A Non-Denominational Church on Frankford Avenue
Live Oak Community Church sits on Frankford Avenue on the south side of Lubbock, Texas, and has been a steady presence in the city since 1993. The church was founded that year by a core group that included Doug Halcomb, the current Lead Pastor, who was finishing college at Texas Tech University at the time. Three decades later, the church gathers on Sunday mornings at 8:30a, 10:00a, and 11:30a for casual, contemporary worship that runs about an hour, with kids ministry running alongside every service. Services are also livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those who prefer to join from home.
What started as a small group in a college town has grown into a multi-generational congregation whose mission statement still anchors everything: Live Oak exists to make more and stronger followers of Jesus Christ. The staff frames that mission in four directions: across the street, across the globe, into the next generation, and into the everyday lives of its people on Monday morning. A non-denominational identity, a strong teaching culture, and a deep investment in children, students, and college-age young adults shape everything from the way the church organizes its staff to the way it talks about baptism, groups, and serving.
Sundays: Casual, Contemporary, and Multi-Generational
Visitors can expect a casual and comfortable atmosphere where the majority of people wear casual clothes, where friendly hosts will help you find your way without hovering, and where the worship is creative and contemporary. Services run about an hour and feature meaningful worship along with biblical teaching from the pastoral team. The majority of preaching comes from Lead Pastor Doug Halcomb, who is the owner of at least ten black shirts and never gets tired of Lubbock's 806 area code. Communion is celebrated together once a month during the main services, woven into the worship set rather than set apart as a separate event.
The Sunday services are intentionally multi-generational. While students in 6th through 12th grade have their own Wednesday night ministry and college students have a Tuesday night ministry of their own, on Sunday mornings teens and college-age adults are part of the main services. Research suggests that students who serve and worship inter-generationally are more likely to maintain their faith after high school, and many of its teenagers and college students serve in Kids Ministry, on the tech team, or as greeters and hosts. For kids in babies through fifth grade, dedicated environments run during every service so parents can focus on worship.
Kids Ministry: Acorn Club and Treehouse Club
Kids Ministry at Live Oak is split into two environments that meet at all three Sunday services. Acorn Club is for babies through PreK, and Treehouse Club is for Kindergartners through fifth grade. Both use the Grow Curriculum, which is built around four core ideas for children: that they can spend time with God, spend time with others, use their gifts, and share their story. Those four ideas mirror the larger church's strategy of connecting people to God, God's Word, God's People, and God's Mission.
Safety is a high priority. Adult leaders are background checked, and the policy is that a leader is never alone in a room with a small group or one-on-one with any child. Check-in happens at a secure computer station in the main foyer, where each child receives a tag that must be presented at the end of the service for pickup. If a parent is needed during the service, they are text-contacted immediately. The Kids Ministry also welcomes children with special needs and will pair them with a Special Needs Buddy who stays with them throughout the hour to help them engage in worship and small group. A few times a year on holiday weekends the church celebrates Family Sunday, when Kinders through fifth grade join their families in the main services and Acorn Club meets as usual.
Behind Kids Ministry are two long-time staff members. Christy Leezer, the Coordinator of Babies-PreK Ministries, has been a part of Live Oak since 1998 when she came as a single mom of three. Amy Hasbrouck, the Director of K-5th Ministries, has roots at the church that go back even further, to the founding pastor Chuck Williams, who was her own youth pastor. Both see Kids Ministry as a partnership with parents, with the goal of helping families grow together in Christ.
Student Ministry: Wednesday Nights at LOSM
Live Oak Student Ministry, known as LOSM, exists to make more and stronger teenage followers of Jesus Christ. During the school year, LOSM meets on most Wednesday evenings at the church, beginning in August. The night starts at 6:00p with LOSMeal, a snack designed to bridge the gap between after-school activities and the program and to give students and leaders a chance to connect. From 6:30p to 8:00p the evening moves into games, meaningful worship, relevant teaching, and small groups divided by age and gender. Average attendance on a Wednesday night is around 160 students and leaders.
Small groups are at the heart of LOSM. The ministry believes teenagers need at least five adult mentors in their lives, and its small group leaders are trained to facilitate honest conversation about how Jesus and Scripture intersect with everyday life. On Sunday mornings, students do not have their own program. Instead, they are encouraged to attend the main services and to serve, whether greeting, leading worship, helping in Kids Ministry, or running tech. Research shows that students who are serving and applying their faith are far more likely to keep their faith after high school. LOSM also runs an annual fall retreat, a family night at a local farm, and a summer camp that is one of the most catalytic experiences a student can have at Live Oak.
