We miss you! + BIG plans for this Fall

Written By Richard Tinajero (Riverside)

Hi everyone, 

I hope you’ve been having a good summer! Maybe this is an unwelcome reminder for some of you, but the reality is that Fall Quarter is coming.. in less than a month :/   But whether or not you’re looking forward to classes starting up again, there’s much to look forward to this coming year and I’m excited for how we can experience God at work this year, both in your life and in us together as a fellowship at UCR Oasis! 

But first, just to catch you up on what’s been happening:

Summer Highlights from Riverside (Photos at the bottom!)

  • Grand Canyon Camping Trip: A few weeks ago, a group of us took off for the Grand Canyon. The weather was hot that week, but mercifully it didn’t seem so bad at our campsite, and hiking out to Cedar Ridge gave us some of the most epic views of the canyon. We cooked over our griddles, leveled up our tenting/campsite skills, bonfire worship time, and special Sunday worship service right on site in the park. Check out this >> Grand Canyon Recap Video (which features plenty of left-right-left action but doesn’t actually tell you much about what we did)

  • Staff in Sequoia: Less than two weeks later, we took a quick getaway to Sequoia National Park to hike under the cool canopy of the largest trees on earth! This time it was staff mentors exclusively. Think of it as us "testing out" the park to make sure it’s.. uh.. completely safe for a full group trip in the future. Again, the (slightly more informative) >> Sequoia Recap Video

  • Staff Updates & A Big Homecoming: We have a couple of bittersweet send-offs and an awesome homecoming. At the beginning of summer June launched for a year on foreign missions in Vietnam, and Noah moved to the midwest to serve as a Church Plant Intern at UW Madison! But it’s not all farewells, because we’re super excited to welcome Tony and Whitney Vuong to our staff team after their year on mission in Taiwan! Fun fact: Tony is actually part of our Riverside church’s very first graduating class (c/o 2014!). Looking forward to you all getting a chance to meet them soon.

Start Fresh: Jump Start Retreat (Sept 16–17)

So back to the upcoming fall quarter: I want to invite you to come back to Riverside early for our Jump Start Retreat from Wed 9/16 thru Thurs 9/17!

“But don’t I want to maximize the last few days of summer?... by staying at home?” you might be thinking… But let me give you a couple reasons why you may actually want to come back early:

First, summer can be a tough season spiritually. When you’re away from your normal patterns and a community of Christian friends, it’s easy to fall into spiritual isolation and slip on your commitments to God, maybe even backsliding into old sins and habits.

If that’s been your summer, don’t lose heart! And don’t let guilt or hesitation keep you away. God isn't looking for a cleaned up version of you, and that’s not what we’re about either. Jump Start is intended for you to come just as you are, reconnect with old friends, and more importantly reconnect with God. 

Second, 2 Timothy 2:22 reminds us to pursue righteousness faith love and peace along with others who call on the Lord out of a pure heart - this retreat is a great way to do that. Besides: classes haven’t started yet! So I’d really urge you to join us and start off the year right.

Sign up for Jump Start Retreat HERE

Mission Trip to Campus (Sept 19–26)

Right after Jump Start retreat, we’re going straight into our annual "Mission Trip to Campus!" From Freshman Move-In (Sept 19–20) through Saturday Sept 26, we’ll be working hard together reaching out to our own UCR campus! And because school hasn't officially started yet (no midterms, no homework deadlines hanging over your head) there’s no better way to kick off your year than experiencing the joy of laboring alongside your brothers and sisters to outreach to new students.

Why we’re all about outreach?

During that first week when school starts and the week after, you’ll find that almost all of our attention and energy at Oasis is focused on outreach toward the campus - why? It’s not that other things or other people aren’t important, but it’s simply being responsive to two realities: (1) Jesus’ instructions in Luke 10:2 to recognize a harvest field and be harvest workers, and (2) the reality that the beginning of the college year is a time where people are uniquely open to the gospel. Take those two things together, and it makes a lot of sense for us all to be outreach-focused in this short season! But don’t worry, things will calm down in October and we’ll have plenty of time to rest and focus on fellowship and training. 

NEXT STEP:

So to sum it all up: Make plans now to get back to Riverside early! 

  • Sept 16-17: Jump Start Retreat << sign up 

  • Sept 19-26: Mission Trip to Campus

    • Even if you can’t make it to the retreat, let one of the mentors know if you can come back early at all for Mission Trip to Campus!

Looking forward to a great year! See you soon,

Jasper Cheng

College Pastor, Oasis Christian Fellowship @ UCR

Richard Tinajero (Riverside)