Live Oak in a Nutshell

Live Oak Community Church is a non-denominational community of Christ-followers focused on grace, and the truth that people matter to God! This ministry is based on the belief that people respond most readily to the Gospel through relationships, and grow in Christ most effectively in the atmosphere of Biblical community. Our refreshing Sunday morning services feature contemporary music, vibrant worship, intriguing drama, creative media elements, and relevant, application-oriented, Bible text-based teaching.

Our mission is to make more and stronger followers of Jesus Christ through biblically and culturally relevant relationships, worship, and ministry. We are called to join God in reaching an ever-increasing portion of people in this region, and beyond, with the message of Christ’s love and the power of discipleship in community. Live Oak’s campus is strategically located on thirty acres in southwest Lubbock, near the convergence of three excellent independent school districts.

History

In 1986, Chuck, Ann, and Rich Williams attended a service at Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago. Chuck was serving a traditional church in Odessa, Texas, as youth minister at the time. He was impressed with the relevance and authenticity of the Willow Creek-style service. As he looked further into the whole philosophy of ministry of Willow Creek, he came to a strong conviction that this was a great model for the church of the 21st century. Willow Creek’s mission is to turn irreligious people into fully-devoted followers of Christ. They are now one of the largest churches in America.

In the summer of 1993, a small core of about twelve people began to meet and pray together in Chuck and Ann’s home about planting a Willow Creek model church in Lubbock. The first public service was conducted on October 17, 1993, in space provided at Rockridge Plaza on 82nd Street and Slide Road. The core group and friends had cleaned up, painted, built a small stage, and prepared the one room for the service. Seventy-seven people attended.

Attendance leveled to an average of 42 through November. The Live Oak congregation leased spaces in Yorktown Plaza, near 50th Street and Slide Road, to begin 1994. A new auditorium was finished out to accommodate growing attendance and was first utilized on Easter of 1995.Live Oak outgrew those accommodations, and moved to its own current facility built on the prairie at 107th & Frankford, meeting for the first time there on March 21, 1999.

Today Live Oak is a warm, vibrant, dynamic community of people who are growing in their relationship with God and with one another. Each week, numbers of people who are seeking the truth about Jesus attend the services. They hear and see the message of the good news of Jesus through contemporary music, drama, movie clips and relevant, application-oriented teaching. More and more people are coming on board to be active participants in this community of believers in Jesus Christ.

Most recently, in 2009, senior pastor Chuck Williams heard "a whisper from God" that is was time to transition out of his role as Senior Pastor of Live Oak. He shared this whisper with the elder board, and after much prayer, the Senior Pastor Succession Process began. This process spanned over 2 years, beginning with the formation of a Succession Team that worked closely with the Elder Board to determine who would be Live Oak's next Senior Pastor. The process culminated in May 2011, when Doug Halcomb, one of Live Oak's original staff members, was offered and accepted the role. On January 1, 2012, he officially became Senior Pastor.

The entire Succession Process was a testament of God's grace and faithfulness. Click here to learn all about it.