Two Sunday Services, One Welcoming Church
Oakland Presbyterian Church sits on East Oakland Avenue in the small town of Oakland, tucked into Orange County between Winter Garden and Clermont. The congregation has built a reputation for offering something for almost everyone: two very different Sunday services side by side, an in-house preschool, a children's program that runs midweek, a homeschool concert band, a long-running recovery ministry, and a network of mission partnerships that reach from local hospitals to Madagascar.
The church belongs to the Presbyterian Church (USA), and that connection shows up both in the traditional service's liturgy and in the church's sponsorship of Dan and Elizabeth Turk, PC(USA) missionaries working with the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar.
Sunday Mornings: Contemporary, Then Traditional
Sunday at Oakland Presbyterian follows a simple rhythm. At 9 a.m., the contemporary service fills the sanctuary with a praise band, prayer, teaching, and Communion in a casual setting. At 10 a.m., Sunday school classes meet across the education wing. At 11 a.m., the traditional service begins, with hymns, choir, liturgy, and teaching; Communion is celebrated there on the second Sunday of each month.
The 11 a.m. service is also livestreamed on YouTube for those who want to worship from home. A nursery for children three and under, and Kids' Church for ages three through fifth grade, are offered at both services. Families who prefer to keep children with them are welcome to do so.
Wednesday Nights at Oakland
During much of the year, Wednesday evenings transform the campus. Wednesday Nights at Oakland runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and centers on a sit-down dinner followed by music, education, fellowship, and hands-on activities for all ages. The program is intergenerational on purpose: parents, kids, students, and older adults share the same meal and the same evening before splitting off into age-appropriate groups. The church describes the night as a hands-on worship experience where everyone praises, learns, laughs, and looks out for one another.
Kids and Students
Children and teenagers are at the heart of the church's weekday life. The Family Class meets Sundays from 9:55 to 10:45 a.m. in the education wing and invites kids and adults to learn together through crafts, games, songs, and roleplay. Lessons are geared toward grade-school ages but are deep enough to enrich grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Nursery care is available for the littlest ones. Rebecca, the church's family ministries coordinator, oversees this work.
Oakland Students, the youth ministry, meets at the same time on Sundays. The group is intentionally small and personal, focused on building friendships and helping teens grow in faith. Russell Williams, the youth ministries director, leads the program and keeps a youth portal with current details.
For homeschool families across Central Florida, the church hosts the Young Christian Musicians Band, a free concert band program for students in grades 2 through 12. Weekly rehearsals happen during the school year, with opportunities for performance and competition. Instruction is free; a modest annual fee covers ministry expenses, and students supply their own instruments. No church membership is required.
Oakland Presbyterian Preschool
Oakland Presbyterian Preschool is a ministry of the church and one of its most visible community touchpoints. Directed by Laurie Templin, the preschool offers a Christian, faith-based curriculum for children ages two and up, with Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) free to four-year-olds. Weekly chapel, daily recess on a park-like playground, and an emphasis on social, academic, and faith formation shape the program. Teachers are fingerprinted, background-checked, and trained and certified according to state standards. The preschool holds an annual Open House each January for the following school year and maintains a waitlist that families can join by emailing the director.
Music, Scouting, and Scattered Groups
Music has long been a calling card at Oakland Presbyterian. The church supports a contemporary praise team, a traditional choir, a children's choir, and a handbell program, and welcomes anyone who sings or plays to find a place to serve.
Other midweek rhythms fill out the calendar. The Men's Prayer Breakfast meets Tuesdays at 7 a.m. for a hearty meal and time in prayer and friendship. Presbyterian Women coordinates a wide circle of gatherings: the Mission Crafters knit, crochet, and sew on Monday mornings to make gloves, hats, scarves, baby clothes, and blankets for the hospitalized and homeless; a Mah Jongg group meets Thursday nights; a monthly Ladies' Lunch and an annual Ladies' Tea round out the year.
The church also hosts Scout Troop 145, providing space for den and troop meetings, campouts, and events, and runs Celebrate Recovery on Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. in the CLC. Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step program for adults wrestling with hurts, hang-ups, or habits including grief, abuse, codependence, divorce, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and more.
A Mission Network That Spans West Orange and Beyond
Oakland Presbyterian's mission footprint is unusually wide for a church its size. The Mother's Day Project gathers volunteers who assemble comfort-item gift bags that are handed to mothers of hospitalized children on Mother's Day. The Mission Crafters donate handmade goods to local ministries and partners such as Project Linus.
The church also partners with several community organizations. Finding the Lost Sheep, a faith-based nonprofit, provides spiritual support, street outreach, education, and restoration. The Christian Service Center, operating since the early 1970s, runs free meals, family and emergency assistance, and food programs for local schools; Oakland Presbyterian sends a volunteer team to the Ocoee location every second Friday. West Orange Habitat for Humanity was founded at Oakland Presbyterian in 1990 and continues to partner with the church on building affordable housing. The Central Florida Hope Center, with locations in Clermont and Winter Garden, provides a food pantry, homelessness solutions, and jobs and care counseling.
The OPC Scholarship
Funded by anonymous donors, the OPC Scholarship provides need-based undergraduate aid to graduates of West Orange and South Lake County schools each year. The award equals roughly $35,000 and covers 100 percent of tuition, books, and fees for in-state public universities, with allowances for private or out-of-state schools. Funding is available for up to five years of full-time study (eight years part-time). Successful applicants must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA, document active volunteer participation in school, church, and community, and demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of completing their degree.
Visiting and Getting Connected
Visitor parking is reserved near the sanctuary entrance. When the paved lot fills, the church invites drivers to use the grass. The church office is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and the building itself is in such steady use that the church rents space for weddings, funerals, meetings, and other gatherings, with a published policy and request form on hand. A livestream of the 11 a.m. service is available on YouTube for those unable to attend in person, and online giving is set up through AccessACS.