OUR STORY

My name is Marty Briney.  I am the founding pastor here at The Oaks Community Church.  As I write this, we are approaching our 15th birthday this April of 2022.  Quite a milestone considering that I was lower than the proverbial “snake's belly in a wagon rut" back in April of 2007 when I had to leave two churches I had loved and served for 10 years. The Oaks was planted in a little 4.5-acre hayfield in the middle of nowhere.  The nearest town is 4.5 miles away, and it has a grand total of 150 people!  We are a living testimony of this wonderful truth- Jesus can and will build His church wherever He can find a core group of people who love Him and believe in Him enough to go for it!

One evening in April of 2007, a core group had gathered for a prayer meeting in John and Linda Burris' living room.  I came in and collapsed on the floor in total despair and heartbreak over my recent church breakup and future church prospects.  The core group gathered around me, laid hands on me, and began praying for me.  Maggie Hull, a dear sister in Christ, read a letter over me that the Lord had given her.  It affirmed my irrevocable call as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It affirmed that a new "planting of the Lord" was ordained by God to arise and flourish.  She also read Isaiah 61:1-3 aloud in everyone's hearing, and this was to be the founding verses of the new church.  Verse three concludes- "So they shall be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."  What can I say... the Holy Spirit descended upon all of us in that room!  I rose up... we all rose up with renewed power and purpose from that day forward.

As verse one states, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me (us)."  We have sought to build all purposes and ministries upon these verses.  Our first purpose is to "sow the seeds of the gospel of Jesus Christ."  We do this among the "afflicted... brokenhearted... captives... prisoners... all who mourn" (vv. 1-2).  We do this as what we call "favorable and attractive witnesses" in our community while working, shopping, volunteering, and playing.  Our second purpose is to "grow together into oaks of righteousness."  We do this through weekly worship, prayer meetings, Bible studies, small groups, youth groups, mission groups, and the 10+10 Plan (10 minutes reading God's Word + 10 minutes praying each day).  We try hard to remain a simple church and not stray far from these two core purposes.