Oasis Christian Center Making A Mark On History
On February 22, 2004, Tim and Camille McIntyre, lifelong Staten Islanders chose to invest their lives in what would become the Oasis Christian Center.
Oasis is a Christ-centered community of faith that believes we have a mandate from heaven to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in our community.
Little did they know how true this would be. Prior to Hurricane Sandy the small church in Midland Beach was healthy and growing under a great staff and team of volunteer leaders.
This small church today has now been handed an enormous role in serving their community and it has risen and it is making a difference. Instead of complaining and feeling sorry for their own losses they have chosen to ‘be the church’ rather than be a religion or be a building that has an address at 539 Greeley Avenue. Their leadership and insight has influenced pastors throughout the entirety of Staten Island.
Rather than figure out how they can fix their building immediately and restore its normal service structure on Sunday mornings, the church has instead become a place of refuge in the midst of a nasty storm. Storms of life are a reality, and the church has found some solid partners who exist not only for the short term relief part of this catastrophe but also for the longer term rehabilitation. CPR-3 Disaster eMERGEncy Services, FFEA and the Mennonite Disaster Service Group have formed an alliance to work and serve the needs of this local community as it strives to nurture Staten Island to its pre-hurricane conditions.
The worship center has now been turned into a place where the community can come for clothing, food and supplies and their basement a warehouse for supplies. Outside in the courtyard you will often find hot drinks and food for anyone in need of a cup of coffee or hot meal. A service tent has been in place, that is taking assessments for work that needs to be done on homes throughout the community.
This past week they hosted an event in partnership with Convoy of Hope and CPR-3 and visited every student, staff and teacher at Public School 38 and blessed them and the surrounding community with over 40,000 pounds of groceries.
Community is happening here! Love is abundant! This small church with a HUGE heart is making an eternal difference in the lives of the people who call Midland Beach and Staten Island their home.