August / September 2026

 White Oak Witness August / September 2026

From Pastor Amy’s Desk 

Revive Us Again: Honoring Our Past, Living Our Present, and Building Our Future

Part 1 of 2

Dear White Oak Family,

As we prepare to begin our new sermon series, “Revive Us Again,” I find myself reflecting with deep gratitude on the remarkable story God has been writing through White Oak United Methodist Church.

This year, we celebrate 99 years of ministry. On August 27, 1927, White Oak was birthed from a tent revival at the corner of Lyndon Avenue and Memorial Drive. What began with faithful people gathering to seek God has become a church family that, nearly a century later, continues to worship, serve, grow, and share the love of Christ with our community.

Ninety-nine years is something worth celebrating! But an anniversary is more than an opportunity to look backward. It is an invitation to look forward and ask: What is God calling White Oak to become in the years ahead?

Honoring the Gifts of Our Past

One of the most powerful ways we honor those who came before us is by recognizing the sacrifices they made to build the church we have today.

Generation after generation, faithful people have given their time, talents, prayers, and financial resources so that the ministry of White Oak could continue. Their generosity has provided places to worship, opportunities to learn, ministries to serve our neighbors, and countless occasions for people to encounter the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

Every dollar that has been given to White Oak over these 99 years represents more than money.

·It represents faith of someone believing that God's work is worth investing in.

·It represents a parent bringing a child to church, a student finding a place to belong, a neighbor receiving help, someone discovering the love of Christ, and a disciple being equipped to serve.

We should never take that generosity for granted. I am deeply grateful for everyone who has faithfully given to White Oak through the years. Your generosity has helped make ministry possible, and your gifts have been used for God's glory.

Living Faithfully Today

Psalm 90:12 gives us a prayer that speaks directly to this moment: “Teach us to number our days, so we can have a wise heart.” — Psalm 90:12, NIV

We are not promised tomorrow. We are given today. That means today matters. The decisions we make today matter. The way we use our time matters. The way we love one another matters. The way we give matters. We cannot change yesterday, and we cannot control tomorrow. But we can be faithful today.

Our 99th anniversary gives us an opportunity to ask not only, “What have we received?” but also, “What are we willing to give so that others may receive the same gift of faith?”

Investing in the Next Generation of Ministry

Jesus reminds us in Luke 14:28: “When you’re thinking about building a tower, don’t you first sit down and calculate the cost to determine whether you have enough money to complete it?” — Luke 14:28, CEB

Jesus understood that meaningful work requires intentionality, sacrifice, and investment. As we look toward our 100th anniversary and beyond, I believe White Oak is being called to make a renewed investment, and not simply in maintaining what we have, but in building what God is calling us to become.

That means increasing our generosity so that we can invest more intentionally in:

• Developing disciples who know Jesus, follow Jesus, and help others follow Jesus.
• Forging pathways for leadership development, equipping people within our congregation to discover and use their gifts.
• Multiplying leaders, rather than simply asking the same faithful people to do more.
• Strengthening our ministries so that we can reach children, youth, families, adults, and our neighbors in new and meaningful ways.
• Expanding our ministry beyond our walls, living out our calling to serve God, grow relationships, and share love with everyone.
• Strengthening our community partnerships and mission ministries, so that White Oak's presence is felt not only inside our building but throughout our community.
• Creating a sustainable future, where the next generation receives a church that is spiritually vibrant, financially healthy, missionally engaged, and ready to answer God's call.

This is not about giving simply to have a larger budget.

· It is about investing in people.

· It is about making disciples.

 · It is about equipping leaders.

· It is about multiplying ministry.

· It is about preparing White Oak to be a blessing for another generation.

-Pastor Amy 

To Be Continued Next Month....To read more of this newsletter click HERE.