Abundantly More – A Vision for the Future
For 189 years, OU has been a place where God has done abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. From our roots as a mission outpost to the vibrant church we are today, we’ve stepped forward in faith and seen lives transformed by Christ.
Now, we believe God is calling us to take our next bold step.
Over the past two years, we’ve focused on two key priorities: eliminating debt and renovating our Traditional Sanctuary. Thanks to generous lead gifts, we’re positioned to pay off our remaining debt and fully invest in the future of OU.
This campaign is about more than buildings. It’s about creating sacred spaces, expanding ministry for kids, youth, and future generations, and renewing our commitment to God’s work in Oxford and beyond.
On this page, you’ll find:
- Project details – A closer look at what we’re building and why
- FAQs – Answers to common questions
- Updates – Ongoing progress throughout 2025
We invite you to pray, engage, and partner with us in this vision. Together, let’s step into a future where God does abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.
Renewing Sacred Spaces
Traditional Sanctuary
The Traditional Sanctuary is the sacred heart of our building and needs renovation. This was the only space that was untouched in our previous building project. The proposed renovations include:
- Renovate chancel area to enhance music ministry through increased capacity for choir.
- Emphasize Christ as the center of our life together in baptism and holy communion through elegant and simple sacramental orientation of the space.
- Improved lighting and acoustics.
- Update aesthetic colors and finishes.
Wesley Hall
Wesley Hall was our original campus sanctuary and continues to be one of the most used sacred spaces in our building. It is used for church meetings, small groups, luncheons, banquets, and receptions. It needs acoustical, lighting, and aesthetic upgrades to maximize its functionality for medium to large groups.
Northeast Entrance
The Northeast Entrance is a a key potential improvement that will offer better access and stronger hospitality for all who approach from the Square.
FAQs
Why now?
The first reason is straightforward: the note on our $2.2 million in existing debt comes due on May 5, 2027. With this in view, our staff and Finance Committee have been working intentionally to develop a strategy that not only retires our debt—freeing our church from financial constraints so we can invest fully in mission and ministry—but also positions OU for long-term financial sustainability.
Building a Strong Financial Future
Eighteen months ago, we engaged Joe Park from Horizons Stewardship to help us design a path toward sustainable financial health. That strategy focuses on:
- Annual Giving
- Capital Giving
- Legacy Giving
Thanks to your generosity, we’ve already seen the fruits of this effort.
Record Q1 Giving in 2024 & 2025
In both 2024 and 2025, we launched the year with The Way of Generosity, a sermon series inviting the OU community to embrace giving as a spiritual practice. Your response has been extraordinary:
- Q1 2023: $470,000
- Q1 2024: $600,000
- Q1 2025: $659,000
That’s the highest first-quarter giving in our church’s history—two years in a row. We are in a position of spiritual and financial strength, which makes this a unique opportunity to build toward a future free from debt and open to new possibilities.
Why not just pay off the debt?
We seriously considered a campaign solely to eliminate our debt. But after studying our 2016 building campaign and 2019 debt campaign, we saw a more compelling path forward.
The data showed:
- 2016: $1.7M annual giving → $5.4M capital commitments
- 2019: $2M annual giving → $4.1M capital commitments
We also learned that 325 families gave to the building campaign, while 255 families gave to the debt campaign. Building campaigns not only raise more money—they engage more people.
Our goal is to continue to broaden the base of financial leaders for our future. Just this year, we’ve seen new energy: 72 first-time givers have given to the annual ministry budget in the past 12 months. The time is right to invite everyone—new and longtime members—to shape OU’s future together.
A Vision for Our Sanctuary
Our traditional sanctuary, built in 1950, wasn’t part of the 2016 renovations. It served as our spiritual anchor while the rest of campus was under construction. For 75 years, it has been the heart of our worship life. We believe that excellent traditional worship is core to OU’s identity, and now we need to invest in that sacred space—to renew our commitment to Christ-centered sacred worship today and leaving an amazing legacy for the next generation tomorrow.
How is this campaign different?
In 2016, the church voted to approve two separate campaigns—one for building, one for debt. Abundantly More is different: it proposes a single, integrated campaign with simple, elegant, mission-driven updates.
Will we take on more debt?
With faithful participation, we believe we can complete this campaign without incurring long-term debt. Any short-term bridge financing will be used carefully and only as needed. Our goal is clear: to end this campaign completely debt-free, so that every dollar can be invested in mission and ministry.
How can I be involved?
The projects being contemplated have been presented to 100+ ministry and financial leaders, and what’s being proposed has the strong support of these leaders. But ultimately, the scope of this campaign will be determined by your voice.
Soon, we’ll launch a church-wide survey to hear your thoughts on the proposed projects. This is your opportunity to help shape the vision of Abundantly More. Be on the lookout for that email.
