Oasis 2011: It was Refreshment for the Journey!

Were you there? If you were, you will be talking about this one for months. If you couldn’t attend, you can start planning now to attend Oasis 2012 – August 22-25 @ Crandall University, Moncton, NB.

As the week unfolded, it was evident that God was at work, both at Oasis and around our Convention. The Mike Janzen Band led us in inspiring worship and was sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. Mike seemed to be involved everywhere – he led a seminar on worship, performed in the Arts Celebration, and accompanied actor Jason Hildebrand as he presented “The Prodigal Trilogy” and the “Life of David.”

The audience was astounded at the talent of Jacob Moon in the afternoon concert and the After Hours Cafe. He was able to do things with his guitars that left most of us wondering “How does he do that?” The Friday Night Arts Celebration showcased the God-given talents of local artist Sheila MacCrimmon, singer Marcell Symonds, spoken word artist El Jones, and dancer Amanda Reddick. Their artistic expression led us into a deeper thankfulness for God’s good gifts.

The times of worship spilt over into the business sessions. At the start of Oasis, there was a Frequently Asked Questions session and 160+ people attended. It was reported that the atmosphere was positive and encouraging. In the business session on Thursday, we wrapped up the old unincorporated Convention and began anew as the incorporated Convention. Special recognition was given to the four retiring Regional Ministers – Rev. Ron Baxter, Rev. Wayne Fevens, Dr. Frank Guinta, and Dr. John Weiler. There was also a time for discussion over seven amendments to the General Operating Bylaws which extended into Friday’s session. Time was taken to address the closing of the Baptist Bookroom. The commitment of Manager, Heather Goodwin, the staff, and the Bookroom Committee was recognized. The major item of business was the discussion and vote on the Senior Staff Review. The process went smoothly with many people speaking in favour of the proposal, voicing that change is inevitable and this is the time to move ahead. The unity expressed was evidence of God’s spirit moving in His people.

One new aspect to Oasis was the use of social media, particularly Twitter, during the events. New and experienced users were encouraged to tweet about what was happening. Many tweeted quotes from speakers or how they were impacted by something they heard. This became a new way to experience Oasis and we did not want to lose these tweets. Since Twitter does not save searches or categories via hashtags (#) longer than 3-4 weeks, we were able to save the tweets via www.tweetdoc.org. You can view them here or by clicking the link below (Note: The tweets appear in reverse chronological order. Also, the file is around 3mb – you can right click and choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target As” to download the file).

If you want to see some photos of Oasis 2011, go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/atlanticbaptist?sk=photos).

This is part 1 of 2. There was so much that happened at Oasis that one article cannot tell the whole story. In part 2, we’ll highlight some of what the speakers had to say.