Oasis of Hope Baptist Church sits on the east side of Indianapolis at 1701 East 25th Street, in a stretch of the city with a long history of Black churches and neighborhood institutions. The congregation's mission statement is direct: "Bringing individuals, families, and communities into a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ through praise centered worship and Bible-based preaching and teaching." The vision that members share is to be a church "obedient to the Great Commission and striving to advance God's Kingdom by creating a community of believers who are committed to each other and the cause of Christ." The name "Oasis" is intentional. Under Senior Pastor Dr. Myron C. Duff, Jr. the church has grown into a ministry that combines Sunday worship, weekday Bible study, an extensive list of small groups and special programs, an active missions footprint, and a robust scholarship effort for young people in the 46218 ZIP code.
Sunday Mornings: School at Nine, Worship at Ten-Fifteen
The weekly rhythm of Oasis of Hope begins on Sunday morning. Sunday School meets at 9:00 a.m., and Bible-centered teaching continues for an hour before the morning transitions into corporate worship at 10:15 a.m. Both take place at the church on East 25th Street.
Sunday School at Oasis of Hope is treated as more than a children's program. The congregation's own description explains that "Sunday school nourishes spiritual growth. It is a time when the church dives deeply into the Bible to study who God is and how He wants us to live. Every class offers an opportunity for adults and children to discuss spiritual truths and how to apply God's Word to life's challenges." For adults, the Christian Education Ministry runs a slate of elective classes each winter and spring, including verse-by-verse studies and topical series on marriage and money. The Traditional Sunday School class works through "The Cross" adult curriculum and follows the International Sunday School Lectionary. Other electives have included a study of the book of Judges in Fellowship Hall, a marriage preparation series called "Before and After You Say I Do," and a financial discipleship study titled "In Control: Your Financial Future." Betty Owens serves as Director of Christian Education and oversees this work alongside the pastor.
At 10:15 a.m. the sanctuary fills for worship, which is livestreamed each week on the church's YouTube channel so that members and friends who cannot be in the building can still take part. The order of service is Bible based, with preaching and teaching rooted in the Scripture, and a strong music ministry led by Phyllis Walker-Riding, the church's Director of Music. For those who can only join from a distance, services are also reachable by phone through a dial-in number and conference code.
Wednesday: In-Person at Noon, Online at Seven
Bible study anchors the middle of the week. Oasis of Hope meets for an in-person Bible study every Wednesday at 12:00 p.m., and the same teaching is offered a second time each Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. in a virtual format. The invitation is simple: "Join us for weekly Bible Study every Wednesday at 12 Noon. There will be a great word for all." The Wednesday rhythm has become a place where working members, retirees, and students can gather around the text in the middle of a busy day and revisit the lesson in the evening.
What Oasis of Hope Believes
The church's published statement of faith is unusually thorough, and it serves as the doctrinal backbone of everything the church teaches and practices. The opening line of the statement is also the church's prayer: "Exalt and worship our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." Members affirm, first, belief in the Triune Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, "co-eternal, co-existing, and co-equal in glory, and majesty" and one in substance, authority, and power. The statement takes care to distinguish this view from modalism, emphasizing three distinct persons in one.
Second, the church confesses that Jesus Christ is the true Son of the living God, fully God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and therefore the sinless, sacrificial Lamb "qualified to be the perfect and sinless sacrificial Lamb for all of mankind." Salvation comes "only by way of Jesus Christ becoming the 'atonement' for sin for all of mankind on the cross," and the church holds firmly to the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ, His present role as head of the Church, and His return. Third, the Holy Spirit is "not third in importance, but third only in His willing submission to the Father and the Son." The Spirit regenerates and indwells every believer, empowers godly living, and convicts the world of sin and judgment.
Fourth, the Bible is "the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God... the sole guide of faith and conduct," superior to conscience and reason though not contrary to reason. Fifth, humanity was created good in the image of God but fell into sin, leaving the race bankrupt apart from grace, and salvation is "by grace, through faith," evidenced inwardly by the witness of the Spirit and outwardly by the fruit of the Spirit. "Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ and not by human works; however works will demonstrate authentic saving faith." Sixth, the Church is the living body of Christ, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of the Great Commission, and every believer is an integral part of it.
On eschatology the church holds a "pre-millennial and pre-tribulation view of the rapture," believing that Christ will return to rapture the Church before the thousand-year reign described in Revelation 20. On the gifts of the Spirit, the church teaches that tongues should be practiced only according to 1 Corinthians 14, that "if there is no interpreter, they should remain silent," and that only one person should speak at a time.
The statement of faith also addresses what the congregation calls "Secondary and Hot Topic Issues." Members believe that abortion is wrong, that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, that homosexuality is "a sin and an abomination before the Lord" while also affirming that "God still loves and forgives the repentant person." Euthanasia is treated as inconsistent with the sovereignty of God and the stewardship of the body. The church teaches that a Christian cannot be demon possessed, since the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, though believers can be demon influenced and are called to resist. The statement affirms a complementarian view of ministry: a woman is not to serve as a pastor of a church, and women with the gifts of preaching and teaching are to exercise those gifts "publicly only to women and children." On marriage and divorce, members hold to Malachi 2:16 ("God hates divorce") while allowing for grace in cases of unrepentant adultery or abandonment. Church discipline follows the Matthew 18 pattern of private conversation, then small group, then the wider body, with the goal of repentance and restoration. Finally, the church believes that God still heals and performs miracles, though it teaches that the apostolic "sign gifts" of the first century are no longer normative in the same way.
