Children's Ministry

In addition to our Sunday School classes, we offer age-graded choirs and mission learning experiences on Wednesday evenings for our children (grades 1-5).  Our children participate in worship as acolytes (lighting the candles) and crucifer (cross bearer).

College Ministry

For college students, we offer various socials and retreats for both Winthrop students and for Oakland students who are away at school. Our college Sunday School class is the nucleus for our college students. It meets in the house adjacent to the church on Sunday mornings at 9:45 am. We offer many opportunities for college students to minister at our church working with children, our youth, or in our paid nursery ministry. Additionally, college students lead in worship in various ways from time to time.  Click here for link to Cooperative student fellowship site.

Deacon Ministry

Our deacon ministry is organized through the family ministry plan. Thirty deacons are assigned to 14-15 families each.  They are responsible for caring for these families.  Deacons serve communion each month. Deacon meetings are held on the third Monday evening of each month.

Homebound Ministry

Many members of our church are homebound and cannot participate in the activities of our church. Some of these persons live in their homes and others in care centers. We share our love and concern for them through staff and volunteer visitation, providing tapes of our worship services, conducting communion in their residences, and providing transportation as needed. Additionally we provide a Sunday School Ministry each Sunday morning for the residents of the Beverly Health Care Center.

Music Ministry

Preschool Choirs

The Preschool Choir Program is a fully licensed Kindermusik program led by trained and licensed Kindermusik instructors. The program begins at 18 months and continues through first grade.

Beginnings is a program for children ages 18 months to three years. This weekly 30-minute rehearsal requires parental participation.

Growing continues on the Beginnings foundation and includes all three year olds. Parents still participate in this rehearsal but to a lesser extent than the Beginnings program. Rehearsals are forty-five minutes.

Young Child I, II, and III are choirs for four, five, and six year olds. These choirs continue the children's advancement in music education, preparing them for our elementary choirs. Rehearsals for these choirs are forty-five minutes.

Elementary Choirs

These choirs rehearse weekly and perform several times during the year. Special programs include children's musical and choir festivals. These choirs are divided into the Music Makers Choir (2nd & 3rd grade) and the Young Musicians Choir (4th & 5th grade). These two choirs rehearse for forty-five minutes. Orff and Kodaly methods are used extensively with these choirs.

Youth Choirs

Our Middle School and High School Choirs participate in the South Carolina Baptist Choir Festival in Myrtle Beach. They lead worship numerous times during the year and perform youth musicals in some years. These choirs meet on Sundays in conjunction with our youth activities. The rehearsals are one hour in length. The Middle School Choir (grades 6-8) is our Trouvere Choir and the High School Choir (grades 9-12) are our Troubadours.

Glorysingers

This multiple age choir specifically sings contemporary gospel music. The choir rehearses weekly for forty-five minutes and performs several times each year.

Chancel Choir

The Chancel Choir focuses on the traditional and classical styles of music, singing most Sundays in worship. In most years major works are performed with orchestral accompaniment. The choir enjoys its fun times with annual fall weekend retreats, an all day rehearsal during a spring weekend, and numerous social events. This choir is composed of adults and rehearses on Sunday evenings for seventy-five minutes.

Handbell Choirs

A fully graded handbell program is provided for Tintinnabulators. Ringers begin in the fourth grade and can ring through senior adulthood. Our youth and adult groups participate in state and regional festivals. One of our adult groups enjoys traveling and has rung at the White House, in New York, in England and France. Beginning Bells is for fourth & fifth graders. Jubal Ringers 1 is for Middle School. Jubal Ringers 2 is for High School. Carillon Ringers is for adults in the mornings and Oakland Ringers is for adults in the evening.

Recreational Ministries

We have an active basketball program at Oakland. We participate in the Christian Basketball Association, which includes churches in the Rock Hill area. We have approximately twelve teams at Oakland. Children and youth, ages 6 to 18 can participate on a team. Our gym is available for volleyball, basketball, ping-pong, and skating.

Senior Adult Ministry

The senior adult program at Oakland is known by the name Merry Makers. The purpose of Merry Makers is the promotion of activities and fellowship that will enhance the lives of senior adults. Merry Makers meet regularly. A monthly luncheon is held on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 12:15 pm. A guest speaker or special program is offered after the meal.  Day trips, special outings, shopping, and eating out types of events are provided each month also.

Social Ministries

• Benelovence Ministry - One of the predominant needs in our community is assisting low income families and families that have experienced hardships with financial assistance for such needs as rent and heating bills. Needful families fill out an application form and are interviewed by a staff person prior to receiving assistance. Our church collects funds at the end of each monthly communion service in order to stay current in helping with the needs of those around us who are less fortunate. Additionally, we provide assistance with dental needs of school-ages children in our area.

• Food Pantry - We keep a food panty stocked to meet the emergency needs of the hungry in our community.

• InterFaith Hospitality Ministry - Twelve churches in our community have committed to helping homeless families by providing lodging for weekly assignments. During this time agencies in our city work to help these families gain self-sufficiency. Our fellowship hall has been arranged in a home-like setting to provide a comfortable environment for these families. Nearly 50 members of our church are involved in a support role for this ministry. Members of our church prepare breakfast and supper each day and stay with the families overnight. During the day the families are involved in activities away from the church. We host needful families once each quarter.

• RAIN (Regional AIDS InterFaith Network) Ministry - Our church has a RAIN Team, consisting of six persons, who minister to a local family with AIDS on a weekly basis. In addition to this ministry, our church provides a central storage room for supplies that all RAIN Teams in our area use for their ministries.
  
• ESL (English as a Second Language) Ministry- Every Monday night during the school year from 7:00-9:00, English is taught to internationals.  A short Bible lesson is taught and songs are sung before students split into classes.  Supper is served each night.
  
• Habitat for Humanity- In August and September, Oakland Baptist Church will partner with Oakland Avenue Presbyterian church to build a Habitat House on Rhae Street.  Each church is responsible for half of the labor and half of the building costs.  This house will be our church's third Habitat House.  In May of 2003, our church built a house on Rhae Street in one week.  We raised all of the funds for the house in five weeks.  In the spring of 2005, we participated in an Apostle's Build.  Our church partnered with 11 other churches to build and pay for a house.
  
• Women's Ministry-  We offer two bible Studies for women.  One meets on Monday mornings and the other meets on Tuesday evenings.  In the Fall, our women go on our annual OBC Womens' Retreat.  In the Spring, our women participate in the NC/SC CBF Women's Conference.
  
  
  
  
   

  Sunday School Bible Study

  Our Sunday morning Bible study program meets from 9:45-10:45 a.m. Classes are offered for all ages--nursery through adults. Greeters at our doors assist guests in finding the nursery, classes for children, and appropriate adult classes.

  Our Bible study ministry is led by our Sunday School Council. Each year our council develops goals for the entire Sunday School.

  We strongly encourage all persons to participate in on-going Bible study and Christian education. Studies have shown that regular involvement in Christian education is one of the most significant influences on a person's faith development. Sunday School classes also provide a place to get to know others and a place where one can best experience caring and nurturing relationships with other believers.

   

  Youth Ministry

  For our youth (grades 6-12), we offer a weekly Sunday Night Live program. During Sunday Night Live, teenagers discuss and study issues that directly affect them, such as self-esteem, violence, peer pressure, and parents. We search the scriptures for insights on how to deal with these complex issues. Sunday Night Live also includes a social and recreational time. During the school year, teenagers also participate in Youth on Mission on Wednesday nights. Youth on Missions is a hands-on mission/servant learning opportunity. We offer various opportunities for fellowship and outreach through our fifth quarter program after football games and other socials throughout the year. We also offer a variety of retreats for our youth--a ski retreat, a rafting trip, week-long summer camp, a middle school retreat, and a high school retreat.

   

"Obeying the Spirit's call to love God and serve others through the practice of our faith."