Oakland Church is a large, growing church in Johnstown, PA, with a vibrant history of more than 100 years — yet we remain more committed than ever to make passionate and compassionate followers of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if you come from a church background or if you forgot where you left your Bible years ago... you are welcome here!
We are a United Methodist Church and affiliated with the Wesleyan Covenant Association. We celebrate the strong heritage of faith, revival, and vibrancy of Methodism.
Our Core Values
We live and operate in the Holy Spirit’s power. (Matthew 3:11)
We actively worship using various styles and art forms. (Psalm 150)
We focus on prayer and believe in God’s healing power. (Acts 2:42-43)
We pursue growth: growing deep (spiritually in small groups), growing wide (in evangelism and ministry), and growing up (into Christ-likeness). (Acts 2:42-47)
We passionately engage in local and global outreach. (Acts 1:8)
We commit to needs-oriented ministry to all. (James 1:27, James 2:15-16)
We practice good stewardship with our resources, relationships, time, and energy. (Matthew 25:14-15, 23)
What We Believe
We believe the Bible is God’s Word. It is accurate, authoritative, and applicable to our everyday lives.
We believe in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.
The Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man and is the only one who can reconcile us to God. Each time we partake of Communion we remember Jesus lived a sinless and exemplary life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove His victory and empower us for life.
We believe sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives. In order to receive forgiveness we must repent of our sins, believe in Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives. God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy, abundant, and powerful lives, and in order to be effective witnesses, we need to be baptized in water, set our mind on Him and His purpose, and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
We believe God has individually equipped us and corporately gathered us as His living body so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives, which is to worship God, strengthen the Church, and share the Gospel with the community in which we live.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as He promised and will rule and reign on this earth. History will conclude as the wicked are judged and the righteous enter a new heaven and a new earth.
Marriage described in Scripture is between one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, until death. God created sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman within the marriage covenant; therefore, there should be celibacy in singleness. We do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Scripture; however, we affirm that God’s grace is available to all. We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God, and all individuals are welcome to attend and belong to the community of Oakland Church. We teach and expect families and individuals not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay friends. We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture.