understand what is being said and done.
We have five aims.

·	To introduce people to Jesus. He loves and has a purpose for everyone.

·	To worship God

·	To get to know God better

·	To get to know each other better

·	To serve the community. Helping people and organising things for the benefit of the community.

We believe that many people are turned off church because of past experience. For example, they do not understand the jargon or why certain things are done. They may have been spoken to in a condescending way or have found the services boring BUT they are not turned off of God. In fact, we believe that many people feel something is missing in their lives, some may well be looking for God. Oasis Family Church believes that God is the answer. We want people to enjoy meeting with us and to make it easy for them to find God.
We have two Wednesday meetings in homes. One for the 14-18s and one for the 18-plus age group. There is also a children's house group age 5-11. We also have various social events.
There are regular Y Courses, which are run over eight evenings of two hours each. These are for people who want to find out more about the Christian faith in an informal atmosphere with no pressure and with opportunity to ask questions with plenty of cake to eat!
Also, we run regular Christian Basics courses, which are run over two evenings for two hours each in someone's home.
Since August 2001 we have our Sunday meetings at Wood Green School.

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Gary’s Story