Did You Know? By Pastor Tim
September Newsletter Article

The experts say: “Transitions start with an ending and end with a beginning.” Our church is going through a transition as we are still discovering what Oakhurst looks like with a new contemporary worship service at 8:30 a.m. and as we are forming a brand new worship service aimed to reach out to young adults (18-35) on Sundays at 10:30 (not yet certain of the start time). We will move out of this transition phase when our new beginning is set, when we have a renewed shared vision of God’s calling for our church. What is my take on our vision and on our calling? Clearly Christ’s call is still the same: we are called to allow our faith in Him to make us different, and to make a difference for Him in the lives of others in and outside of our Church.  I would like to propose that we allow this simple formula guide all that we do at Oakhurst: We are a people becoming different, and making a difference because of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Our vision to renew our church’s healthiness has not changed: we still need to do better job reaching out to younger generations: X, Y & Millennials, and fill our classrooms with young people again. We still need to meet the needs of our existing members for worship, fellowship and discipleship. We still need to provide meaningful ways for people to serve God.  We still need worship that lifts and inspires.

In my sermon series this month (Secrets of the Vine) I mentioned Jesus’ parable of the vine in John 15 and I pointed out that just as pruning enables a vine it to produce more fruit, so too transitions can be a healthy pruning for a church. There are valuable lessons that we can only learn by going through a transition as faithful people. It may not happen as fast as we would like: we should remember that it takes nine months to form a baby no matter how many people you put on the job, and there is no fruit that isn’t bitter before it is ripe. Biblically speaking, when Moses led the people out of Egypt it was a giant transition for the Jews: they went from slaves to free men and women, but they also went into a time of wandering in the desert before they could enter the Promised Land. We too must now walk through a time of transition before we can enter our promised land. 

The future is in our hands, and we, your church staff, leaders and I have decided to choose the path of renewal.  While some parts of our church are in transition other areas of strength and healthiness remain in place. At the same time I am looking forward to the creation of the fourth worship service at Oakhurst and all the joys and challenges it will bring.

You can help our church in this time of transition in several ways. As always, honor the vows you took when you joined Oakhurst to support it with your prayers, presence, gifts and service. Recommit yourself to daily prayer, for your pastors, for our church leadership, for our church. Support Chris Harper, myself and the worship team as they are starting the new ministries for younger generations. When invited to participate in a program or activity step up willingly. If invited to lead prayerfully consider if God is leading you to respond at this time.

In other news: This month the church finances are hitting the bottom of their summer lows. At the present time our church bank account has under $12,000 and we normally have a balance of $28 – 30,000. This means we are closer to the edge than we would like to be. I thank all those who have brought their pledges to current and again ask if you are able to help the church get through the summer months it will be greatly appreciated. 

Staff Transitions: After 5 years of faithful service to our church Corbi Bottichio is moving on to take a job at Edward Jones Investments. She will be the office manager at their new Largo office. As part of her long and grace filled letter of resignation Corbi wrote: “God has opened new doors for me and I am sure that He wants me to walk through them with Him.” On behalf of our church I thank Corbi for the many ways she has given her time and energy above and beyond the call of duty. We will miss Corbi! Corbi will be a tough act to follow – she leaves big footprints to fill. I ask your prayers for our church: to find someone to replace her who is as pleasant and as good a Christian as Corbi.