Our Story
Our vision is to create a church that unchurched people love to attend.
In 1999, Oasis was planted out of a small group of Italian-speaking individuals, led by a young Pastor Dustin Funk. At the time, Dustin was also a full-time seminary student, studying for his Masters in Theological Studies. From the beginning, it was decided that Winnipeg didn't need just another church, but a different kind of church. Oasis would strive to be a church for people who felt alienated from traditional churches, a church that unchurched people love to attend.
Despite its growth, Oasis has never been about buildings, equipment or numbers. The mission of Oasis is to lead people into a growing relationship with Christ. This is done by creating relevant and irresistible environments where people are encouraged and equipped to pursue the three vital relationships: intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders.
By the end of 2003, the congregation had become too large for their property on Cathcart street. With a packed auditorium every Sunday, an additional service was added, extra parking spots were secured and further renovations were made to the children’s area but it was apparent that a larger solution was going to be needed soon.
In 2005, after searching 2 years for a solution to their growth – Oasis went portable and moved their Sunday Services to Charleswood School, providing more space for the church family to grow. Every Sunday morning, dedicated teams of staff and volunteers loaded up 24-ft trailers with all the gear to make church happen in a school. During this season, staff offices and student environments still remained at the building on Cathcart St.
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After just five years, in 2010 Oasis added a second service again, this time at the school, to accommodate the exponential growth. In short time, Oasis' two services were both nearing critical mass with our Kids areas overflowing and our Student environments growing too large for the building that once housed the entire church. The search began again for a new home after requests to launch a third service were denied.
In 2014, after changes to the parking lot at Charleswood School and to the rental policies of the school division, things became even tighter. Losing in excess of 100 parking stalls and the institution of a 3 year limit to long term rentals. Oasis needed to find a new place to call home.
In fall of the same year, Oasis was able to purchase the property at 940 Elmhurst Rd. (previously McMunn and Yates hardware). This land was soon paid off, and in fall of 2015, Oasis launched the "For Winnipeg" capital campaign to inspire people to invest in this project. Our church community responded with unbelievable and unprecedented generosity! This successful campaign allowed us to break ground on May 15, 2016, and move into our new facility on April 2, 2017.
This new building gives Oasis the ability to host just over 1000 adults in the main auditorium (plus children in their own spaces), and the flexibility to control our service times. But ultimately, it provides a great space that was designed specifically for what this church has always been about - creating environments where anyone would feel welcome, and leading people into growing relationships with Christ.