Greetings to all OAKS volunteers!

I would first like to thank each and every one of you for your willingness to be part of this ministry. You have been such a blessing to His Kingdom. YOU are being His hands and feet! That’s exciting! That’s why we do what we’re doing. Not to gain entry into Heaven, it’s not by works. It’s to glorify God, not us.

When you look at the OAKS website, this newsletter and hear all the stories of how God has used OAKS to touch people through the needs that have come in, you can only sit back in wonder, why us? Why Christ The Rock? Why you? It all leads back to the cross and what Jesus did for us there. It’s about forgiveness of sins and this fallen world that we live in.

I’ve heard a phrase from the lips of volunteers and from a couple people we’ve helped that really stands out in my mind. “OAKS puts flesh on Christ”.  You can be proud of that. No matter what level of OAKS you are involved with. If you’re praying over the needs that come in, to sweating through a move, to giving a ride to church or a doctor’s appointment, you are putting flesh to the man who died on the cross for every person on this earth. Great job my brother’s and sister’s in Christ!

Your friend, Dean Roddy

  Servant, Seek the Most High God

 “God had planned something better for us that only together with us would they be made perfect.”  Heb 11:40

It was last spring when God placed on my heart the desire to help people in my community.  A friend of mine was on the OAKS e-mail list, and said I just needed to send an e-mail to get on the list.  That was the beginning of my journey and God’s calling for me into a serving role in my community and His Kingdom. 

My adventure began by sending the email to get on the OAKS list as a volunteer.  Unbeknownst to me, God, who is bigger than I will ever understand, was beginning to transform OAKS from a small operation into a bigger and larger community network.  

Because of the restructuring process going on, the initial response I received was that OAKS was unable to put me on the volunteer list.  They needed help with data entry to catch up on paperwork.  My initial reaction was frustration, because it seemed to me that it was a simple thing to put someone on the list of volunteers.  But, beneath the simplicity of this task was my God searching for volunteers to bring growth to OAKS.  I had done some data entry in the past and, although it is not my favorite pastime, I volunteered to help out.

On a weekly basis, I trekked over to Christ The Rock to help get OAKS caught up with paperwork.  While I was serving, God was using another person to re-engineer and give OAKS a makeover.  God had big plans for OAKS which included calling me into an even more active role.

I was invited to prayerfully consider an administrator leadership role within the new OAKS structure.  I opened God’s word and found scripture on serving in His kingdom.  Also, I sought godly counsel and discussed it with my wife.  Throughout my decision process, I bowed my head and sent prayer up to my King. 

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Ps 34:4

“Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near.” Isa 55:6

Through His word, godly counsel and fervent prayer, He acknowledged to me that He was calling me to serve in OAKS.  I invite everyone to pay attention and watch for where God is calling you to serve in His kingdom!

Todd Vorel

God, we don’t do guinea pigs! Do we? 

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”  1Sa 12:24

Have you ever made up your mind about something, and God had other plans? When an ask to give a guinea pig a ride to the University of Madison Veterinary Clinic came in, I initially thought it was a joke. Yes, you heard me correctly, a guinea pig. Before the facilitator finished explaining it to me, I made up my mind that I would be saying no to the person. This was beyond the realm of what we offer through OAKS. Wasn’t it?  At least that’s what I thought I was going to do.

Informing people that we are unable to meet their need is one of the things that I do. I’m the “no” guy. I doubted God’s ability to find someone to give this woman and her guinea pig a ride. I didn’t think we’d find a volunteer to take this need anyway. My goodness, it’s a guinea pig! Half way through the conversation with the OAKS facilitator, I actually looked up to the ceiling of my office, as if God were hovering up there, and thought to myself, “God, we don’t do guinea pigs!”

I agreed to call the person in need, and fully intended to let her know that I’m sorry, but we don’t do guinea pigs. The whole time I was dialing the phone number, it kept running through my head, “We don’t do guinea pigs.” And yes, I looked up at the ceiling again. She explained that she’s a single disabled woman in her 40’s who didn’t drive, had no family or friends in the area, and her guinea pig was sick and needed a ride to the University of Wisconsin Madison Veterinary Clinic. Then my gut feeling, er God, started telling me that I needed to talk to someone else in the church before I said no. Why? I wasn’t sure to tell you the truth because as far as I knew we didn’t do guinea pigs!

