June 4th through the 14th, 18 Oasis students and 5 leaders are going to the Dominican Republic to partner with Brookside missionary Miguel Shaul in ministries such as VBS, house visits (Evangelism), service projects, a children’s camp, and prayer walking. We plan to see God continue to impact the community through us, as well as challenge us in ways that will maybe change the way we think about things, take us to a new “level” in our relationship with Him, and to sharpen us as we seek to continue serving Him with our lives during and after this trip.

We will be posting updates during our trip here…you can also check out Miguel’s blog at http://theshauls.myadventures.org

We SO appreciate your prayers too! Thanks!

The Good News: We had an amazing year at Oasis! To close the year out we had a few really exciting nights. On Baptism Night we had 5 students get baptized to declare & celebrate their relationships with Christ. It was cool to hear their unique stories of how they came to trust our Savior, and for some of the students that decision was made as recently as a few months ago! We also had a great Worship & Coffeehouse Night. It really was a powerful night where we walked away being able to say that we connected with and worshiped God in a very real way…one of those nights that was so impactful for many of us that you can’t really explain it very well, you just had to be there…plus it was fun to hang out afterward with coffee and smoothies.

Last, we got to honor and say goodbye to our seniors on Senior Night. It was bittersweet to say goodbye…and exciting as we were able to look at this and class and say that it is truly full of strong and gifted leaders. (Seniors, you’re still invited to hang out with us this summer!) Thanks everyone for an awesome year of Oasis: we want to be a place where students enter into the Kingdom of God and grow deeper into an authentic relationship with Him…and we saw that this year!

The Bad News: Oasis takes a break for 6 weeks as the school year wraps up and summer gets started. It’s not actually bad news, just a little sad. But the good news is that we still have summer Oasis! So we’ll meet again starting June 16th through July 21st.  It’ll be the normal Oasis schedule with free dinner at 6:30 and the program starting at 7:00. See you all then!

Hey guys, just wanted to keep you in the loop on what’s coming up in Oasis…

On Sunday, April 18th, we’re having a Worship and Coffeehouse Night from 7-9. The first half of the night we’ll be led by Jared and Gabe in worshiping God. Personally, it’s always great to spend some extra time worshiping and connecting with our creator outside of my regular schedule. After the worship, we’ll take some time to just hang out  with each other while drinking coffee, smoothies, or other drinks. This time will be totally laid back, so feel free to invite whoever you want!

Oasis will be having Senior Night on April 21st. This is the night where we celebrate Seniors as they get ready to finish up high school. If you’re a Senior, we’ll be recording videos this Wednesday (the 14th) from 6 to 7 before Oasis. Also remember, Oasis will also be taking a break for the month of May and part of June.

Student Impact’s next lunch meeting will be after church on May 2nd. We’ve canceled our April 11th meeting.

Enjoy the warm weather this weekend!

Ed Noble has been posting great thoughts all week for Holy Week (which starts with Palm Sunday and ends with Resurrection Sunday). I’ve been following all week and it’s made for some amazing time spent in the Word and prayer with God. I love this time of year because there is such an intense focus on the core of the Gospel. Lately I keep thinking and repeating the phrases “God I’m in need of the Gospel every day, not just the one time,” and “Lord let the message of the cross and the empty grave NEVER become less amazing to me.” Reflect on that today, tonight, and this weekend. Come to the Good Friday service at Brookside at 7:00 tonight, and Easter at 9:00 or 10:30 on Sunday. You can check out Ed’s blog at edsjourney.wordpress.com for some devotional time for yourself. Here’s an excerpt from today’s post:

I’ve always found it ironic that this day is called “Good” Friday. There are other names for it, but I think “Good Friday” is perfect… and ironic. From the point of view of the first group of people who had placed their faith in Jesus, there was nothing GOOD about “Good Friday.” That was for later.

Remember that the way that Christ followers have traditionally celebrated Holy Week is to try and discipline oneself to stay in the moment, to not flip to the last page to see that the hero does win in the end. Keep in mind that Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and even on the cross, experienced the agony of the moment, even though He knew and had told His followers that He would rise victoriously.

On this Friday, let’s remember some of the moments that changed everything.
➢ As you go to bed on Thursday remember that Jesus was arrested late Thursday night / Friday morning after an intense wrestling with God that ended with “not my will but thine”
➢ When you awake, think about Jesus being shuffled around Jerusalem in various trials in which He was mocked, spit upon, roughed up.
➢ 9:00 Jesus was nailed to the cross – asking the Father to forgive His crucifiers. (Mark 15:25 “the third hour” is 9:00 a.m.)
➢ Noon The cry of dereliction – “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33-34)
➢ 3:00 Jesus cries, It is Finished (tetelestai – paid in full) and gives up His life. (John 19:30)
➢ Jesus’ thrashed body is unfastened from the cross and put in a Garden Tomb

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that we’ll have five people getting baptized tomorrow in Oasis! It never fails that Baptism Night is one of the best nights of Oasis. It’s fun to hear people’s stories and to see them publicly announce and celebrate that they are giving their lives to Christ, and then to worship God together. Come celebrate with us and feel free to invite your friends to come along (people usually respond well to coming to see baptisms). See you tomorrow!