We are almost there... our new centre is well on its way to completion!!
A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of taking my management team on a site visit…all 9 of them!
In June we introduced two new members of staff to our management. Paul has joined the team as our new Centre Director who will be taking over a lot of my responsibilities and helping Oasis move into the new centre and a brand-new era of reaching our communities with God’s incredible and unconditional love.
I will still be base at our new centre but I am embarking on a new Oasis adventure myself helping share the vision and model of Oasis to other disadvantaged communities around the UK. We have already had the pleasure of supporting two Oasis models in Stoke and Bury (who are impacting hundreds of lives!) and I have been contacted by several communities who are excited by our holistic, unconditional and Christ centred model.
We have also welcomed Esther to the team who runs our new Next Step Catering programme, moving people from inexperience to volunteering, helping people find value and worth. Esther and Paul are full of life and absolutely love the people we support. Perfect!
How did we get to have a management team of 9, let alone another 31 incredible, servant hearted people who make up our Oasis team of 40! I remember when Oasis consisted of just me and two precious ladies who were enjoying their retirement years. Margot would be in the kitchen baking jacket potatoes, thinking up exciting toppings for our hungry visitors and Josie would be in the café area making friends with everyone who came in for support. Some days we had no visitors, so the 3 of us would simply sit together with a cup of tea and pray for our precious community!
But here we are 19 years later with an incredible team of passionate, experienced and dedicated people walking around a building site made just for us. Thank you Jesus! A building with so much potential, just like the people we are so privileged to serve. I was watching my team with excitement in their eyes as they took it in turns to stand, for the first time, in the spaces created to offer everyone coming in a home, a place of refuge and belonging. Every room we walked into was welcoming us and daring us to dream big!! As I walked round, I imagined the place full of our regulars and new people coming in for the first time in need of support. They had smiles on their faces knowing they had found a place that could offer them what they needed – family.
Thank you again to every person, family, business, trust fund and Church that has helped over the past 2 decades…we couldn’t and wouldn’t want to do it without you!
Victoria x