College Ministry: Tuesdays with Texas Tech
The college ministry at Live Oak is built around Texas Tech University and meets on most Tuesdays at 7:00p during the fall and spring semesters. The format is straightforward: contemporary worship, biblical teaching, and small group time led by adult leaders who have chosen to invest in the next generation. A shared meal is part of the rhythm, and church members regularly sign up to provide dinner for a group of around 120 students.
On Sunday mornings, college students are part of the main services rather than a separate room. Many of them serve across the church, from Kids Ministry to the worship team, from the tech team to First Impressions, and they are a vital part of the Live Oak family. The college ministry also runs an annual fall retreat, typically at Hidden Falls Ranch about an hour outside Lubbock, and it connects with the men's ministry and the women's Bible study groups across the church.
Small Groups: The Heart of Discipleship
Live Oak is a church of small groups. The phrase "circles matter" is one of the church's core values, and the conviction is that lives are transformed in the context of Christ and community. Small groups meet at various times during the week, most of them in homes, and they include men's groups, women's groups, mixed and married groups, groups for young adults, and groups for college students. Some groups work through a book of the Bible, some discuss the previous Sunday's message, and others use video-based studies like the Practicing the Way course, which is designed to lay a foundation for lifelong apprenticeship to Jesus.
The group calendar follows the school year. Groups meet from September through November, take a break for the holidays, resume in early February, and run through May before taking the summer off. A multigenerational Summer Group also runs during the warmer months for those who want to keep meeting. Two specialized Bible study groups round out the adult discipleship pathway: Sisters and Seekers, a women's-only Bible study with both a Tuesday evening and a Wednesday morning group, and Men of Live Oak, a men's breakfast and small group rhythm that meets on several Thursdays each semester. Other specialized offerings include Financial Peace University, a re|engage marriage enrichment track, and The Nest, a group for mothers with kids of all stages, which grew out of the former Live Oak MOPs.
Childcare is built into the small group system. Live Oak offers on-site childcare for a nominal fee for Sunday evening groups and the Wednesday morning Sisters and Seekers group, and it also offers an off-site partial reimbursement program for groups meeting at other times, where groups or individuals hire their own sitters and the church reimburses up to $20 per session per child.
The Beliefs That Shape the Church
Live Oak's doctrinal convictions have been in place since its founding in 1993. The church believes in one true, holy God, eternally existing in three persons as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Scripture, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament, is the sole basis of belief, considered infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts and the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of faith and practice. Jesus Christ is the eternal second Person of the Trinity, miraculously conceived and born of a virgin, who lived a life of perfect obedience, died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return personally and visibly to consummate history.
The Holy Spirit permanently indwells every believer at salvation, gives spiritual gifts, and empowers a life of holiness and obedience. Salvation is wholly a work of God's free grace, received through personal repentance and faith, and is not earned by human works. The church teaches that marriage is a sacred covenant between one biological man and one biological woman, that sexual expression is reserved for that covenant, and that all human life, from conception through natural death, is sacred. Baptism is taught as a symbolic act of obedience and a public profession of faith, not as a means of salvation, and is celebrated four times a year at the church, with the August baptism taking place at the Texas Tech Leisure Pool on Labor Day weekend.
Leadership and Structure
Live Oak is led by a plurality of elders, a Board of Directors, and a Staff Team. The elders, who serve as spiritual shepherds and set vision, are Mike Buchanan (chairman), Philip Archinal, Brian Sanderson, Doug Halcomb, Mark Porter, Jeff Jaynes, and Zack Esgar. The Board of Directors handles day-to-day business affairs including finance, personnel, and budgeting, and includes Brian Sanderson (Chair), Doug Halcomb, Jeff Jaynes, Byron Tyler, Becca Moss, Sam Hooks, Troy Vanderburg, Jen Williams, and Ben Wagner.
The Staff Team is led by Lead Pastor Doug Halcomb, who took on the role in 2012 after serving on staff in various positions and a stint as a hockey missionary with Hockey Ministries International. He is also a chaplain for Texas Tech Basketball and has served with the Dallas Stars. The Executive Pastor is Clay Thomas, a Dallas Theological Seminary graduate who joined the Live Oak staff in 2016 as Worship Pastor before moving into the Executive Pastor role in 2025. Together with the rest of the team, they oversee Next Steps and Communication (Mindy Porter), Discipleship and Missions (Ellis Dean), Ministry Operations (Ali McAnally), Groups (Branson Nash), Facilities and Finance (Austin Rivera), Small Group Childcare (Jaley Barton), Next Gen Ministries (Tammy Starkey), College Ministry (Madison Romig), Student Ministry (Austin Hering), Kids Ministry (Amy Hasbrouck and Christy Leezer), Worship (Will Capodagli), and Tech (Aaron Winger).
