Introducing: Oasis Ministries
We are Pam and George Dewey, founders of Oasis Ministries, an educational and inspirational outreach that takes us around the country to share our enthusiasm, experience, understanding, and insights.
The focal point of the ministry for several years has been the lively inspirational, motivational, and educational seminars which Pam presents, along with companion websites which expand on the topics covered. In the past few years, we have been invited to deliver presentations to local congregations and fellowship groups and regional and national gatherings in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and Florida.
In addition to visiting groups, we have tried to let individuals and families know
when we would be passing through their area, and if they'd like us to stop and visit
a spell, we do so. We’ve realized for a long time that there are many lonely, isolated
people around the country who could use some fellowship, refreshing, and cheering
up. (Our tag-
George has videotaped all of Pam's seminar presentations, and turns them into DVD collections, which we make available to any who request them. We also make available on computer disk collections of the material that Pam writes for the various websites that she creates and maintains, and for other projects.
Oasis7 Center
As of Summer 2010 we are working on plans to greatly expand the mission of Oasis Ministries. Observing that we are not aware of any effective, systematic “church building” and “church planting” programs in the independent Church of God world at this time, we have decided to create one from scratch. To this end, Oasis Ministries is developing what we call the Oasis7 Center (O7C).
The O7C’s beginning mandate will be to offer a systematic educational program to equip individuals and teams with the knowledge and skills necessary to plant new fellowship groups/congregations that incorporate the goals, principles, culture, and ideas of EPChOT, the Experimental Prototype Church of Tomorrow. (Click to go to our website that details the EPChOT concept.)
Those involved in this educational program will, at the same time, assist in the development of a “model” of such a fellowship group, much like a “lab school” at a teacher’s college. This model will be used to test the effectiveness of various theories and programs, and adapt them to the real world.
We welcome collaboration and involvement at all levels of planning and implementation
of this Center from those who share a similar perspective on the need for a new way
of doing things. As the program is developed and refined, we hope that those who
come to see its value will want to create similar such Centers around the country,
part of a grass-
Creation of an O7C website is Step One in the process of development of the actual
Oasis7 Center. During this period of developing materials and gathering a team to
work toward a brick-
Oasis Ministries News Site
This Oasis Ministries News website will contain continuing updates on the progress
of our O7C plans, itineraries for speaking tours, and a variety of articles elaborating
on the most recent seminar topics covered. You are invited to look over the listings
in the Resources/Audio-
Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones
Is this what your personal and/or group religious experience sometimes feels like—a dry and barren wasteland? The daily and weekly grind of working hard to accomplish the objectives we’ve set for ourselves can occasionally suck the life out of even the most enthusiastic people. We all need periodic refreshment and reviving of our spirits to help us regain our optimism and vitality. New ideas, fresh perspective, innovative ways to approach problems—all of these can breathe new life into those dry bones.
Oasis Ministries wants to “bring an Oasis to YOU” that offers your group and the individuals in it a program that refreshes, inspires, educates, and equips you to move forward with a renewed zeal to accomplish all you hope to in the Lord’s service.
Whether you’d like a one-
Even the most dedicated, sincere individual Christians and Christian fellowship groups can sometimes find themselves at a point in time when it feels a bit like they are in a "dry and thirsty land." And sometimes Bible study and prayer aren't enough to break the cycle of dryness.
1
It is our desire with Oasis Ministries to "Bring an Oasis to YOU!"
that will refresh
and reinvigorate you,
and inspire and equip you
to pass that same kind of refreshment
on to others.
And even groups that are thriving welcome the occasional fresh perspective and new ideas and insights that an outside speaker can bring.
2
It is our desire with Oasis Ministries to provide
educational, inspirational, and
motivational presentations
that will help listeners to broaden their understanding,
and more fully tap into their own gifts and talents
in service to the Lord.
In addition, some groups have a heart to reach out in local evangelism efforts, but haven't yet adequately developed the speaking gifts present within the local group necessary to put together a program that would appeal to and hold the interest of the public.
3
It is our desire with Oasis Ministries to make available
a variety of presentations
that would be suitable
for a special meeting, or series of meetings,
to which non-
and the general public may be invited.
4
And at the same time, we wish to make available
to the church members themselves
guidance in how to then make best use of the opportunities
such exposure may provide,
through building
a healthy and nurturing spiritual environment
within the congregation.
Our expansion plans that aim toward the establishment of the Oasis7 Center described above have now become a part of our mission statement:
It is our desire to help equip the next generations of believers
to be leaders of
the church of tomorrow,
and to be ready to plant new fellowship groups that will
grow, thrive,
and continually reproduce themselves,
taking the Gospel to the world,
discipling those who answer the call,
and nurturing them to full maturity
in wholesome
spiritual family environments.
Pam has a degree in education with high honor from Michigan State University, and
graduate work in education and the social sciences. She also has over forty years'
experience teaching, encouraging, and inspiring people from all age groups, pre-
For the past decade Pam has been a popular seminar speaker at regional and national
gatherings, local congregations, and other groups around the country. Her lively
presentations cover topics as varied and wide-
Sample seminar titles: "History is HerStory Too";
"Whiskers on Kittens & Picking Up Chickens"; "
Understanding Spiritual Hunger"; "Escaping from The Matrix";
"Want to Be a Superhero?"; Mission: It’sPossible!;
and "Flea Powder for Itching Ears."
Pam is the author of the Field Guide to the Wild World of Religion, a companion book to her popular website of the same name that has had close to ¾ million visitors since it went online. Both contain overviews and detailed profiles based on Pam’s 30+ years of research into modern religious movements. See the Resources section of this site for more details on this book.
She has also co-
George has a BA in Communication Arts with graduate work in Education from Michigan State University. A former Church Pastor for a number of years, he currently earns a living as an insurance auditor, while spending most of his free time working on Oasis Ministries projects.
For his contribution to the Oasis Ministries outreach, George brings to the table
40+ years in computer and audio-
Fascinated by computers from the days when they were still room-
Fascinated by camera work since the days when most photos were still black and white,
and he was a teen experimenting with processing his own negatives in a make-
Fascinated by home video cameras since the days when they still had to be connected
to a lumbering tape player by a cord in order to make a recording on a VHS or BETA
tape, he’s now using the latest digital recording cameras to capture Oasis Ministries
seminars. And, as with the still photos, he has at his fingertips all the latest
computer video-
Fascinated by home methods of combining artwork and words on the page, and making
multiple copies of them since the days when the copying method included messy gel
in a metal tray and even messier blue-
George was making video presentations for church activities back when most churches were just discovering the value of audio cassette players.
And he was making creative covers for church bulletins through computer photo-
More recently, he’s been burning video DVDs for free distribution by Oasis Ministries
at a time when most small ministries-
George applies an artistic flair, creative verve, and enthusiasm to the material
he produces with all this computer and A-
As an ordained minister and former church congregation pastor, George is also often invited to give sermons at fellowship groups where Pam is presenting a seminar.
