Oasis Food Pantry Shares the Love of Jesus

I once heard someone say, “We are standing on ground we did not build.” That thought has stayed with me. Every generation inherits something from the one before it. The faith we carry, the church we gather in, the lessons we have learned, and even the mistakes we have made were shaped by people who came before us. Scripture tells us in Leviticus 19:32, “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.” There is something powerful about honoring those who have walked the road before us. Their stories carry wisdom, their experiences carry perspective, and their faithfulness has helped build the foundation we stand on today.

But honor is not a one way street. The older generation has something beautiful to give, but the next generation also has something beautiful to bring. Paul told Timothy, a young leader, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers” (1 Timothy 4:12). There is a genuine desire for God among young people today. They are searching, asking questions, worshiping, and looking for a place where they can belong. Yet in many churches, young people can sometimes feel like they are tolerated rather than wanted. If we want the next generation to stay connected to the church, it will take more than simply asking them to fit into the ways of the past. They need to know there is a place for their voice, their gifts, their questions, and their calling. At the same time, the next generation must learn to honor those who came before them. Honor should flow both ways.

I believe this is where a bridge is built. One side carries wisdom, the other carries vision, and both sides are needed to cross into the future God has prepared. Sometimes the younger generation desires to honor but feels dishonored in return. Sometimes the older generation desires to pour into the next generation but feels overlooked or forgotten. Neither generation can build the bridge alone. Titus 2 gives us a beautiful picture of generations teaching and encouraging one another. It is not about one generation replacing another. It is about one generation pouring into the next while the next generation honors the foundation that was laid for them. When we choose honor both ways, we do more than bridge a cultural gap. We create a church where generations can worship together, serve together, learn from one another, and move forward together.

Prayer, shared meals, and a few games. When Kenny Morrison talks about Trinity’s men’s retreat, those are the moments he remembers: men spending time together, worshiping God, and discovering they had brothers beside them.

For Kenny, who leads the Men’s Ministry, that time together matters. Each man arrives with a different story. Some are raising families. Others are facing a difficult season or trying to find their footing in faith. Getting together gives them a chance to listen, be encouraged, and grow closer to Jesus.

That is the heart of Trinity’s Men’s Ministry: helping men become Christ-like, godly men who carry their faith into everyday life.

A leader who needed encouragement too

Kenny’s own story began when Pastor Matt asked him to lead the ministry. He accepted, ready to get involved. Then came changes, questions, and a little self-doubt.

“I began to wonder why I was there and what I was doing,” he recalls.

He eventually asked Pastor Matt why he had chosen him. The pastor’s encouragement, along with the support of Pastor Sam, helped Kenny keep going. He has continued serving and watched the group grow from about 10 or 15 men to roughly 60 to 100.

It is a reassuring reminder for anyone wondering whether they belong: even the leader has needed someone to encourage him along the way.

Learning to follow Jesus

Ask Kenny what a godly man looks like, and he points to Jesus. He speaks about Christ’s suffering and the love that led Him to give Himself for us.

“He did that for us.”

For Kenny, that love raises a personal question about how men care for their own families. Following Jesus reaches into the way a man speaks to his wife, listens to his children, treats a coworker, or responds when someone needs help.

Growth often happens in small moments: choosing patience during a disagreement, admitting a mistake, or keeping a promise when it would be easier to make an excuse.

And it begins with spending time with the Lord. Kenny’s reminder is simple enough to carry into a busy day: “you need to not forget what your knees are made for”.

He follows it with another invitation: “You need to get in your still quiet place and listen to him.”

Then comes the part that puts prayer into practice.

“When The Lord tells you how to lead, follow the lead.”

Real life and real encouragement

Kenny is candid about how hard that can be. He describes tensions at work and the temptation to respond to situations as the man he used to before he became a Christian. Honoring Christ in the middle of frustration takes effort, and he knows that struggle firsthand.

Many readers will recognize the feeling. A difficult conversation can follow us home long after the workday ends. We may know how we want to respond and still need help getting there.

The ministry makes room for that kind of honest growth. Through biblical teaching and speakers from different walks of life, men hear how others have faced their own challenges. Another person’s experience can offer encouragement, a fresh perspective, or a reason to keep trying.

At the Men’s Retreat early this year, Kenny saw those connections taking shape as men prayed and supported one another. Shared meals and games gave them time to get to know each other, too. Sometimes a conversation starts more easily when there is something to do together.

Faith that lends a hand

The men also put their faith into service. Kenny describes members providing security for a Women of Impact event and cooking for church programs. They help where they are needed.

“And we cook for different things we've cooked for different programs and just do whatever's needed.”

There is something deeply encouraging about that willingness. Someone needs a meal prepared or help with an event, and men step forward. Through those everyday acts, they have opportunities to practice the care and generosity they want to show at home and throughout the community.

Men coming together across Hot Springs

Kenny is also excited about men from different churches coming together. He sees that fellowship as a way to support Pastor Matt’s desire to raise up men who follow Christ and lead their families and communities well.

“And one of the things I'm excited to see is all the men from the different churches coming together for Christ, just as Pastor Matt envisions.”

His hope reaches beyond one congregation. Men from different backgrounds can encourage one another and serve the same community. As they learn to follow Jesus together, their families, churches, and neighbors can experience the good that grows from it.

An invitation to come as you are

For any man at Trinity Church who is hesitant to join, Kenny has a heartfelt message: “you are not alone, we are here to help.”

Whether someone has been in church for years, is struggling in his faith, or is just beginning his spiritual journey, there is room to connect.

Getting involved can begin with a conversation. Men can speak directly with Kenny Morrison or scan the Men’s Ministry QR code on the board in the church lobby toward the kitchen.

“We'll talk it over and I'll get you hooked up.”

You do not have to arrive with every answer. Come ready to listen, share a meal, and get to know the men beside you. There is encouragement to be found as you seek the Lord together—and room for Him to shape the man you are becoming.

Keith Wheeler never set out to walk around the world.

In fact, when he first sensed that God might be leading him to carry a large wooden cross through the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma, his reaction was resistance.

Keith had already discovered that following Jesus was not simply about knowing Scripture or calling himself a Christian. After a deeply personal encounter with Christ, he began asking a more difficult question: What would happen if he gave Jesus everything?

The answer led him beyond the walls of the church.

He began visiting bars and nightclubs, talking with people, offering rides to those too intoxicated to drive and even cleaning bathrooms. He wanted people to know they mattered to God.

Then, after the tragic death of one of his homeless friends, Keith began praying about how to reach people who were hurting and far from God.

What followed was an unusual impression that he believed was from the Lord: carry a cross.

Keith did not immediately embrace the idea. In fact, he argued against it.

But as Keith prayed, he became increasingly convinced that the cross was not meant to draw attention to him. It was meant to identify a message of love.

He asked God for confirmation.

Within minutes, a friend called and described feeling led to make a large wooden cross and walk through Tulsa on Good Friday. The following week, Keith’s professor unexpectedly assigned him Mark 8:34: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.”

Keith took it as another confirmation.

So, on Good Friday, he and a friend began walking.

Keith prayed that nobody would see him.

Instead, the journey began.

They walked 36 miles that day. Along the way, a stranger stopped and prayed that God would send Keith “to the nations with this cross.”

Keith’s response?

“Lord, I cancel that in the name of Jesus.”

But God was already writing a much larger story.

Keith had no idea where that first walk would lead.

He simply took the next step.