Giving, Serving, and Reaching Out
Giving is framed at Live Oak as an act of worship. There is no set amount required, though the church identifies ten percent as a biblical starting place. Ten percent of the church's annual budget goes to missions, supporting both local and global work. Giving can be done in person at Offering Stations in the foyer and at the rear of the auditorium, through the Live Oak mobile app, or by texting GIVE and the amount to a dedicated number.
Serving is a major part of the culture. Live Oak has a strong serving culture, with no age limit on a life that can be used by God. The Serving Interest Form opens the door to a long list of roles: First Impressions (greeting, hosting, coffee team), Kids Ministry (small group leaders, storytellers, supply team, special needs buddies), Student Ministry and College Ministry (meal team, first impressions, tech, worship arts, small group leaders), Worship Arts (vocalists and musicians), Tech Team, Facilities and Grounds, Parking, Medical Response Team, Creative Arts, Media and Photography, Prayer Team, Care and Community, Service Coordinators, and administrative help. All adult volunteers are background checked, and a Serving Interest form leads to a shadow session in any area of interest. Children as young as third grade can serve, and many students serve as student leaders for Kids Ministry, on worship teams, and on the tech team.
Reach Out is the church's framing for caring for the surrounding community. Live Oak supports local ministries both financially and by serving in-person, guided by the conviction that wherever a person finds themselves on a Monday morning is their personal mission field. The men's ministry, for example, regularly serves meals at the college ministry, hosts breakfasts at the church, gathers at Rudy's for Bibles and Burritos, and serves at the Children's Home of Lubbock.
Discipleship, Scripture, and Prayer
Discipleship at Live Oak is structured around what the church calls "The Wheel," a teaching illustration adapted from the Navigators that visualizes a Christ-follower's life as a wheel with Christ at the center, supported by vertical spokes of Scripture and Prayer and horizontal spokes of Community and Mission. The outer rim represents the fruit of a life of obedience. The church teaches that disciples are formed by being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing what Jesus did, and it offers tools for every spoke.
For Scripture engagement, Live Oak recommends the SOAPS method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer, Share), the 2 Timothy tool, the S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S acrostic, the S.P.E.C.K. tool, and the Hand Illustration (Hear, Read, Study, Memorize, Meditate). The church runs a church-wide Bible Reading Plan that follows the current Sunday series, and the 2026 plan is The Bible Recap, which will take the congregation through the entire Bible by the end of the year. For prayer, the church teaches practices like the ACTS approach (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), listening prayer, breath prayer, and the Lord's Prayer as a pattern rather than a script. A monthly Prayer Gathering brings the congregation together on a Monday night, and a monthly high school senior prayer prompt is offered to anyone who texts SENIORPRAYER to 55498.
Baptism, Child Dedication, and First Steps
Baptism is the natural next step after a person decides to follow Jesus. Live Oak celebrates baptisms four times a year, with the August baptism taking place at the Texas Tech Leisure Pool. The church offers an online baptism class for both adults and kids, and those interested in taking the step fill out a baptism interest form. Baby and Child Dedication is a separate milestone for parents who want to commit to raising their children in a Christ-centered home and invite the church family to support them in that calling. Dedications are held twice a year, in the spring and the fall, during the Sunday services.
First Steps Class is the church's hour-long introduction to Live Oak, designed for newcomers who want to learn more about the church's mission, values, beliefs, and ministries. The class meets once a month during the 11:30a service and includes time to meet people and ask questions. For those who decide to make Live Oak their church home, the Next Steps Class digs deeper into the church's ministry areas and helps people identify their own next steps with God.
Staying Connected During the Week
Live Oak has its own mobile app, available on iOS and Android, that allows people to stay up to date, listen to sermons, access signups, and give from their phones. The church also has a bi-monthly email called Quick Hits, a text-based option for time-sensitive updates, and active social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube. RightNow Media, a free online library of Bible studies, parenting and marriage resources, finance teaching, and kids' shows, is available at no cost to anyone connected to the church. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:00a to 4:00p, and Sundays from 8:15a to 12:30p, and the staff can be reached at 806.798.5583 or by email through the staff directory.
For more than thirty years, Live Oak has built a simple rhythm around Sunday worship, mid-week groups, kids and student ministries, and the rhythms of everyday life in Lubbock. The result is a church that looks a lot like its city, multi-generational, deeply tied to Texas Tech, and committed to the conviction that following Jesus is a Monday-through-Sunday endeavor.