“But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.’ ”  1Sa 15:22

Pastor John Slotten (John will be person “A”) asked me to contact person “B”. I called person “B” and as I told her our request, she was on the other end of the phone almost rejoicing.  I could tell by her voice that she was excited. She asked me to please call person “C” because “B” and “C” were just talking about person “C” paying a visit to UW Madison Veterinary Clinic! Twenty minutes before this, I was going to make a quick call to this person to say no and move on to the next need! I thought we didn’t do guinea pigs!

I wish you all could have been on the phone with me as I called this lovely woman that God created in His own image and told her that we found someone to give her and her guinea pig a ride to UW Madison.  Her little guinea pig was everything to her so she wept with joy!  She said we were an answer to her prayers. Did you hear that? She had been praying that God would send someone to help her.

Do you want to know what the lesson of this story is? God had revealed to me through this process that it wasn’t about the guinea pig Dean! Hello! God was trying to make a connection to the person behind the guinea pig. And I’ll let person “C” tell you the rest of the story.    

Dean Roddy

Guinea pigs?  Why not?

Hello.  I’m person “C” in Dean’s story.  It’s true that person “B” and I were just talking about the veterinary school.  You see, I was job shadowing Veterinary Technicians to get a feel for what they do.  “B” told me to check out the amazing school in Madison.  But, even still, this project wasn’t for me in the sense that God answered my prayers.  Dean rightly surmised that it was for “lovely woman,” as Dean calls her.  I’m pretty sure my path isn’t even to be a vet tech.  He was preparing me for this call.

 I picked up Lovely Woman (LW) and her guinea pig in a crate.  Guinea pig’s name is Cinnamon.  Through the course of driving lovely woman and Cinnamon to Madison and back, I discovered several things.   

1. LW is truly lovely, and a Christian to boot.  Her heart is all God’s and her life is devoted to Him alone, well, and to Cinnamon.
2. LW was hurt by the last church she went to so hasn’t been going to a church at all.
3. LW has been longing for Christian fellowship in any form.

LW has been praying for a church to go to and for the fellowship she was so desperately missing. 

“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry” Ps 10:17  

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: hear am I.”  Isa 58:9a

In the course of our ride I told her about several things.  The Connector is a branch of Valley Transit that picks people up and gives rides to Christ The Rock on Saturday evenings.  If that didn’t suit her, we could let the OAKS community in Appleton know that she needed rides to see if someone would step forward to give her these.  I didn’t specifically talk about going to Christ The Rock.  The Connector and our OAKS people could give her a ride to any church, I’m sure.

I mentioned that we could get her hooked into a small group.  She really liked that idea.  I gave her the name of Gail Kellerman at CTRCC who could get her hooked up.  I also mentioned that she could do this through small group finder on the Christ The Rock website www.christtherock.org.  She doesn’t have access to the internet so this wasn’t an option.  I also mentioned that Appleton Alliance and Calvary Bible have small groups as well.

The moral of this story is that God heard her prayers and he prepared everyone in advance to answer them.  Isn’t it the greatest thing that we get to be God’s hands and feet?!  I am so grateful to be His servant through OAKS.  I am equally grateful that all of you get to be servants through OAKS.  Aren’t we the luckiest?!  It truly is more blessed to give than receive!

Jean Kieffer

  On August 15, Christ The Rock Community Church will be sponsoring a live and silent auction on the grounds.  The goal is to raise $100,000 to help meet dire needs here and around the world.

The recipients of the money will be our sponsored Haiti Water Project, the Sahara gardens in the desert and our very own OAKS!

If you have a service or an item to donate to the auction, or just want more information, check out the auction website at http://reachingfartherauction.wordpress.com.

Come on down!

 Why do we volunteer?

