November 19th Speaker – Bret Gresham

Oasis Fellowship would like to announce that the speaker for the November 19th meeting will be Bret Gresham, Director/Campus Minister for the Wesley Foundation at Virginia Tech.  Prior to his current ministry position, he served as the Senior Pastor at Enon UMC in Studley, VA and as the Associate Pastor at Asbury UMC in Harrisonburg, VA.  Bret is originally from Salem, VA.  Bret is also an active member and Ordained Elder at the Blacksburg United Methodist Church in Blacksburg, VA.  He earned his undergraduate degree in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise Science at Virginia Tech and went onto earn Master of Divinity at Duke University in Durham, NC.  Bret and his wife Erin have 2 little girls, Clara and Lawson as well as an English Mastiff named Sophie.  He is a huge sports fan and his favorite teams are the VT Hokies and the NY Yankees -- he is also an Assistant Coach for the Blacksburg Bruins high school football team.  Please come out and join us for fellowship, worship, and the message that will be based on our 2014-15 theme, “His Hands, Our Hands.”

October 15th Speaker – Greg Harrell

Oasis Fellowship would like to announce that the speaker for the October 15^th meeting will be Greg Harrell, Youth Minister at Blacksburg Baptist Church.  Greg is originally from Fayetteville, NC and has served as BBC’s Minister for Youth and Families since 2009.   He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  He also obtained his Master of Divinity at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA.  Prior to joining Blacksburg Baptist, Greg served with Passport Youth Camps as well as on the ministry staff at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, VA.  Greg’s wife, Melanie, is a public school teacher in Roanoke.  They have a 2 year old son named Oliver and they reside in Christiansburg, VA.  Please come out and join us for fellowship, worship, and the message that will be based on our 2014-15 theme, “His Hands, Our Hands.”

September 17th Speaker – Jim Krouskas

Oasis Fellowship would like to announce that the speaker for the September 17th (at noon) meeting will be Jim Krouscas.  Jim is from Oakland, California, and began his career as a middle school teacher and baseball coach.  In 1996 Jim moved to Blacksburg to attend graduate school at Virginia Tech.  One year after completing his degree, Jim joined the faculty at Virginia Tech in the College of Education.  While teaching at Tech Jim was involved in ministry through his local church and on campus through "Athletes in Action."  In 2009 Jim and his family moved to Dallas so that he could get additional theological training at the Dallas Theological Seminary.  Currently Jim is serving as a pastor/elder at Blacksburg Christian Fellowship.  Jim is married to Jill, and they have three daughters...Sophia (9), Elaina (8), and Charis (5).  Please come out and join us for fellowship, worship, and the message that will be based on our 2014-15 theme, “His Hands, Our Hands.”

Please feel free to share this information with other Christians.

August 20th Speaker – Chris Hutchison

Oasis Fellowship would like to announce that the speaker for the August 20^th meeting will be Chris Hutchison, Pastor at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Blacksburg, VA.  Chris is originally from Charleston, SC and has been faithfully serving at Grace Covenant since 2004.  Prior to his current ministry position, he served seven years as an Associate Pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Statesboro, GA as well as in the US Army as a Medical Service Corps Officer.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University in Durham, NC in 1989.  He also obtained his Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA in 1995.  Chris is also active in the Blue Ridge Presbytery serving on its Leadership Development Committee and also serves on the Steering Committee for the Consortium for International Theological Education here in Blacksburg.  Chris and his wife Kirstan have 2 wonderful/creative daughters and his hobbies include soccer, reading history, and rooting for Duke basketball (unless they are playing VT).  Please come out and join us for fellowship, worship, and the message that will be based on our 2014-15 theme, “His Hands, Our Hands.”

2014-2015 Theme and Meeting Dates

Greetings!  We would like to announce the Oasis Fellowship theme and meeting dates for the upcoming academic year.  The Theme for the year will be “His Hands, Our Hands.”  We will meet at the War Memorial Chapel from 12:10pm to 12:50pm on the 3^rd Wednesday of every month starting on August 20th.

                Wednesday, August 20^th at 12:10pm
                Wednesday, September 17^th at 12:10pm
                Wednesday, October 15^th at 12:10pm
                Wednesday, November 19^th at 12:10pm
                Wednesday, January 21^st at 12:10pm
                Wednesday, February 18^th at 12:10pm
                Wednesday, March 18^th at 12:10pm
                Wednesday, April 15^th at 12:10pm

March 19th Speaker – David Vance

The speaker for the March 19^th meeting will be David Vance, Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Christiansburg, VA.  Please come out and join us for fellowship, worship, and the message that will be based on our 2013-14 theme, “Walk by Faith.”

** Please note that Oasis Fellowship will not have its regular meeting in April due to the April 16^th commemorative activities scheduled for War Memorial Chapel. 

February 19th Speaker – Doug Short

The speaker for the February 19^th meeting will be Doug Short, Pastor at Ekklesia Blacksburg which currently meets at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, VA.  The church is in the process of changing its name to “New River Valley Christian Fellowship.” 

Doug was raised near Columbia, Maryland and he received a B.S. in Social Studies Education from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.  In 1997, Doug and his family moved to Middletown, Delaware to start their first church which was well-known for its community involvement.  In 2003, the Shorts relocated to Millsboro, Delaware to begin work on their second church where they had unique ministries to the beach and skateboarding crowds.  The Shorts relocated to the Blacksburg area in April 2007.  They actually moved on the 16th and spent their first week here volunteering on campus with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief program, feeding and counseling students, police and other service personnel.  Doug has been married to Michelle (who he met in a college Bible study) since 1990 and they have three great kids: Kailee, Nathaniel, and Benjamin.  Please come out and join us for fellowship, worship, and the message that will be based on our 2013-14 theme, “Walk by Faith.”

January 15th Speaker – Bryan Pruett

The speaker for the January 15^th meeting will be Bryan Pruett, Pastor at God's House in Pembroke, VA.  Bryan is originally from Narrows, VA (born in Blacksburg -- Go Hokies!).  He earned his undergraduate degree in Communications at Emory and Henry College (Emory, Va.) and obtained a Masters of Religion at Liberty University.  Bryan and his wife Kelly have 3 children and they are all next in line to Jesus as his primary joy in life.  Others include writing, public speaking, reading, admiring the beauty in old things, and studying scripture under the influence of good coffee.  Please come out and join us for fellowship, worship, and the message that will be based on our 2013-14 theme, “Walk by Faith.”