OUR HISTORY
Oaklawn Church of God was created from the merger of several congregations over the last 125 years. Our first sermon was preached in 1907 by Rev. George W. Johnson. This congregation came to be known as First Church of God. Rev. Floyd L. Hurst became the preacher in 1915 and served as pastor for the next 50 years. Other Church of God congregations were also started in Hot Springs in the early 1900’s. Two of those congregations merged in 1958 to create Oaklawn Church of God. Notable pastors of this congregation were Rev. Perry Hurst, Rev. Linvel Arington and Rev. Billy Sanders. In 1984, First Church of God and Oaklawn Church of God merged and the church was built at our current location. Under the leadership of Rev. Charles Ridgeway, this congregation became known as “Oaklawn First Church of God”. Over the years the name has been shortened to “Oaklawn Church of God”.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
A statement of beliefs is always a difficult proposition. Christians, throughout the ages, have held a wide variety of beliefs, and have often differed in their personal theology. Oaklawn Church of God strives to center our beliefs on Jesus Christ and His teachings. To understand our statement of faith, these two pieces are vital:
- We focus our teaching on the non-debatable principles of scripture while leaving freedom for personal convictions related to non-essential doctrinal issues.
- Our highest desire is to live in light of Biblical principle while remaining culturally relevant to our community.
OUR CORE VALUES
- We believe in focusing on the major subjects of the Christian faith rather than getting bogged down in minor issues. We do not believe we have the right to waste time, energy, money or creativity on non-essential matters when so many need Jesus.
- Showing others the love of Jesus must always take precedence over manmade policies.
- Whenever we are faced with making a decision and are unsure as to our proper response, as we are able: Let us always err on the side of generosity, grace, and love.
- We believe our congregation should include people of all colors and background. We should look like our community, because Heaven will look like our community.
- We believe that all schools in our community are important. But due to it’s proximity, we feel a special call to minister to the kids, parents and teachers of the schools across the street from our church.