As the Lead Pastor here at White Oak, I get the privilege and honor of hearing lots of stories. I hear people tell of how they found White Oak while they were driving down the road. Or, how a friend invited them when they were in a dark time in their lives. It’s fun to hear stories from people about how they were nervous about joining a life group and then that group launched them into a faith journey that has moved them closer to the heart of Jesus. I’ve heard stories of people connecting in places to serve in our church and community and now they are hooked on sharing their gifts and the Gospel with others.
One of the Bold moves for which we are trusting God during the Shaken generosity initiative is called Bold Impact. This is our general budget over the next two years which fuels WOCC’s ministry impact here in the Cincinnati area and around the world. We want to ask God to move boldly in us and through us to accomplish the mission he’s given us.
I want to celebrate what God has been doing around here because his faithfulness is his evidence that we can trust him with bold trust to keep doing his work!
In 1963 partners in ministry at White Oak and other faithful believers in our city decided that a ministry needed to be created to care for the elderly who could no longer care for themselves in their own homes. From this desire Mt. Healthy Christian Home was born. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of this ministry. Over the years, the ministry grew and is now called The Christian Villages and includes a facility in Mason as well as in Mt. Healthy. God continues his work by meeting the needs of our aging Christian brothers and sisters in our city and White Oak is honored to be a part of it.
Nearly 40 years ago partners in ministry from WOCC saw a need in our city to serve women who found themselves with unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. Cincinnati needed a ministry to women and unborn babies to preserve life and serve those in need. The Pregnancy Care Center (now, Life Forward) was born out of a heart for ministry impact and thousands of lives have been changed (and saved) because of it to the glory of God!
To learn more and to celebrate what God is doing, please join many from our WOCC Family at Life Forward’s annual banquet next week. To learn more and for registration click here.
Then there’s Payton’s story (Payton is a high school senior attending the Ross Twp. Campus):
I first came to this decision at CIY Move 2021. I knew I wanted to have a career in ministry but I wasn’t sure how or what that would look like. After leaving CIY I started thinking about going into the nursing or medical field. I felt like I had drifted from God and I wouldn’t be the right person to be spreading his word. However after praying and thinking over this decision for 2 years I decided to just take a chance. I applied to Missouri State University but something felt off after hitting submit. I prayed about it and suddenly I got this overwhelming feeling that I needed to just take the risk and apply for Ozark (Christian College). It was late and I was sitting at my kitchen table, I didn’t tell anyone and I submitted my application for the InterCultural Studies degree otherwise known as the Missions program.
I want to go into missions because I have always had a passion for helping others, especially through my faith. I also love traveling so going into the mission field is my dream come true. Not only do I get to travel and experience the world, but I also get to help families, children, and countries in need. I get to use my faith and ability to help others to grow God’s kingdom. I also get to provide others with the hope and peace God has given me not only to people in my community, but also to people around the world.
Bold impact. I love to watch God continue to tell his story through the lives of so many people. God’s investment in WOCC is profound and far-reaching. It starts as a flicker in the heart of a seventeen-year-old young woman and then he fans the flame to impact a city and people across the globe. What story is God telling in and through you? Worship him today for his faithfulness and love. Pray for our White Oak family as we continue to move toward Him with bold steps of trust.
Asking Him to move with power,
Nathan
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor
White Oak Christian Church