Have you ever thought about why you volunteer?  Is it because you “feel good” when you are done?  Do you do it out of guilt?  Do you feel duty bound to do it?  We on the OAKS lead team hope these aren’t your reasons. 

‘You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”’      Gal 5:13-14

‘Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.’           Eph 6:6-8

When you serve, do it with all the love you have been given by Christ and for Christ.  Do it because that is what He calls us to do.  Do it to bring glory to our living and loving God.  The joy you feel in serving is a gift from God for doing what is right.   But, don’t serve strictly for that joy, serve for our King.   Leave yourself out of the equation and you will be rewarded in heaven. 

Gospel Message

Did you ever wonder what the actual Gospel message is in its entirety?  If you wanted to share the Gospel with someone, could you?  Before I learned the following teaching in the Evangelism Explosion class given at Christ The Rock Community Church, I couldn’t.  I don’t think I’m alone so I wanted to share it with you. 

If this message is new to you and you want to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus, call the OAKS hotline.  One of our facilitators would be happy to answer any questions you have!  It would be an honor!  OAKS Hotline:  920-751-8383.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Man is a sinner - “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”  (Rom 3:23)

If we wanted to save ourselves by being good enough, do you know how good we’d have to be?  Jesus said:  “Be perfect, even as your Father, in heaven, is perfect…”  (Mat 5:48)

With such a high standard, no one can save himself.  However, in spite of our sins…

 God is merciful – and doesn’t want to punish us.  This is because;  “God loves us.”  (1John 4:8).  and He says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love…”  (Jer 31:3)

 But the same Bible that tells us God loves us, also tells us that…

God is Just – and must punish sin.  He says: “I will by no means let the guilty go free…”  (Exodus 34:7)  and “…the soul that sins, it shall die.”  (Ezekiel 18:4)

 We have a problem!  On the one hand God loves us and doesn’t want to punish us, but on the other hand He is just and must punish sin.  What can we do?  Well, God solved this problem for us in the person of…

Jesus Christ

Who is He? 

The Bible tells us clearly that He is the infinite God-Man.  “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus] and the Word (Jesus) was with God and the Word [Jesus] was God.  And the Word [Jesus] was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”  (John 1:1,14)

What did He do?

He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the dead to purchase a place in Heaven for us.  The Bible says:  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have each turned to our own way; but the Lord has laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity [sin] of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:6)

 Jesus Christ paid for our sins with His body on the cross and now offers us Eternal Life – Heaven as a free gift.  We can receive this gift by…Faith

 Saving Faith – is the key that opens the door to Heaven for us.

• It’s not just knowing about Jesus [Head Knowledge]
• nor counting on Him for temporary things like travel, health, finances, etc [temporal faith],
• It is trusting in Him alone for eternal life – Heaven!

 Because this is such an important matter….Let’s clarify what it involves.  It means that a person needs to:

• Transfer trust – from what you have been doing to earn eternal life – to what Christ has done for you on His cross.
• Receive Christ as Savior – open the door to your heart and invite Him in.  He says: “I stand at the door of your heart knocking, if you hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in and fellowship with you…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• Receive Jesus Christ as Lord – Give Him the driver’s seat – control of your life – not the back seat.
• Repent – Ask God for forgiveness for your sins and be willing to turn from anything not pleasing to Him as He reveals His will and you grow in your relationship with Him.

 Once you understand this and this is what you really want to do, talk directly to God and tell Him.

 If you repented on this day and asked to receive Jesus as your Lord, there are a few things you should do. 

1. Tell someone.  This is a spiritual rebirth for you; a new birthday!  Rejoice! 
2. Call the OAKS Hotline and we’ll be sure to get a bible to you. 
3. Find yourself a good bible believing church.  The Facilitators can give you that kind of advice as well so give us a call. 

OAKS

Hotline 920-751-8383

Purpose

To reach out to the community with the love and Gospel of Christ in the form of walking feet, working hands, loving arms, and praying hearts in times of need, whether that be in times of disaster, hardship or prolonged loneliness.

Vision

Our Vision is that no one within our borders be without the means to have an adequate roof over their heads, sustenance for their bodies, and the care and love of Christ for life.

