Olive Branch Community Church looks forward to new building
Olive Branch Community Church looks forward to new building
Since April 30, the Olive Branch Community Church, formerly known as Oildale Church of God, has been temporarily holding Sunday worship services at 6718 Meany Ave.
The congregation is planning to rent the facility for about a year until the construction of its new building on Olive Drive and Old Farm Road is completed, said the Rev. Winston Urey.
But while the rather impressive building plans are the main vision for the next decade, church leaders have also decided to undergo a transformation from its traditional worship style to a more contemporary approach.
Urey said he introduced the idea to the church’s 100 members after attending a sabbatical in Seattle a year ago. He said he visited seven different churches and observed that those successful with youth were non-traditional in their services.
“I was especially impressed with the Mars Hill church in Seattle, which has more than 3,000 college-age people,” he said.
It was then that he came to the realization that what most people — especially younger generations — really want and need is to build friendly relationships within the church.
“I don’t think people are interested in the traditional church anymore. They are tired of the ritual and so on. The young people are tired of the traditional church,” said Urey, who is originally from Ireland.
Urey said his church wants to offer a gathering place where people will be able to dress casual, relax and perhaps drink some coffee at the same time they hear about God.
“I actually got my vision from Starbucks. Starbucks is a gathering place for people to just come hang out, read a book, drink coffee, have fellowship. And that’s pretty much my whole idea,” Urey said.
The church is already moving towards a more contemporary style. And, the future building will be reflective of the congregation’s new worship style.
“When I went to the architect, I told him, ‘I don’t want a church, I want a village.’ We are more like a park in the community where people can come worship, read on Saturday or play,” Urey said.
The first building that is planned to go up on the church’s 10-acre property on 1200 Olive Drive will be the “gymnasium” or Fellowship Hall.
The 10,000-square-foot Fellowship Hall is expected to be finished next March at an approximate cost of $834,000, he said.
Urey said other features will include, a coffee shop, bookstore, sanctuary and senior housing.
However, he said it may take a decade to complete construction.
For a church that has been around for nearly a century, started out meeting at different member’s homes and survived even earthquakes, time and patience is nothing new.
According to the church’s history, Olive Branch Community Church was founded in 1920 in Oildale. For approximately 16 years, the congregation moved from home to home, temporary buildings and even a storefront.
In 1936, the congregation built its first permanent building on 1304 Oildale Drive, but it collapsed in the quake of 1952.
After working nights and weekends, church members completed the construction of a 4,000 square-foot building in 1954 where the old building used to be. They eventually also built a 10,000 square-foot sanctuary.
The old property in Oildale was recently sold to Shekinah Ministries.
Urey said the church had been wanting to relocate to the Northwest for the past 20 years, but it wasn’t until 1997 that it started looking for land.
“The Northwest was in their vision. They believed back then that the city was going to move that way, which it did,” said Urey. He said they were able to buy the land seven years ago for $220,000.
But it wasn’t easy.
“Trying to keep the vision in front of people for seven years is quite difficult,” said Urey, who came to lead the congregation in 1997 with a mission to help the church with the relocation.
Right now, Olive Branch Community offers Bible studies at 9 a.m. and worship services at 10 a.m. on Sundays.
Urey said the church will resume and expand on its regular activities once it moves into its new building.
Olive Branch Community Church
6718 Meany Ave.
Services:
9 a.m., Sunday Bible studies
10 a.m., Sunday morning services
Details: 399-1957
