Gary Hart

Review of Oasis Church

Writing a negative review about a church pains me,...

Writing a negative review about a church pains me, but it s our responsibility to protect each other. My apologies if this a bit long, but a negative review deserves background.

Oasis church is more interested in membership than their members. After twenty plus years in existence, why are they running heavy membership drives? I think my story explains it.

I m a 64 years old new to the area looking for a church home. Oasis sent me a timely invitation. After a couple of services, I met with a pastor to learn more about their church. It took a visit to their office, an email, and two weeks to get a call back to set up a meeting.

The Sunday service before we met, they did a motivational how to be successful prosperity gospel sounding sermon. The pastor loosely connected Christ with a couple of scriptures at the end, which concerned me. I filled out a guest card and had a difficult time finding a volunteer in their guest reception. Someone with an Oasis lanyard finally took my card without a word and never made eye contact.

The pastor I met with told me they leave integration into the community up to members. He told me they get complaints from members that they don t know or hear from other members. He explained the church leaves that responsibility to the members. Introduce yourself to the people you sit near and get to know them.

They do nothing visible to cultivate personal relationship with leadership. I made a concerted effort and met with disinterest in improving or creating a personal culture.

Towards the end of our meeting, I mentioned the prosperity gospel sermon. Based on my other visits, it seemed atypical. He expressed discomfort with that sermon and said it was not their philosophy or usual sermon.

The following two Sundays centered on their membership drive. The band was larger with additional singers. They put on a fabulous showy worship set that was more like a concert. Their long membership pitch was followed with member videos about Oasis and remedial teaching about Christ and the bible. This continued the following week.

The church was full, so I sat in the back in one of two seats against the wall to observe. A young lady sat alone next to me. At one point, she hung her head and buried her face in her hands for quite a while.

Volunteers hustled and bustled, and passed by smiling, barely making eye contact with me. No one paid attention to this young woman who was obviously in distress. On a side note, three or four volunteers passed me by with collection baskets like I wasn t there.

People don t hang around after service and talk. The volunteers smile, maybe shake your hand, thank you for coming - like when you deplane. But having a conversation gets nipped in the bud. No introductions. Just a smile and averting eyes.

The pastor I met with cancelled our follow up meeting by text message and never called. After pointing out my concerns, I wasn t surprised. What if someone needs ministering like the young lady I sat next to?

This is the persona and character Oasis Church emanates. It is not a place for new Christians or struggling Christians, which we all are at one time or another.