Gabe Garcia: Church Planting in Oakland Update
An update from Gabe
Dear Partners in Ministry,
As we continue to grow roots in Oakland, we’re thankful for the ongoing confirmation of God’s calling us to this amazing city. Every day we see the beauty of God’s glory reflected in the diverse people and landscapes of Oakland. We also see clear signs of brokenness; a reminder of how tragic life can be without the grace and hope of God found in Jesus. There hasn’t been a moment when we’ve questioned our calling to this city that is filled with both beauty and brokenness. And so, we entrust ourselves to a God who will graciously use us for the advancement of His redemptive purposes in this place.
We continue to meet new people daily; our “prayer-watch-bless” list is up to a hundred and one people! One of our prayers last month was that we would find natural ways to move from initial connections to actual friendships. To our amazement, God has answered that prayer in unmistakable ways. We’ve been able to spend hours with several neighbors in our community and at times have had significant conversations about the cultural moment in which we are living. Recently, we were invited to the beach with three families we’ve been developing relationships who live within walking distance of our apartment. Besides it being a beautiful and fun day at the beach, we saw this as an opportunity provided by God for us to continue to build relationships with those who are walking without Christ.
I’ve also used this last month to connect with different ministries and non-profits in Oakland. I met with and talked to several different organizations, expressly looking for ways to build potential partnerships. Though we can’t partner with and support every good cause, it has been helpful to see how God is working in Oakland through these organizations to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people. One night, our family prepared and served dinner to about twenty young adults who are homeless and staying in a shelter, receiving the support they need before hopefully finding a long-term solution. Sadly, many of them are not just homeless, but are dealing with the trauma of having been victims of sex-trafficking. We’re not sure how our church will grow and develop in the years to come but we do know that we want to be a church that has a heart to protect and care for those who are in need. In the coming months we’re going to be partnering with a homeless shelter to collect hygiene kits for those struggling with poverty and homelessness. If you want to help with this, you will find more information below.
During this last month or so we’ve also celebrated some big birthdays within the Garcia family. Kari turned forty and Micah turned four! We had a sweet time hosting Kari’s parents, Paul and Virginia Friesen, and sister Lisa, as we celebrated Kari’s life. As her husband, it has become even more clear to me in Oakland how God has uniquely designed and gifted Kari to connect with and serve people from all walks of life. I am increasingly thankful for her. Micah, who was the world’s largest three-year-old, was ecstatic anticipating his big day. He was probably most excited about picking the menu for the day which included lemon scones for breakfast and pizza roll-up for dinner.
In the next month I’ll have the opportunity to preach at a couple of our supporting churches. On July 12th, I’ll be preaching at Vintage Grace in El Dorado Hills, California, and on July 19th, I’ll be preaching at Solano Community Church in the Bay Area. I’m so thankful to have supporting churches that are caring for us and standing with us during this time.
Upcoming Schedule
July 12th—Preaching at Vintage Grace
July 19th—Preaching at Solano
August 9–Zoom Interest Meeting
We’re going to be hosting a Zoom meeting for potential partners, especially those in the Bay Area. If you have any desire to jump on this meeting, let us know and we will get you more details.
August 24-30th—CityTeam Hygiene Kit Project
CityTeam Oakland is a Christian nonprofit, compassionately serving our neighbors experiencing homelessness, poverty, hunger and addiction. With some of our new friends in Oakland, we’ll be getting the word out and collecting Hygiene Kits to deliver to CityTeam who will then deliver them to those struggling with homelessness in Oakland. You can partner with us in this project by sending a small box of travel size toiletries (Soap, Shampoo, Toothpaste, Comb, Razor, Shaving Cream, Men’s/Women’s Socks, Men’s/Women’s Deodorant). We will be collecting these kits here locally between August 24th-30th. If you choose to participate and you’re not local, you can send them to our home address (below) any time before September 1st.
August 30—Prayer Walk around Lake Merritt
The foundation to a new church in Oakland must be prayer! We’re going to be gathering with a small group of people to pray for our city and its people, that God would establish a gospel-centered, diverse, disciple-making church.
Prayer Requests
Pray that God would orchestrate more and more interactions with people in our community and that we would find sincere and appropriate ways to move these relationships forward. We’re working daily to see strangers turn to friends and friends into faith-family.
Continue Pray for the 3, the 10, and the 30!
3 Future Staff.
10 Mature Disciple Makers.
30 people who will join our Start-Up Team to partner with us in seeing disciples made and a church started in Oakland.
If you know someone in Oakland or in the Bay Area who you think might be interested in what we’re doing, please connect us with them!
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. We look forward to hearing from and connecting with you soon. We’re praying and partnering with you as you pray and partner with us.
Together for the Gospel,
Gabe & Kari Garcia
3644 Magee Ave, Unit 1.
Oakland, CA. 94619.