Our Mission & What We Believe

The mission of Oakley Christian Church is to love God, to love others, and to magnify the name of Jesus Christ. The vision of our church is to glorify our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, to make true disciples throughout all the nations by means of missionary activity and support, to edify believers, and to do all that is sovereignly possible and biblically permissible to magnify the name of Jesus.
 

Oakley Christian Church believes the foundational bases of our unity are our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, and our adherence to the Bible as the inspired text for our teaching and the one sufficient source for governing congregational life.
Our statement of beliefs does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible work of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe.

Unity
We seek a unity of understanding in the essentials of our faith, yet we do not suggest that we must agree on all things pertaining to our walk in Christ. On many issues we have the freedom to disagree. We do ask however, that all who accept and hold a leadership or teaching position at Oakley Christian Church respect the following guidelines and resist any temptation to use their position as a forum from which to teach other views. Unity in the body depends upon harmony and mutual trust in leadership.

Who is God?
The Bible teaches that God is Creator of our world, He sustains us, and He is Lord of our lives. Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-4; Colossians 1:15-17; Matthew 22:37; Romans 10:9.

Who is Jesus?
Jesus Christ is the one and only living Son of God and our Savior. Through Him, God opened the way of abundant eternal life through His death, burial, and resurrection to all who call on Christ’s name. John 3:16; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13.

Who is the Holy Spirit?
The indwelling Holy Spirit is God himself, encouraging, guiding, and transforming us in the way of Christ. John 14:16, 26; Acts 2:38; Romans 8:26; 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

The Bible
The Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is the authoritative rule of faith and practice for Christians and the Church. 2 Timothy 3:16. Jesus instituted a new covenant with God that succeeded and transcended His former covenant with the people of Israel; hence we accept the Old Testament as preparatory to the New and we rejoice that we are related to God through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and not through the Law. Romans 6:14; Hebrews 9:15.

Baptism
We observe the practice of baptizing the repentant believer by immersion in water, confident that this expresses the form and purposes of the New Testament precedent. The New Testament teaches that all believers receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in relation to their faith, repentance, and baptism. Acts 2:38; Acts 19:1-6; I Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6:3-8; Matthew 28:19.

Ministry
We teach that “every member is a minister,” since the New Testament teaches the ministry of all believers, recognizing that the Holy Spirit gives various and different gifts to the members of the body so that every member can make an effective contribution to the ministry of the church. I Peter 2:9; Ephesians 4:11-12, 16; I Corinthians 12:4-31.

Communion
We celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday, as we find the New Testament Christians did. In partaking of the bread and the cup, we remember our Lord’s sacrifice for us and we strengthen our relationship with Him. The communion service is open to all believers. Participation is between the individual Christian and his Lord. Acts 20:7; Acts 2:42; Luke 22:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-28.

Marriage Policy
Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman and Himself, the Oakley Christian Church will only recognize marriage between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the pastors and staff of the Oakley Christian Church shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. Finally the facilities and property of the Oakley Christian Church shall only host weddings between one man and one woman. Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5, Ephesians 5:31

Sanctity of Human Life statement
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect and value all human life. Psalm 139:13-14, Exodus 20:13
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Prayer
We are a praying church. We pray daily to God fervent prayers of praise, confession, thanksgiving and petition. 2 Chronicles 7:14; I Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 4:6; James 5:13-16.
 

Biblical Eldership

Biblically, the focal point of all church leadership is the elder. An elder is one of a plurality of biblically qualified men who jointly shepherd and oversee a local body of believers. The word translated “elder” is used nearly twenty times in Acts and the epistles in reference to this unique group of leaders who have responsibility for overseeing the people of God.  Currently the elders at Oakley Christian Church are: Nate Harter (Chair); James Wright (Vice-Chair); Michael Gee; Murray Bean and Jayson Schoenfeld.  Our elders welcome anyone to visit with them at anytime. 
 

Jason Schmidt, Minister

Jason  has a passion for teaching youth as well as adults. Jason came to OCC in May of 1998, having  graduating from Manhattan Christian College. He has served at Oakley Christian Church for the past twenty three years as a youth minister and associate minister and has been called to be the Lead Pastor of OCC as of October 4, 2021.  Jason’s favorite Bible verse is 2 Peter 3:9. Jason loves watching God work in people’s lives. 
He and his wife Wendy have four children. Tegan & (Jordan) White, Will, Eli and Jonah.
 
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