Our 5th Year Anniversary!

Our Kindergartener Church

Five years is a milestone, no matter what you’re measuring—a marriage, a job, a relationship. When a child turns five, the average parent begins entrusting him to a teacher for a significant part of the day. It’s definitely different than pre-school. No, now the child has arrived—it’s not pre-school—it’s school-school!

By five, kids have lived long enough to acquire certain skills that allow them to begin to tackle the real stuff—the three “Rs”. They start them earlier than they did when I was in Kindergarten. My Kindergarten teacher, Miss DeAlesandro (we can all remember our Kindergarten teacher’s name, right?), was more a glorified babysitter than a champion of academic achievement.

Now, kids seem to be ready for more, sooner. I’ve noticed the same thing with churches these days. It seems that if a new church-plant survives, it is often able to achieve more in five years than many churches used to achieve in ten, or more. It’s still fairly rare, but churches like ours can grow to over 1,000 in average attendance—unheard of for “kindergarten-aged” churches only a decade or so ago.

Five years ago, we set out with a vision of a church that would be…
· “A solid, Bible-teaching church, producing “Oaks of Righteousness” to display the splendor of the Lord in the Conejo Valley and beyond. People not ashamed to be “salt and light,” PRODUCING DISCIPLES, NOT CONSUMERS!
· A church to reach the hundreds of families, new to the Conejo Valley (e.g., Dos Vientos and Rancho Conejo).
· [A church with] a variety of ministries for all ages, equipping people for ministry and serving the needs of the LOCC body and the community.
(June 6, 2004)
And our goal was to see that kind of a church within the first year of birth! Sure, it might have sounded crazy, but many of you caught that vision and that was the church God created: Living Oaks Community Church!

For a few months we talked about what our church-plant might look like. We took some necessary steps hoping to conceive this new work for the Lord. Then, the conception happened on June 6, 2004. We gathered at the Borchard Community Center for the first time. There was no turning back!

After a few months of gestation and growth, Living Oaks was officially born on October 3, 2004. Now, five years later, just look what God has done!
-Then, we had 3 staff members and a 900 sq. ft. office space on T.O. Boulevard.
-Now we have 23 full and part-time staff in a 9,700 sq. ft. wonderful administrative space, packed to the gills, on Business Center Circle!
-Then we settled into an average Sunday attendance of about 200 and a handful of very dedicated volunteers.
-Now 1,000± enter our doors each Sunday (with no room to grow) and hundreds of very dedicated volunteers!
-Then we transported our chairs, AV equipment, banners and instruments to and from the gym every Sunday morning for worship and kids programming.
-Now we enjoy a beautiful 18,000 sq. ft. Celebration Center, with overflowing classrooms and auditorium Sundays and midweek where lives are changed!
-Then we were able to reach and spiritually nurture whoever happened to make it to the gym on Sunday.
-Now we reach and help to nurture thousands around the world in Russia, India, Mexico, Brazil...
Not bad for a kindergartner. And we’ve just begun!
This Sunday we celebrate our 5th anniversary. Please help us thank God for the privilege of being a part of what He has done through Living Oaks!

“Be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things!” Joel 2:21 nkjv