Founder Steve Chalke | Founded 1985 | |
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25 years of oasis trust
Oasis Trust (known as "Oasis") is a UK-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by the Reverend Steve Chalke in September 1985. Chalke had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years. He left this job with the aim of setting up a hostel for homeless young people. Oasis now has over 5,000 staff in the UK as well as thousands more volunteers.
Contents
- 25 years of oasis trust
- Oasis Church Waterloo
- Stop The Traffik
- Oasis Aquila Housing
- The Oasis Foundation
- Oasis Community Learning
- All through
- References
Since its foundation Oasis has also developed into a family of charities now working on four continents (11 countries) around the world, with the goal of delivering housing, education, training, youthwork and healthcare. Oasis is now a significant voluntary sector provider, delivering services for local authorities and national governments, as well as self funded initiatives.
Oasis currently works in 51 local neighbourhoods – 35 of which are in the UK – where it seeks to bring together the resources, expertise and infrastructure that it has developed over the years, in order to build on existing strengths and assets in the local community. Oasis' aim is always to serve and respect all people regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or physical and mental capability and to work with the whole community to create a neighbourhood in which people feel known, are able to thrive, achieve their God-given potential and build deep and nourishing relationships.
Oasis Church Waterloo
In 2003, under Steve Chalke's leadership, Oasis, having become responsible for the buildings of Christ Church and Upton Chapel, in Waterloo, central London, worked with the existing members there to form what was initially known as Church.co.uk. Since then it has been renamed as Oasis Church, Waterloo.
Christ Church and Upton Chapel actually began its life as Surrey Chapel in 1783, and was to provide a major influence in the start of the Ragged School Movement – which provided schools for local children from poor homes – and also supported the birth of the Shaftesbury Society, the YMCA and the Bible Society. In the 1800s it was also influential in the anti-slavery movement; William Wilberforce and friends made its building a venue for many of their anti-slavery meetings, and its spire, built in 1867, is named the Lincoln Tower, donated in memory of Abraham Lincoln who was both inspired and supported by in his work to achieve the emancipation of the slaves of North America through the network of friends based in London.
That same commitment to serve Christ through ‘loving God’ and ‘loving our neighbours as ourselves’ continues to underpin the work of the present day church. Over the years since 2003 a wide range of community services focussed on the half-mile radius around the building, have been developed including a children’s centre, a primary school, a secondary school, various adult education opportunities, a foodbank, a debt advice centre, a community farm, a coffee shop, as well as becoming responsible for the local public library and launching various other youth projects and programmes. Further Oasis churches have developed running alongside the communities of the Oasis Academies in Salford, Oldham, Brightstowe, Bristol, Enfield, Southampton (Lord's Hill & Mayfield), Immingham and Wintringham.
The Oasis church network has five values which are at the heart of their work; inclusion, interdependence, intimacy, involvement and influence.
Stop The Traffik
Stop The Traffik is one of the Oasis subsidiary charities. It is a global coalition working in nearly 100 countries and in partnership with multiple other charitable organisations, businesses and anti-trafficking agencies with the goal of disrupting and preventing human trafficking.
Oasis Aquila Housing
The Oasis housing charity delivers bespoke and effective services for vulnerably housed and homeless people, in the North East as well as in South London. Annually it supports over 1000 people with housing needs.
The Oasis Foundation
The newest part of the Oasis family, is dedicated to demonstrating the effectiveness of Oasis' model of community engagement and to encouraging and facilitating its replication. The Foundation focuses on commissioning and disseminating research, on informing and influencing social policy but, most importantly, on promoting and supporting the role of local churches in public service delivery as an integrated part of their purpose.
Oasis Community Learning
Oasis Community Learning is one of OAsis Trust's subsidiary charities. It is an umbrella group to govern the Oasis Academies which are schools classed as academies. The first three Oasis academies in Enfield Lock, Grimsby and Immingham, opened in September 2007, with six more, two in Bristol, two in Southampton, two in Croydon and one in Salford, opening in September 2008. Since then, OAsis has grown to be one of the country's largest Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and is currently responsible for 47 schools around England; a mix of primary, secondary and all-through academies.