Oak Grove Church, at 5920 Golden Valley Road in Golden Valley, Minnesota, centers its ministry on Igniting Hope: glorifying God and making disciples by igniting the enduring hope of Jesus through daily sacrifice for others. Its Sunday worship, age-specific ministries, home-based groups and mission partnerships extend that mission from Golden Valley outward.
Sunday Morning on Golden Valley Road
Sunday morning worship begins at 9:30 a.m. at 5920 Golden Valley Road in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The gathering centers on powerful worship and a life-giving message, and Oak Grove livestreams it for people joining from elsewhere. First-time guests are welcome at every stage of faith, with questions, doubts and curiosity. A Connect process supports conversations about Jesus, baptism, community and service. An information booth offers free coffee.
Main parking is uphill at the rear of the building. Overflow parking is downhill and across the street at Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis, or JFCS.
Grove Kids: From the Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Grove Kids welcomes children from birth through fifth grade during the 9:30 service. Check-in starts 15 minutes beforehand, at 9:15. The nursery for children under two is on the main level in Room 108, with check-in just inside the nursery. Children ages two through fifth grade and their parents are greeted at the lower-level entrance and guided to age- and grade-specific rooms. Every children's volunteer is background checked.
The age-graded program includes quiet, supervised play for two- and three-year-olds and simple, short, colorful Bible truths. PreK-K and grades one through five use The Gospel Project, which carries children chronologically from Genesis to Revelation and presents Scripture as one unified story of God's redemption. During second hour, from 10:45 to 11:30, three-year-olds move into the PreK-K classroom, two-year-olds return to the birth-through-two nursery, and PreK through grade five use The Biggest Story.
Strengthen, Serve, Sacrifice, Send
At Oak Grove, ordinary people are learning to follow an extraordinary Savior, bringing their questions, hopes, wounds and dreams rather than pretending to have arrived. The church's identity begins and ends with Jesus: he is the reason people gather, the hope they cling to and the life they share. Oak Grove seeks a community shaped by grace, meaningful relationships and the transforming presence of Christ.
The church's pathway gives four practices a distinct meaning:
- Strengthen: becoming like Christ through His strength and being formed into mature disciples who stand complete in Him.
- Serve: building the body by equipping and empowering others so the whole church becomes healthy, unified and fully alive in Christ.
- Sacrifice: practicing daily surrender, denying self, taking up the cross and loving others with the sacrificial love of Jesus.
- Send: carrying the gospel into everyday spaces, making disciples who make disciples and teaching others to follow Jesus.
Oak Grove's vision is to unleash a movement of everyday disciple-makers who spark the hope of Jesus in their own spaces, multiply communities of faith and change the world starting in Golden Valley and extending outward.
What Oak Grove Holds True
Oak Grove believes the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are God's divinely inspired, infallible Word, without error in the original manuscripts and complete as his written revelation. Scripture is sufficient and trustworthy for life, faith, conduct and practice, and the supreme and final authority in matters it addresses. The church teaches one proper interpretation of Scripture, recoverable through careful literal, grammatical, historical and contextual reading under the Holy Spirit and in the community of Christ, while recognizing several applications.
Oak Grove affirms one God, Creator and sustainer, who exists eternally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, equal in divine perfection and distinct in their work. Jesus is the incarnate eternal Son, fully God and man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. His sinless life, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension, priestly intercession and personal visible return are affirmed. The Holy Spirit regenerates, sanctifies and preserves, distributes spiritual gifts for the common good and does not provide authoritative revelation beyond Scripture.
Humanity is understood as male and female in God's image and free from sin at creation, yet fallen and spiritually dead apart from regeneration. Those who repent of sin and trust Jesus are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus, purchased by the cross, secured by the Spirit and received without human merit, works or ritual. It results in righteous living, good works and proper social concern. Human life is precious and should be protected from fertilization until death.
The church is Christ's spiritual body, composed of people regenerated by the Spirit and expressed in local assemblies whose members have been immersed, have confessed their faith and gather for worship, instruction, evangelism and service. Its ordinances are believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. Each local church is self-governing and free from interference by ecclesiastical or political authorities, while every person remains responsible to God and free to worship according to conscience.
Marriage is held to be a lifelong monogamous covenant between one man and one woman, biological sex determines gender, and God provides sexual identity at conception. Christian conduct is to glorify God, remain blameless, faithfully steward possessions and pursue maturity in Christ. Oak Grove also affirms the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, eternal existence in heaven or hell, and divine judgment, rewards and punishments.
Community in Homes and Across Generations
Community Groups meet in homes across the community to create trusted relationships and spiritual growth. They open God's Word, develop a Christian worldview, pray for one another and encourage people to live out the hope of Jesus where they work, live and play. Connection becomes the foundation for a shared life of faith.
Grove Young Adults
Grove Young Adults gathers on the second and fourth Sunday evenings of each month at 5:30 p.m. for food, fun and deeper conversations about practical biblical wisdom. Weekly Thursday discipleship training at 6 p.m. is open to anyone who wants to learn more about the Bible and share the good news with others.
Grove Women and Grove Men
Grove Women brings together women of all ages and backgrounds for spiritual growth, support, Bible study, meaningful friendships and renewed purpose. Grove Men seeks to build up men, boys, sons, fathers and grandfathers as followers of Christ who make disciples.
Wednesday Nights with Grove Youth
During the school year, Grove Youth begins with a social hour at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by groups at 6:30 p.m. The ministry treats middle and high school students as part of the church now, seeking to deepen their faith and build Christ-centered relationships through dynamic worship, relevant teaching and a community where students can belong and grow.
Music That Points to Christ
Oak Grove's worship ministry uses musical, technical and creative elements to create an environment that exalts Jesus Christ and encourages the congregation to experience God's transforming presence. Successful worship is intended to strengthen love for Christ, motivate service and help people share their lives with others who are far from God.
Global Partnerships in Kenya, Brazil and Liberia
Northern Kenya with Kevin and Melodie Kejr
Kevin and Melodie Kejr are called to reach people in northern Kenya and strengthen mission through the local church, Kenyan missionaries and foreign missionaries. Kevin's contribution centers on networking and organizational leadership, and they serve with SIM Kenya.
The Amazon Region with Marcy Schuring
Marcy Schuring carries forward a ministry she and her late husband, Dan, began in the northeast Amazon region of Brazil. Working with the Waiapi people, they translated much of the Bible into their language and later created films and digital lessons. Their work has included people coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus and being discipled in Christian life. Marcy has worked to continue this ministry and transition it to the next generation of global partners through Ethnos 360.
Liberia with John Mark and Sara Sheppard
John Mark and Sara Sheppard have served in Liberia with SIM since 2013. John Mark translates the Bible into Manya, which had been an unwritten language, and oversees dozens of Manya literacy classes. Sara homeschools their children, facilitates adult trauma-healing groups and cares for dozens of community children and teens through a daily meal, medical care, tutoring and informal counseling.
Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire with Mark and Nancy Sheppard
Mark and Nancy Sheppard have been missionaries since 1982. They served in Liberia until civil war forced an extended evacuation, then moved their ministry to Côte d'Ivoire in 1999 while Liberians sought refuge there. Their work in Liberia has included rebuilding a church association, participating in national conferences, working with church leaders, helping a Bible college, caring for orphans and providing a home for believers visiting the capital. Oak Grove is their sending church, and they work under Baptist Mid-Missions.
Ministry Led with Specific Responsibilities
Barb Anderson heads Oak Grove's children's ministry. Deacons carry particular responsibilities throughout the church:
- Shelly Kregness: baptisms
- Ashley McGuire and Jenny Deming: women's ministry
- Steve and Carol Sheridan: Communion
- Tori Anderstrom: nursery
- Dana Klohs: Host Team
- Paul Larson: Awana
Sermons, Giving and the Continuing Mission
Oak Grove's sermons are available to watch, and the church also offers sermon notes. General Giving supports regular contributions and designated gifts such as camp scholarships, young adults and special projects. The Compassion Fund directly assists individuals and families in need. Giving is available online through Oak Grove Giving, while in-person contributions can be placed in boxes by the auditorium doors.
Oak Grove's gathered worship, classrooms, homes, discipleship gatherings and mission partnerships all carry the same fourfold pathway: strengthen, serve, sacrifice and send.