Our Story

As a Christ-centered, justice minded, and LGBTQ+ affirming community, Oak Life seeks to extend God’s welcome to all .  Yes, we mean everyone!

We’re called Oak Life Church because a strong tree is a great metaphor for the life we want to lead.  The meaning behind it is drawn from John 15:5 and, as we continue to grow in our connectedness to God, we hope to develop a rhythm of life that has deep roots and wide branches.  In addition to being a community that strives to go deep and reach out together, we're also an affirming church that strives to extend God's grace to the all.

To read how we’re learning to put our values into practice head to our Roots & Branches page.

Land Acknowledgment:
We acknowledge the land and the peoples to whom this land belongs.  This is Ohlone land and they are still here.  We stand in solidarity with all indigenous people and their right to self-determination and justice.  We commit to working toward the healing of the generational trauma, theft, and dispossession native peoples’ have faced and continue to face.

As guests in the tradition and way of Jesus (who lived in occupied land himself), it is our hope to walk humbly, love mercy, and seek justice while we gather and remember the Love behind and in all things.

In the Press:
Check out what some friends at Oakland Local said about us.

Values

God calls us to be engaged in every aspect of the life we’re given, while also affirming our specific strengths and callings. Oak Life recognizes that there are unique values we’re passionate about as a church, which inform and frame what we do. Each value linked to specific sermon covering topic.

• Deep Community

• Creativity

• Compassion

• Peace and Justice

• Creation Care

• Contextualization

• Diversity

• Intellectual engagement

Organization/Leadership

As much as possible, Oak Life strives to be a decentralized church that embraces the many gifts and ideas of our community.  With that in mind our church is led by the Oak Life Leadership Team, a diverse and rotating group of community members who help care for the church spiritually and practically.  If you hang around Oak Life for a bit you'll see that we value team-leadership, that we're mostly volunteer run, and that we've got lots of leaders. 

Even though Oak Life is a young and still forming church, we're fortunate to have two staff members who help nurture our community life.  Chris Scott serves as co-pastor of shepherding and communication, and Greg Steward serves as co-pastor of worship and programs. Chris and Greg serve alongside and under the Oak Life Leadership Team.  Oak Life is officially a non-denominational Christian church but we've got close ties to churches and networks like the W/ Collective, Launchpad, PCUSA, and the Cyclical Network.

To contact the Leadership Team email: leadership@oaklifechurch.om
To contact individual members of the LT click here
To access our Harm Policy / Reporting Form click here.

Core Beliefs

We identified the core beliefs of our church as part of the historic Christian community, with foundations in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East. We know that there’s room for questions, discussion, and learning when it comes to these statements. That's why the old saying, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity”, is a great help to us.  For us, our essential is pretty simple, Oak Life is oriented around Jesus of the Bible.  From there we've got some guiding beliefs that help us form and grow:  

• We believe that there is one God, the Creator of the universe, and that this God is good, wise, powerful, loving, and holy.  We believe that this God loves creation and that human beings, who were created in God’s own image, have a responsibility to it. Gen 1, Acts 17:24-28
   

• We also believe that humanity rejected God’s authority, and that this is the cause of all evil, pain, suffering and death in the world.  We believe that that this rejection of God’s ways created a separation between God and humanity. Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; 6:23
   

• We believe that this separation was unacceptable to God.  We believe that God came into our world, and that it is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God redeems men and women, children and elderly, rich and poor alike – ultimately for eternal communion with God. John 3:16; Romans 5:8; I Corinthians 1:18; John 11:25
   

• We believe that it was God's desire to communicate this love to us, and that has been done so in the Bible - our highest source of authority.  We believe that the Bible is true - and that in it we learn not only of God's redemptive work through Christ, but also of God's way of life through the Holy Spirit. II Peter 1:20-21; II Timothy 3:16-17
   

• We believe, therefore, that this one God exists, mysteriously, in three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  We believe that this God alone is worthy of all our worship, our highest adoration, and our life-long service. Genesis 1:26; John 1:1; 14:26
   

• We believe that God has called us, the church to be sent into our world to join in God’s mission of redemption and reconciliation, and that this includes bringing humanity and all of creation into a restored relationship with God.  This is the gospel: that God has redeemed and is redeeming our reality through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:11-21