Missional Ministry Plan

Oasis…”where relationships are a mess worth making.”

Ministry Plan

Purpose
Our chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever.
Vision
We seek to build gospel-centered communities to reach people for Christ Jesus and invest in messy relationships
Mission
Equipping others to be more faithful disciples through serving them in discipleship-evangelism, exhortation and restoration, to a full relationship with God, in all of life.
Core Values

(1) Prayer – The importance of (Luke 18:1); in faith (Hebrews 11:6); in Christ Jesus (John 16:24); and in efficacy (Daniel 10:12).

(2) Sola Scriptura – Scripture is the final authority for all matter of faith and life (Isa. 55:11; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:3–4).

(3) Evangelism, discipleship and counseling is one ministry and not optional (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 15:14; II Corinthians 1:4; Galatians 6:1-5; I Thessalonians 3:2; II Timothy 4:2; Hebrews 10:23-25).

(4) Biblical peacemaking is a skill that is consistently, surgically, immediately, accountably, redemptively, restoratively, and humbly worked on in all of life (Matt. 5:23-24; 6:12; 7:12; 25:14-21; John 13:34-35; Eph. 4:1-3, 32; Phil. 2:3-4; Rom. 12:18; 1 Peter 2:19; 4:19.).

(5) Christians are called to live differently and missionally. (1 Kings 18:21; Rom. 1:18-32; 2 Tim 3:2-7; 2 Pet 1:19-21).

(6) Sanctification is all of life – priorities (John 4:34; 17:4; 19:30; Eph. 5:15-21; Gal. 4:4-7; Daniel 9:26-27; Psalm 90).

(7) Authenticity is not optional (Matt. 23:13-33; John 3:30, 8:31; 1 Cor. 9:19; 1 Joh 1:5-10; Rom. 2:28-29, 9:6-7)
Policies
The only ‘policies’ Oasis has, are those that are found in the Bible. (The Word of God, Scripture – NASB, ESV, original Greek & Hebrew)

1. What is the word of God?

The holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the word of God, (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:19–21) the only rule of faith and obedience. (Eph. 2:20, Rev. 22:18–19, Isa. 8 :20, Luke 16:29,31, Gal. 1:8–9, 2 Tim. 3:15–16)

2. How does it appear that the scriptures are of the word of God?

The scriptures manifest themselves to be the word of God, by their majesty (Hos. 8:12, 1 Cor. 2:6–7,13, Ps. 119:18,129) and purity; (Ps. 12:6, Ps. 119:140) by the consent of all the parts, (Acts 10:43, Acts 26:22) and the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God; (Rom. 3:19,27) by their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto salvation: (Acts 18:28, Heb. 4:12, James 1:18, Ps. 19:7–9, Rom. 15:4, Acts 20:32) but the Spirit of God bearing witness by and with the scriptures in the heart of man, is alone able fully to persuade it that they are the very word of God. (John 16:13–14, 1 John 2:20,27, John 20:31)

3. What do the scriptures principally teach?

The scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. (2 Tim. 1:13)

The Westminster Larger Catechism: With Scripture Proofs. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996). Questions 3-5.
Ministry and Community
We are convinced that the subjects of evangelism is everyone, both believer and non-believer, that the substance of evangelism is the Gospel, and that the method of our evangelism is declaration and demonstration. Further, we are convinced that the context of our evangelism is personal and corporate. We believe that any ministry and evangelism should contain the following elements:

  • Outward – because I have been shown great mercy, I do not hold onto that secret, I “get to” share it with others (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
  • Authenticity, contrived or forced relationships are not going to reveal Christ to anyone, but through participating together in the life and truth made possible by the Holy Spirit, through our union with Christ, sharing in common on the deepest possible level of human relationship which is essentially walking out ALL the “one-another’s” found in scripture (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 15:10; Phi. 2:1; Phlm. 1:6). We like the quote, “a pattern of effective behavior that flows out of core identity, character and calling, enabling you to fulfill your role with excellence by meeting the needs of the present situation to the glory of Christ and for the good of others.”
  • Serving – acknowledging that Christian service is God-centered (Col. 3:23-24), others-focused (Gal. 5:13), characterized by humility (Phil. 2:3-4), empowered by the Spirit of God (1 Peter 4:10-11).
  • Incarnational – not just basing a ministry model on the Jesus who lived, but on the Jesus who lives. “Christians living out the gospel in their cultural context like Jesus who tabernacled among us.” – Darrin Patrick (Mar 3:1-6; Rev 2:1-3:22).
  • Simple – the daily Christian life is based upon faith in Christ, repentance unto Christ and new obedience in Christ and we tend to complicate it into rules and regulations, and guilt and shame management based upon appeasement.

What is ‘community for us’ at Oasis
“In our experience, people are often enthusiastic about community until it impinges on their decision-making. For all their rhetoric, they still expect to make decisions by themselves and for themselves. We assume we are masters of our own lives. ‘It’s my money, it’s my life, it’s my future,’ we say, ’so it’s my decision.’ In contrast, (at Oasis) in The Crowded House we ‘expect one another to make decisions with regard to the implications for the church and to make significant decisions in consultation with the church.’ A married man must take into account his wife and family, consulting with them over significant decisions. It should be the same in the family of God…In the Christian community we belong to one another and so we are responsible for one another and make decisions together. This is not a process of ‘heavy shepherding’ where the leader tells people what to do. Our statement does not say decisions are made for people. It says they are made with regard to the community to which they belong” (45, Total Church, Tim Chester).
Ministry Payoff
“After determining for his church the pattern and end of all theology, the glorified Christ commissioned his church to disciple the nations, baptizing and teaching his followers to obey everything that he had commanded them (Matt. 28:18–20). The Great Commission then places upon the church specific intellectual demands. There is the evangelistic demand to contextualize without compromise the gospel proclamation in order to meet the needs of every generation and culture. There is the didactic demand to correlate the manifold data of Scripture in our minds and to apply this knowledge to all phases of our thinking and conduct. And there is the apologetic demand to justify the existence of Christianity as the revealed religion of God and to protect its message from adulteration and distortion (see Tit. 1:9). Theology has risen in the life of the church in response to these concrete demands of the Great Commission. The theological enterprise serves then the Great Commission as it seeks to explicate in a logical and coherent manner for men everywhere the truth God has revealed in Holy Scripture about himself and the world he has created.”

Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1998). xxviii
No comments yet

Leave a Reply

Note: You can use basic XHTML in your comments. Your email address will never be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS