Love God, love others, influence the world. We believe God is not calling us to “play church” in order to entertain ourselves. We want to exist for the good of our community. We know God does not want us to build the “Kingdom of Western Oaks,” but build the Kingdom of God. What can Western Oaks do to love our community in the name of Jesus? Who is our community? Who is our neighbor, and how can we love them?

Back in the early 90's, a small group of people followed God's direction to start up a church on the growing west side of Springfield. From the very beginning, the focus has been that we need to "be there for people."

Today, we express that same heart in our day-to-day lives by revealing and representing Christ in all that we do. This means we try to always live out what we believe whether we're running errands or volunteering at church; we know that truly following Christ means choosing and committing each day to honor Him. And, sometimes that's harder than other times. And, sometimes we mess up. But that doesn't keep us from coming back to who we know we are in Christ and trying again.

We recognize and embrace that we are all unique and gifted in different ways. That's really what it means to be a church. The church isn't a building or programs; it's the people. We believe that God brings us together and that He has a plan for us to discover and use our individual talents so that collectively we can make a difference.

If there is one word that most members and newcomers, alike, use to describe Western Oaks, it is authentic. We really do enjoy being together. And, we really do enjoy sharing that with everyone else.

When you get right down to it, we're just a group of imperfect people , trying to balance the ups and downs of life while growing in our relationships with Christ. We're not perfect. We don't expect you to be either.

Sunday morning worship services at Western Oaks are powerful opportunities to celebrate how amazing God is, to open up to God and really hear and feel His direction in a safe place and to inspire one another to continue walking with Him.

On any given week, the services may include dramas, videos, worship choruses, hymns, movie clips, personal life stories, and other artistic expressions of faith to enhance the always present, relevant messages filled with Biblical basis.

On top of that, you'll run into all kinds of people, some dressed in suits, others in jeans. Some have been following Christ for decades, others for only a day. We like that about us. We don't talk up or preach down. We just genuinely enjoy being together each week and praising God.

We hope you enjoy your time with us. Most importantly though, we hope you connect with God. After all, that's what this is all about. We don't see the point in wasting time "playing" church by focusing on "rules". The way we see it, if we're not helping one another experience God while we're together and when we're apart, then we're not doing what He wants us to. We want to please Him first, others second, and ourselves last. The awesome part is that when we do it this way, God blesses us even more.

That's why we consider your being with us a blessing from God. We'd enjoy being a part of your journey with Christ; and, we'd really like the chance to get to know you more. But, if you don't feel that Western Oaks is the right fit for you, we encourage you to find a church home where you can continue to grow in your relationship with God. That's what really counts.

Our hope for you is that you are experiencing the nothing-compares-to-it adventure we can each personally have when we choose to commit our lives to following Christ instead of listening to the world. It's not a perfect life according to the world's definition; but it's the perfect ride to the perfect end according to God's will.

Even before you decide Western Oaks is the church family for you, you may feel that you really need the support a church family typically provides. And we understand that sometimes it's hard to share the personal stuff going on in your life. But, at the same time, you'd really like to have others lift your concerns up to God in prayer. That's why we invite you to contact one of our pastors by calling the church office or check out the Prayer Page if you would like to have your prayer needs added to our prayer list. You can even ask that we support you in prayer anonymously...because God will know who you are when we pray for you.

We do this because you are important to us. Prayer isn't just for "church people." And answered prayer isn't just for "perfect people." What we do have to realize though, is that sometimes answered prayer doesn't always look like the "perfect answer" for us. Even when we think things don't work out just right for us, God is busy building us into a better person. Because, you see, God is always working on the big picture, even when we get too focused on a single issue. Praise God for that!