Oasis: College & Young Adult Ministry

Ben opens up the first Oasis of the year with a challenge to pursue being uncomfortable... The American church has often simplified Christianity to only the title of Christian. However, Jesus and the Word call us to something much deeper and greater. We are called to walk with Jesus and live life as he did. This path is anything but comfortable, yet so very worth it. What does comfortability look...

There are over 30,000 verses in the Bible that paint the picture between God and us. Out of those 30,000, some are more popular than others. Some people even memorize a chunk of those 30,000. But, should you? When it comes to scripture memorizing, most people stop after one (John 3:16) or maybe two (Philippians 4:13) verses. While both of these are great to have in your mind, the Bible holds a lot...

GOODBYE 2020!! And hello, 2021. Now, for those New Year's Resolution ideas. Let's talk about that. Why are these so emphasized in our culture? How do we approach these in a healthy and helpful way as Christians? Are there things we need to avoid or watch out for when it comes to this goal setting season? All these questions and more on this week's episode! Tune in to hear what the Oasis staff (Ben...

With Christmas just right around the corner, we wanted to talk about all those gifts you asked for!  Don't worry, you can still ask for them, just think about this first... What the heck even is materialism? What does Jesus and the rest of the Bible teach about material possessions? Is there practical advice we'd give when it comes to this topic? Tune in to hear what the Oasis staff (Ben, Jaena, a...

Music is everywhere! So, we better talk about it. First, we talk all about music as it plays out in the Christian walk such as musical worship! Praising Jesus is so much of what we do! Then, we move to answer some questions about other types of music.  Should Christians listen to only Christian music? Should they listen to secular music too? Maybe, even rap???  Tune in to hear what the Oasis staff...

With only one message for Christmas this year, Brennen focuses in on the story of Joseph! Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, has an incredible story of faithfulness that we can learn from today! Through his young adult years, Joseph struggles with some of the most prominent things we struggle with today - Relationships and the Future. Yet, he consistently listens to God's voice and faithfully ob...

In this episode, we are going to answer some common questions starting with "Can Christians...?" Many times, we just want a straightforward "yes or no" to these questions, but it's not always that simple.  The questions are - "Can Christians get tattoos?" "Can Christians use marijuana?" and "Can Christians wear leggings?" However, just because we answered only three doesn't mean there aren't a mil...

Listen in to the Oasis staff get into a HUGE fight!! Jk, we are just chatting it up about conflict in this episode. With our lives and the Bible as our sources, we take about how to have conflict as a Christian.  Can't I just avoid conflict? What are some of my bad conflict habits? Is there a way I can get better at conflict?  Tune in to hear what the Oasis staff (Ben, Jaena, and Brennen) has to s...

It's the last week of our "Mosaic" series, and Ben is finishing it up with the Gospel of John! John, being the last gospel, takes an intimate dive into the life of Jesus. "The one whom Jesus loved" takes us into how we find our source of LIFE in Jesus. Ben goes on to lead us through the 4 aspects of that LIFE.  What does LIFE with Jesus mean? How do I find it? What am I supposed to do with it?  Fi...

There's this big chunk of books in the first half of your Bible Christians always call "old." Let's talk about those. With some fast facts and some questions, we are diving into why the Old Testament is important for us Christians today! Is the Old Testament real people and real stories? Are these stories reliable and accurate? Am I really supposed to read all of that? Do I miss anything if I just...

With week three in our "Mosaic" series, Jaena brings us the Gospel according to Luke! Luke brings us the most comprehensive of the four gospel accounts by traveling around and researching the story of Jesus. He tells stories of Jesus's teaching and miracles, but he does so in a way that is understandable to the common gentile.  Who is the Gospel for? How does Luke show that through Jesus? What doe...

So, what's the deal with women pastors? Yes, that does sound like the bad opening line to a stand-up comedy routine, but really it's the conversation we are having today! Can and should women hold leadership positions in the church? What about if women can and should preach? Why do we not see that many women in these roles? Lastly, and most importantly, what does the Bible say about this topic of...

Continuing in our series "Mosaic," Brennen moves to week two with the Gospel of Mark! Mark writes down Peter's story and leads us through the life of Jesus in a new way! How does the "Ladder of Success" show up in Mark's book? Through the actions of Jesus, then the Authority of Jesus, we get to Jesus's idea of success.  What does success in the Kingdom of Heaven look like? What is the cross Jesus...

