For the last few years an idea has been planted in our minds and hearts. An idea to create a space where God's love would connect with our lives in a way that overflows through every aspect of who we are and into the streets, homes, and buildings of our neighborhoods.

This idea became a seed and found its home within our spirits and in our relationships. Centered on the new reality that Christ brings- that death, darkness, sorrow, isolation, and sin do not get the last word- that the empty tomb is the last word- this seed has been rooting deeper and deeper into our communities.

We listened to the subtle voice of God, heard through our conversations, prayers, and silence, and the seed began to form into something new. Each week we became slowly more recognizable. God has been making us into his own. We are becoming a church.

Our identity was forged over coffee around town, in apartments on Sunday nights, at local festivals as we sold drink tickets, during spoken word poems at a local cafe, between bean bags being tossed along Lake Merritt, at Soul-ful youth centers, in the blankets and jackets given out of the trunks of our cars, through our singing and prayers on the third floor of an apartment off Broadway, and every day as we've gathered together around the gospel.

Now, the dirt is beginning to become more shallow and something is piercing the ground. A small, but faithful sprout is starting to emerge. Over time, our roots will grow deeper and our branches wider, as God breathes life into us. Friends, Oak Life Church is about to sprout.