Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Oakes.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jeff. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My dad was in ministry, so growing up my friends would ask if I was going to be a pastor like my father and I would always say, ‘No!’ I intended to be an architect or, if I’m really being honest, a basketball player. (I’m 6’5″ and was an All-Conference/All-Region selection my sophomore year of college.) Knee surgery my Junior year put an end to hoop dreams, and 20 years of ministry later I’m leading a new church in Quincy, MA. What’s the old saying- ‘we plan, God laughs.’ It turns out I really love serving people and sharing the love of Jesus. Aside from raising my kids and trying to be a good husband, that’s ultimately what my life is about.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ministry is challenging work at times. People are complicated, and life can be difficult. Church tends to be a place people turn to when they’re searching or maybe even desperate, which means I’m not always meeting people on their best day. Some have intense questions. Others have intense hurts. It’s often tempting to pretend I have all the answers. I don’t. But I do believe in a gracious God who cares about us and I want extend that grace to the South Shore.
Restore Christian Church – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Restore is a new, non-denominational church in Quincy. We are a group of imperfect people that have been rescued by a gracious God. Our vision is to restore hope and change lives. We believe there’s hope for everyone- the down-and-out, the movers-and-shakers, the has-beens, and the up-and-comers- Everyone!! We use modern means to convey a timeless message. Jesus is our lead story, because He’s the source of our hope. But in the same way Jesus came to serve and not to be served, we have no intention of sitting on our hands. We want to end hunger in Quincy- not just spiritual hunger, but physical hunger too. Restore has linked up with several other non-profit organizations on the south shore (We support the Quincy Crisis Center and Daniel’s Table) in order to help provide food security for those who are struggling to make ends meet.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
One Saturday in October of 2017, Restore invited the community to help us pack 14,000 meals to be distributed to families in need. There were volunteers from Quincy who showed up with no prior connection to our church, but who wanted to help provide food for those who are hungry. It was such a fantastic day that we decided to do it again on June 16th 2018- only we doubled the number of meals to 28,000!
Contact Info:
- Address: 180 Old Colony Ave.
Quincy MA 02170 - Website: restorequincy.org
- Phone: 617-657-9824
- Email: info@restorequincy.org
- Instagram: restorequincy
- Facebook: @restorequincy
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