Last week White Oak celebrated. During our Evenings of Celebration many from our White Oak family gathered to celebrate the opening of our Ross Twp. Campus building. The energy and excitement were intense. We worshiped, we prayed, we thanked God for what he has done through WOCC and we took steps of trust in God for what he will do. It was exciting to have those from our Colerain Twp. Campus and our Ross Twp. Campus celebrating together under one roof. We gave tours of the building, ate good desserts, drank coffee, and filled the lobby with people who were laughing, catching up with old friends, and enjoying one another. We talked about how God led us to that point and what he might do in the future. It was a glimpse of what we see happening in Acts 2:42-47.
Numbers aren’t everything but they do help us see some indicators of what God is up to. Luke gives us numbers in Acts when 3000 people were baptized into the name of Jesus in Acts 2 and also that the Lord continued to add to their numbers!
Here are a few numbers which help us see what God is up to at White Oak:
WOCC (both campuses as of the start of September):
Avg. 168 children per week.
Avg. more than 800 people each week connecting with White Oak online and in-person
In the past 18 months, 56 people have surrendered to Jesus through baptism.
410 adults actively engaged in groups and discipleship relationships.
Ross Twp. Campus (since the opening of the new building):
Avg. of 94 children per week.
Avg. of 50 teens per week in our student ministry programs.
Avg. of 380 people per week.
Approx. 200 people serving on various ministry teams.
During this season alone, White Oak will give more than 150 boxes to be filled for the Operation Christmas Child program and hundreds of toys will be collected for the Nate’s Toy Box program! God is making impact at and through White Oak!
I share this with you because I want you to know what kind of church you are a part of! I want you to see some glimpses of the sorts of things God is up to in and through your church family. I want you to feel the excitement and joy of being a part of a community of believers who exists because of God’s infinite glory and because of the mission he has deployed us on. He is doing great things! As we enter into this holiday season, I pray that our Heavenly Father increases your awareness of his movement. More than that, I pray that the Holy Spirit moves on your heart to take deeper steps of trust in Him as your faithfulness fuels the impact here at White Oak!
Celebrating with you,
Nathan
One more thing… In a few weeks we will be affirming the men whom our elders will ask to join them in leading and shepherding our church family beginning in 2022. Over the past few months these men have been a part of a selection and mentoring process which you, our church family, helped to fuel this past summer as we had the opportunity to nominate men who might serve. Thank you! We look forward to introducing those men to you soon.
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor, White Oak Christian Church