A weekly young adults gathering at Oasis Church in Winnipeg took a different approach to its usual Thursday night programming, trading Bible study and discussion for a city-wide evening of hands-on service.<\/p>\n
The church\u2019s young adults ministry, which serves those between the ages of 18 and 25, dedicated one recent Thursday night to volunteering across Winnipeg, organizing teams to meet practical needs in multiple neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
Participants were divided into three groups, each focused on a different outreach effort.<\/p>\n
One team worked along Wilkes Avenue, collecting litter from ditches and public spaces as part of a neighbourhood cleanup effort. A second group prepared hot dogs and bottled water before heading downtown to areas near Higgins Avenue and Main Street, where they offered food, conversation, and prayer to people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n
A third group remained at the church, preparing casseroles for families living in government housing in the Charleswood area. The meals were later delivered to families the church has developed relationships with through ongoing outreach.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re trying to love people\u2019<\/p>\n
Oasis Church Youth and Young Adults Pastor Darryl Janzen says the evening was centred on putting faith into action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing our best to be like Jesus and care about the things He cares about,\u201d Janzen said. \u201cWe know from Scripture that He cares very much about widows, orphans, and the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Janzen says the experience also gave some participants a closer look at social challenges in the city, particularly for those serving downtown for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was eye-opening,\u201d he said. \u201cSeeing the poverty, seeing the mental illness, and seeing the toll that living on the street can have on a person over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, he says the night was marked by meaningful connection and encouragement among participants.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels good to serve,\u201d Janzen said. \u201cI think that\u2019s how God wired us.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Service as part of discipleship<\/p>\n
Janzen says opportunities like the service night are an important part of spiritual growth and Christian discipleship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important for everyone who wants to follow Jesus and be the Church,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Church is mandated to care, love, give, and be generous with our time and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also says churches do not need to operate alone when it comes to outreach, pointing to the value of working alongside established organizations already serving vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n
Oasis Church regularly partners with groups such as Lighthouse Mission, Dignity House and Inner City Youth Alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many good organizations out there,\u201d Janzen said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t know what to do, find an organization that\u2019s doing things well and partner with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faith put into practice<\/p>\n
For participants, the evening combined practical service with relationship-building, whether cleaning streets, preparing meals or engaging in conversation with those in need.<\/p>\n
Janzen says the goal remains simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to reinvent anything,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to love people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A weekly young adults gathering at Oasis Church in Winnipeg took a different approach to its usual Thursday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":754027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-754026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/754027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}