We are back again with an episode about one of the spiritual disciplines and how we can best follow Jesus. However, confession seems to be one of the disciplines often neglected in many Protestant churches.  We want you practicing confession! But first, let's answer some questions - What even is confession? Do I have to do it? Who do I do it with? Am I really supposed to tell someone all the thing...

Opening up our new series - "Mosaic," GracePoint's Student Ministry Director kicks off week one with the Gospel of Matthew! Matthew, one of the disciples, writes his account of Jesus's life as a Jewish man to a Jewish audience. In all that, he desires to show us how Jesus is the fulfillment and the Messiah. He is what is predicted, promised, and desired. Who do you say that Jesus is? Answer that q...

'Tis the season... the political season! On this episode of the podcast, we are talking about how politics and Christianity can mesh together.  Do you have to vote? Should you vote conservative or liberal? What about being a single-issue voter? Or, just want to find out who Ben is voting for?? All that and more on this week's political conversation. Tune in to hear what the Oasis staff (Ben, Jaena...

In the last week of "Let's Talk About..." we are bringing up the topic of sex! Listen in as Ben outlines God's design for sex and breaks up some of the myths surrounding sex in our culture! How do we navigate relationships and sex as followers of Jesus? Get all that and more when you listen to this week's message - Let's Talk About... Part 4: Sex and Dating. Message Delivered: 10/25/2020  

SPOOKY SEASON is heeeerrrreeeee! The month of October brings with it the Halloween season, and we want to talk about that. As Christians, should we celebrate Halloween? Do you know the background of Halloween? Have a costume picked out for this year? Already have plans for the 31st? We have some tips, opinions, and advice you should check out before you candy-overdose this year. Tune in to hear wh...

Check-in here with WEEK 3 of "Let's Talk About.." In this message, Ben unpacks HOW Christians should date!  When we follow Jesus, everything about us and what we do changes. This even includes dating! So using 7 points, Ben will give us some insight into how Jesus helps us date BETTER!  How do we keep God in our relationships? What does purity look like in dating? Is there a thing as getting too d...

Fitting into our new series of messages (Let's Talk About...), we're bringing you a conversation on Singleness! Really, this is PART ONE of the series, but we had some technical difficulties, and we unable to post the video/audio to our YouTube or Podcast. Based around Brennen's message - "The Gift," we see what Paul is talking about in 1 Cor 7. Most of you might be thinking, singleness as a gift?...

We've got WEEK 2 of our new series - "Let's Talk About..." Unfortunately, week one will not be available due to some technical difficulties (however, you can find a variation of it in this week's podcast - Singleness). In this dating series, Ben is diving deep into WHO are you supposed to date! During young adult life, there are so many things we are all trying to figure out, and one of those thin...

Maybe, you're familiar with the term "Pro-Life"? Maybe, you're also familiar that this is something many Christians put a lot of political emphasis on? Well, this isn't your typical Pro-Life conversation. In this, we want to talk about that and a lot more, while incorporating a whole bunch of the Bible.  Is God "Pro-Life"? Does that mean what we think it does? Which lives are counted under the pol...

After a week off, we are back with the topic - "Are all sins are equal?" When it comes to sin, there's a lot of discussion about what it is and how it affects us, but there are different ways to look at that. However, we believe one way is more correct than others. As people, do we view all sin the same? Or better yet, does God view all sin the same? What even is sin? All great questions you can f...

It's the final week of our Dry Bones series, and Pastor Aaron, the Lead Development pastor at GracePoint, stepped in to walk us into God-given purpose. One of life's biggest questions is, "Why am I here?" If you haven't thought about that yet, it was coming eventually. Aaron's here to answer that question. God created you with a purpose. You have a purpose. Now, as Christians, let's step into what...

Well, this is a big one! What can we say about Prayer?!  While we don't cover it all, we do cover a ton in this episode. How to pray, when to pray, what to pray, where to pray... We even do a section on the most commonly asked questions when it comes to prayer. For this one, you pretty much just gotta listen to soak it all in. Ben, Jaena, and Brennen even give some sneak peeks into their prayer li...