I’m New

Welcome to Oakland, where we hope to see ourselves, our families, and our neighbors transformed into more and better disciples of Jesus.

We have been passionate about Cleveland, and the people who choose to live here for more than 150 years. So whether you're new to town or just asking new questions, you're welcome to join us as we continue learning to follow and worship Jesus. Oakland is not a social club for better-than-thou saints - we wouldn't be allowed in if it was. We are spiritual patients, misfits, explorers, and at many points hypocrites, but Jesus built the church for such people, a hospital for sinners, a lighthouse for lost souls, and an incubator for world changers.

Life is full of questions, some philosophic and some guttural. "Do I have a purpose? Do universal moral values exist?  Do such morals exist apart from God? Does God care about human beings? How can we know anything about God? Are all religions basically the same?" "Does God know me? Why did this happen? I'm dying, what happens next? Why do people judge me?"

We find weekly that the Christian faith is layered, textured, complex, and yet simple enough to address our deepest questions and our greatest hopes. We find weekly that Jesus renarrates our questions, redirects our lives, and redeems our failures.  We want lives and relationships full of maturity, depth, grace, hope, wholeness, redemption, and REAL LIFE.  If you want those too, hop in.