Sundays at 10 AM
Meeting at the Oxford Middle School
222 Bramlett Blvd
Oxford, MS 38655
Our heart, vision, and values
Who We Are
We exist to connect Oxford and Lafayette County to the life-giving Vine of Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to believe like us to belong with us. Come find a place to belong while you discover the adventure of Chasing Jesus.
Our Core Values
Diversity
We believe the local church should reflect the local community and that our different cultures and backgrounds blend perfectly together to create a multi-cultural and multi-generational church that reflects the heart of God.
Community
We believe real growth is done through the context of community and that this adventure with Jesus was not meant to be lived alone. We value relationship above all else; our relationship with each other and our individual relationship with Jesus. Small groups is how we facilitate this community.
Growth
We believe God created us to grow; mentally, physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. It’s the church’s job to equip you and help facilitate growth communities. Then, it’s your job, through those communities and your personal time with the Lord, to grow you.
Our Core Values
Win the lost at all costs
We have a God-given mission to reach this city. No amount of money, resources or effort is insignificant in our attempts to reach those in need of Jesus. Therefore, we unapologetically set goals and measure progress through all available means.
Love people
Even when they least expect it and/or least deserve it, we will love, forgive, show mercy, and accept all people, because every person is invaluable and irreplaceable.
The next generation
They are not the church of tomorrow, they are the church of today. We will equip, train and commission the next generation by investing our best.
Act in faith
Because playing it safe is risky, we will keep dreaming and doing. We will take giant steps of faith and watch God do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.
The Spirit of God does not lead us into deeper places of comfort and convenience but to deeper places of trust, risk, and adventure. The only way to innovation is to accept the possibility of failure and to continually trust God as we prayerfully take steps of faith.
Kingdom redemption
The church (God’s kingdom people) exists to bring the reality of God’s kingdom to every corner of the earth. As God’s redeemed people, we are to redeem and restore each and every broken place in our world where Christ’s authority is not present.
Every believer is a missionary
Every believer is a disciple, a disciple-maker, and a missionary. God calls, equips, and commissions ordinary people to go in the authority that Christ has given us through the power of the Spirit and make disciples.
Spirit-empowered disciples
Jesus invites every believer to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit – to experience his transforming presence in our lives each and every day.
This Spirit enables us to walk in freedom, to live a transformed life, to bear fruit, to exercise our particular gifts, and to experience the supernatural and miraculous power of God in our lives. The Spirit of God moves our lives from ordinary to extraordinary and is essential for us to become disciple-makers.
Biblical justice
The life of Jesus and the message of the Kingdom of God is continually moving into the margins of society to speak to those who are poor, oppressed, hurting, defenseless, in need, etc. We will take a prophetic stand against all kinds of evil, whether spiritual or societal. All sin and injustice is contrary to the kingdom of God and and by bringing God’s kingdom to reality we seek restoration of wholeness, equality, and peace in every area.
Isaiah 1:15-17, Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8, Luke 11:42, James 1:27
Radical prayer & abiding relationship
Prayer is the lifeblood of every believer, every church and every disciple-making movement. Every great movement or outpouring of God’s Spirit was started and maintained by a radical commitment to prayer and a commitment to foster a daily abiding relationship with Christ.
Stewardship & radical generosity
We acknowledge that God is the owner of all things and that we are called to be responsible stewards of what has been entrusted to us. As a result, we continually seek to grow in generosity, sharing with others, simplicity as a way of life, financial self-discipline/stewardship, and not allowing the power of money to control our lives.
Cultural diversity
Each and every person is made in the image of God and is worthy of honor, respect, and love. We value every people, language, and culture in our city and the world and believe cultural diversity only allows us to better demonstrate the power of the gospel, a gospel that brings reconciliation, unity, and creates a multiethnic community.
The Branch Church
Leadership
Founding co-pastors
Ryan and Amanda Hoover
Ryan and Amanda Hoover have been married since June 2009. Their ministry began in their hometown of Springdale, Arkansas where their family grew when they had their two sons, Zeke and Jett.
God then called them to Muskogee, Oklahoma where they spent four and a half years as youth pastors to an incredible group of students. In 2016, they felt God calling them to plant a church but had no idea what that looked like or even where they were supposed to go. So, they began praying for direction and seeking the counsel of mentors in their life. In 2018, they moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to be on staff at North Church and learn what they needed to know to fulfill the call of God on their lives.
After two years of preparation, the Lord brought them to Oxford, Mississippi and it was love at first sight. The ministry potential and opportunities that Oxford provided birthed a desire to see Oxford, Ole Miss, and Lafayette county explode with the love of Jesus.
They moved to Oxford in August 2020, during a pandemic, because they knew God had called them in this season for a specific reason: to bring hope to a hopeless world and to watch love conquer hate through the power of Jesus.
Ryan, Amanda, Zeke, and Jett are so excited to be in Oxford, where God has called them, connecting with and serving the community that they already love.