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Pastor's Points October 2018

Below you will find reproduced a copy of the letter that I sent out to our regular attenders and members.   I have found throughout the years of ministry that you can never communicate enough.  So once again here is the letter that contains all the important dates about this possible exciting   opportunity for our church family.  Every person that I have spoken to since this information was shared has been genuinely excited about this possibility.  Plan on coming to one of the informational meetings listed below!

Dear Church Family,
On Sunday, October 7^th we will be celebrating our church’s 55^th anniversary of ministry here on Oak Hill Road! God has been so faithful to us throughout these years, and He continues to give us His favor and guidance as we minister in His name. We will acknowledge and celebrate the past ministry of Oakhill in a special video presentation as we hear from three of our former pastors.  I am excited for you to see this video and to hear from three of God’s faithful servants who have led Oakhill in the past.  Also, on this Sunday I will be sharing from God’s Word as to the purpose and focus of our church as we continue to reach out and minister here on Oak Hill Road in to the future.

I have always led our church to be ready to “move as God moves among us”.  What this simply means is that we need to be aware of our ministry and God’s movement in our midst, so we can walk in obedience to do what He would have us to do.  As your pastor I see this as one of the greatest responsibilities that I have as the lead pastor of Oakhill.  Often this happens as I pray and share with the other pastors and leaders of our church, but there are times when God moves and brings situations across our path that I was not looking for.  This is exactly what God has done recently.  I believe what I am getting ready to share with you may very well have come from the Lord for us to consider.

On August 20^th at a leadership team meeting of our association of churches, a motion came to the floor from an ad hoc committee that was put together after the previous annual meeting to study the usage of the land that the association owns on Oak Hill Road.  This is the location of the ball fields that we use to play our softball leagues and where we have our churches large outdoor events such as our night of worship, fireworks celebration, and Easter egg hunt.  Because of the lack of use of this land by most of the churches in our association, the committee recommended that the association sell off 14 acres of property (effectively both ball fields and surrounding property).  This property is to be offered for purchase first to the churches in our association, and if there is no interest they are going to auction it off to whomever may be interested.  This is all pending a vote to be taken at our   annual associational meeting on October 27^th.  If this motion is approved, then the land will be for sale.

I am convinced that this piece of property is vital to the ongoing ministry of our church.  This land is our “green space” that   allows us to do church fellowships and community outreaches that otherwise would be almost impossible for us to continue.  Securing this property will also help to ensure that we continue to have a ministry presence on Oak Hill Road into the future as well.  So after initially meeting with our elders and consulting a commercial real estate professional to get some key questions answered, we met with our finance team, and deacon team. At the end of all these meetings we all agree unanimously that we need to ask our church family to be prepared to make an offer on this property if it is approved by the association to sell it.  But for us to purchase a piece of property we need to of course have church approval and so that is what we are asking for.  We will have two informational meetings; one on Wednesday October 10^th at 6:00pm, and the other on Thursday October 18^th at 6:00pm. We will share all the  specifics of this possible purchase as we talk about the land itself, as well as the financial information that we need to consider.  Please make one of these meetings if possible.  You do not need to attend both meetings.  We are just offering two times to share this information to reach as many of our church family that we can.  I will be announcing a special called business meeting that will be held on Thursday October 25^th  at 6:00pm to consider as a church family this exciting opportunity.  Please know that the vote taken at the business meeting will be for those that are active members of Oakhill Baptist Church.

As most of you know we are debt free as a church! The leadership of our church feels we are in a very good position to purchase this property, to secure the ministry that we are already offering as well as secure ministry options and possibilities into the future.  We want to share the details as well as the encouraging financial details of this possible purchase that could be paid off in a very short time frame.  I truly believe God may be moving among us once again in all these details, and if He is, I want us to be ready to continue to walk with Him into the future here on Oak Hill Road where He planted us 55 years ago.

 I love you and I love being your pastor,

 Pastor Alan

Pastor's Points September 2018

Dear Church Family,
Coming up in the month of October we will be celebrating our 55^th year of ministry here at Oakhill Baptist Church!  I thank God for the constant presence of ministry that our church has had here on the northside of Evansville.  God has blessed in so many ways over the course of these years! He has taken a small group of people who started a home bible study and blessed it to be a thriving church family for 55 years.  It is a joy to be a part of what God is doing in our church.

On October 7^th we will celebrate our ministry anniversary with a special emphasis in all three of our services.  We are making a special video which will include interviews with three of our former pastors.  Talking with them about their years of ministry did nothing but confirm to me how God has had His hand on Oakhill for all these years.  It is good to remember all that God has done, what He is doing currently, and what He desires to do through Oakhill in the years to come.

I cannot believe that I have already been at Oakhill for 12 years.  It seems like yesterday that I was meeting with the search team considering if God was calling me to Oakhill.  HE made it clear to me then that He was, and He has only affirmed His call on my life since I have been here as pastor.  I dearly love you!  I am so thankful that God has called me here to do life with you all!  God has moved among us, and as He has moved I have encouraged us to move with Him.  I did not come to Oakhill with a grand plan of growth for our church.  My only desire was and is to preach the Word, share the Gospel, make disciples, and love and serve together for the glory of our God.  God honors those things, and because of our focus on those things, He has moved among us!!

I know that He is going to continue to move, and as He does I will be encouraging us to move with Him.  We simply must follow His lead!  The Lord will always be faithful to us, and the only right response from us is faithfulness to Him!  Thank you for being willing to follow our Savior!  He has been so good to us throughout the years, and I know He will continue to show His faithfulness to us if we will continue to follow His leading in the life of our church family!!

I love you and I love being your pastor!
Pastor Alan