I had the privilege of sharing the platform with Randy Frazee last Saturday at the first staff and elder leadership meeting at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. His transition from Willow Creek to Max Lucado’s church has been no small news in the church world! (Max Lucado announced that he was going to transition to a teaching minister role in the Spring of 2007.)
Through the process of discovering the Kingdom Concept of Oak Hills, I was struck by the emphasis of grace and healing centered in the life of a “story-telling” disciple. Over the years, this strength has manifested in an attractional ministry that has grown the church to 5000 regular attenders. Yet, over time the church has accumulated an impressive number of missional-minded staff and volunteers, young and old alike. How will God unleash the missional potential budding in this attractional ministry? Enter Randy Frazee and the connecting church vision.
When Randy shared some initial observations about the geographical layout and city organization of the San Antonio, the place was alive with energy. Max shared a compelling testimony off his own journey of caring and connecting with his neighbors. The banner over church’s ministry for years has been “A Home for Every Heart.” But the gears have shifted and the momentum of a new vision will change the rally cry to “A Missional Heartbeat in Every Neighborhood.” The best thing is that Oak Hills will continue to model a “both/and” strategy in blending tremendous strengths and advantages of an attractional-missional ministry.