WHAT IS OAKS?
Over 20 years ago the idea of OAKS grew from from one person’s observation that, in the world around us, many men can easily feel lonely in a crowd or feel pressure from work and life in general. He emailed the men of the church and was overwhelmed with the response! There was obviously a need. That need is as relevant today as it was back then.
At the same time, there did not seem to be many opportunities for men in the church to get together socially, and so build meaningful, supportive relationships, encouraging each other in whatever way is appropriate to our many varied situations.
Isaiah Chapter 61 : 3 talks about people who are afflicted, bound up, tired out, faint-hearted (many of us can identify with that description!) – and yet continues to show how God turns all that around, “That they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” This is the inspiration behind OAKS.
That is what we believe God wants of (particularly) men in His church: Planted by Him, supporting and encouraging each other to be ‘Oaks of Righteousness’, and ultimately glorifying God!
Central to what OAKS is about is NO PRESSURE and, perhaps surprisingly, NO COMMITMENT; the only ‘commitment’ we’re interested in is one which evolves naturally because we want to be in relationship, not because we feel we should. In other words, it’s not something that men have to ‘join’ or ‘sign up’ to. OAKS is there for men of all ages , and facilitates times of fun, relaxation and fellowship.
We encourage men to think about inviting work colleagues and friends to come with them and join in OAKS events. We are also looking forward to building relationships with Christian men from other Churches, thus helping to unite God’s Church in Yeovil.
We try and make sure that there is an opportunity to meet regularly, for instance, the first Wednesday evening of each month normally sees us at a local pub in Yeovil for a bite to eat and drink.
As well as our monthly meet up, one of the highlights of the year is the men’s Weekend away. The weekend has everything, fun, food, fellowship, beer, walking, chillin’ as well as an amazing time of worship, and prayer. It is a great opportunity for men to just come and get refreshed and be; for some people the weekend has literally been life-changing!
We are constantly trying to think of things to do, where men can come along and chill out, so if you have any ideas / suggestions, we would be interested to hear from you.
We are presently planning our calendar of events for the coming year . These include ‘Boyz and their Toyz’, a Brewery trip, 10 pin Bowling, a Road trip and others. Not to forget the men’s Weekend away in the summer!!
If you are interested in finding out more the OAKs, or you would like to be added to our circulation list, then please contact us.