Sacraments: Baptism and the Table
Oasis of Hope practices two ordinances. Baptism is by immersion, "how Jesus Christ was baptized," and the church teaches that baptism is commanded in Scripture for all who have repented and believed, even though it is "not essential for salvation." Communion is observed regularly as a "consistent reminder of Jesus Christ's sacrificial and sufficient work on the cross," and the church teaches that the bread and cup are symbolic of the body and blood of Christ, with believers called to examine themselves before partaking.
A Network of Ministries
The leadership page of Oasis of Hope reads like a chart of the church's life. The Senior Pastor, Dr. Myron C. Duff, Jr., is supported by a part-time staff that includes Jazz Munn, Director of Audio-Visual Ministry; Betty Owens, Director of Christian Education; and Phyllis Walker-Riding, Director of Music.
Around the staff, ministry leaders carry a long list of responsibilities. Robert E. Moses leads the Deacons Ministry, Valerie Cook heads the Dorcas Ministry, Erskine Dodson directs Global Missions, Harry Campbell leads the Marriage Ministry, Curtis Stewart heads the Men's Ministry, Lisa Wilson leads the Nurse's Ministry, Earl McCoy directs Senior Care, Linda Hendrickson leads the Ushers Ministry, Angela Stowers directs the Women's Ministry, and Willie Adams leads the Oasis Mission for Orphans, Disabled, and Unaccompanied Children (MODUC). Gina Lewis-Alexander is Executive Director of the Oasis Christian Community Development Corporation (OCCDC).
These ministries produce a deep bench of programs. The Marriage Ministry runs a "Committed for Life" retreat each year for couples and uses a series of classes including "Before and After You Say I Do." The Women's Ministry teams up with Christian Education for a "Women's Only" study series each year, drawing women into study topics such as the fruit of the Spirit. A Healing Trauma small group, a biblically based program sponsored by World Impact, is led by Diane Ivey and Jackie Morgan, and meets virtually on Monday evenings for six weeks, with a small group of no more than twelve and a $25 cost for the book. The Men's Ministry, Senior Care Ministry, Ushers, Deacons, and Dorcas each have regular rhythms of their own. The Oasis Dollars for Scholars program, administered by the church, awards scholarships to high school graduates in the 46218 ZIP code and to members of the congregation who pursue a trade or college degree at an accredited institution.
Missions: Indianapolis, the United States, and the World
Missions are a defining mark of Oasis of Hope. The church's Global Missions work is rooted in 2 Timothy 2:2: "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." The Global Missions work, led by Erskine Dodson and his wife Phyllis, has long paired an "Urban Multiethnic" burden in the United States with work in Liberia, where the Oasis Mission for Orphans, Disabled, and Unaccompanied Children (MODUC) ministers to widows and orphans in their own cultural context. The Dodsons describe the principle: "When we say Indigenous, we are Saying that we work within the Culture, not trying to Change it, but to Teach Within it."
Closer to home, the Oasis Christian Community Development Corporation (OCCDC) exists to "provide comprehensive community development, which empowers people to live holistic and purposeful lives supporting themselves family and community." Each Thanksgiving, the church's Thanksgiving Blessing has served hundreds of local families, with volunteers from the church's youngest members to its oldest working side by side. The New Members Fellowship gathers new believers and transfers for an evening of food, prayer, and conversation, and new members receive a folder of ministry brochures and a small gift bag. Oasis also partners with the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center on the "Legacy Allies" intergenerational mentorship program, which connects leaders ages 18 to 40 with mentors 40 and older in the Northwest Landings, Martindale-Brightwood, and Norwood neighborhoods.
Black History as a Living Ministry
The Oasis Black History Committee is a year-round presence in the life of the church, producing a weekly "Black History Moment" each February and hosting an annual speaker event. Past presentations have covered figures from local Indianapolis history, including the cyclist Marshall "Major" Taylor, who was born in Indianapolis in 1878 and became the first Black world cycling champion, and Congressman John Lewis, who grew up hearing the radio broadcasts of Martin Luther King Jr. and led the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. The committee's presentations emphasize the role of Christian faith in Black history, the contributions of figures like Carter G. Woodson, the founder of Black History Week, and the ongoing work of organizations such as the NAACP and the National Urban League.
Becoming a Member of Oasis of Hope
Membership at Oasis of Hope is open to anyone who wishes to join. The church recognizes several ways of coming in: as a new believer, by letter from a previous church, by Christian experience, by rededication, through watch care, or through virtual membership for those who cannot attend in person. To join, members may walk forward during the invitation at the end of the Sunday morning sermon or fill out the New Member Enrollment Form on the church's membership page.
Virtual membership is a distinctive part of Oasis of Hope's life. It is designed for those with non-traditional work hours, members who are physically unable to attend, people in life transitions, college students living on campus, frequent travelers, and anyone who has relocated and not yet found a local church. Virtual members receive pastoral care under Dr. Duff, access to weekly worship and Bible study, and connection with other virtual members through the church's online channels.
Members are expected to gather with the church, to be governed by the Bible, to grow through the teaching ministries, to give financially, and to share their faith. The acronym the church uses for these commitments is "Gather, Govern, Grow, Give, Go."
Practical Notes for Visitors
The church building is at 1701 East 25th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46218. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the main phone number is (317) 925-6970. Email is info@get2oasis.net. Sunday School begins at 9:00 a.m. and worship at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday Bible study is at 12:00 p.m. in person and 7:00 p.m. online. Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, and a phone-in option is available for those who prefer audio only. Giving is available online through the church's Realm giving portal.
Oasis of Hope is a member congregation of the American Baptist Churches of Greater Indianapolis. The church's mission statement continues to guide every part of its life: bringing individuals, families, and communities into a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ through praise-centered worship and Bible-based preaching and teaching.