One of the many things that our OAKS volunteers have done in the past is painting. Sometimes it’s an interior project, sometimes it’s an exterior one like this one. We received a call from someone in our body that the husband had heart surgery and just wasn’t well enough to get this project done himself. When I sent the ask out, we had plenty of time to formulate a team of willing workers. All we needed was good weather. God blessed us that day with sunshine and a warm day. We met new people on our OAKS team, and Dennis fixed us a wonderful lunch!

Christ The Rock Community Church’s Food Pantry is the lucky recipient of these goods from the Kimberly/Combined Locks Post Office.  This weekend, 5,789.5 lbs of food were donated to the CTRCC Food Pantry!

Volunteer drivers collected the food from community residents-dropping it off here to be weighed and sorted.  Even the sorting of the food items is being taken care of by various volunteers from our church body.  Way to go!

This woman was now 51, an alcoholic, and this was an emergency move because of an abusive situation.  She needed to be out of there in a hurry!  She also had a 5 year old son with severe fetal alcohol syndrome who wasn’t able to talk.  

Some people may question who we should be helping with the OAKS Ministry. I’ve asked myself that question at times. And the Lord clearly speaks Matthew 25 to my spirit every time.  Read it, it’s a really good chapter.

I told her that I would send out an ask, title it as an “emergency move” and knowing that it was Easter weekend, I just wasn’t sure if we’d get any willing workers.  I would be there and I knew of one other guy that committed to helping me.  But I also told her I would pray that God would help us.  Was I ever surprised when 20 OAKS volunteers showed up that Saturday morning of Easter weekend with trucks, trailers, vans and SUV’s! Praise God for His faithfulness. Matthew 25 being lived out in the flesh.

This woman stopped me several times during that day and made statements like, “Tell me again why you people are helping me, you don’t even know me!”  My answer was simple. “This is what we believe God wants us to do for each other. It doesn’t matter if you don’t go to our church; He calls us to help each other when we see someone in need.” She also shared with me that day that she had just about lost hope that there were any good people left in the world. An along came the OAKS Ministry.

We ended up moving this woman close to one of our OAKS volunteers in a nearby city. That OAKS volunteer and her family have helped this woman with different needs since. Once again showing the love of Christ through willing workers reaching out to the needy, the hurting, and the hungry. Matthew 25.

Tracy Komassa

The OAKS Ministry received the call to help them sort through what we could, and save any pieces of personal belongings. Anything we could find that they could save. It seemed hopeless at times. But then someone would yell out to the crowd, “I found something!” And we would all look and celebrate.

We found coins, baseball cards, shoes burned beyond repair, total destruction. The good news is they know the Lord, and take comfort in knowing that He will carry them through this tragedy. The pain is still raw, the disbelief that this only happens to people on the news.

This is the story of a married couple from our own body here at Christ The Rock. They are only two months removed from the day the fire took their life and threw it all over their front yard. The OAKS Ministry is still in the process of trying to help them replace everything. It wasn’t 48 hours after the first day we spent helping sort through the fire damage that one of our OAKS volunteers called me and had a family member that wanted to donate a bedroom set. God is faithful to those who call Him their Father. Sometimes it’s hard, though, to focus on Him through the tears. But He’s there.

This is still a work in progress and we are still looking for a lot of household items. Furniture, a kitchen table and chairs. Think of everything you have in your house, and then try to replace it all. That’s what we’re looking for to help them get their lives back to some kind of normal.

Something else happened that day we showed up which is another sign that there are good people in this world. As I pulled up with my wife and daughter to help with clean up, I saw about 8 guys I did not recognize from OAKS. Were there more people that I haven’t met?

I knew this ministry was getting big but I hadn’t seen these fellas before. I walked up to them and introduced myself and the gentleman that shook my hand introduced himself as a firefighter. You see, these 8 guys were part of the fire crew that helped put the fire out a couple weeks before. They wanted to come and help with cleanup. What an honor it was to work alongside them and as we took our lunch break, it was an honor to all bow our heads and give thanks to our Lord. We asked that the Lord would watch over Rita and Robert.

Amen.