Odessa Christian Faith Center on Andrews Highway in Odessa, Texas, is known for its motto, “Building Great Lives”, and its commitment to bringing what the church calls the “uncompromised Word of God” to West Texas and the Permian Basin. Founded by Pastor Don Caywood in 1981, the church combines Sunday and Wednesday worship with age-specific learning, residential life groups, youth and young-adult ministries, and service that reaches beyond its building.
1981: A Ministry Built Around the Word
Pastor Don Caywood entered pastoral ministry after many successful years in the business community. His sense of calling to West Texas and the Permian Basin led to the founding of Odessa Christian Faith Center in 1981. He has since spoken at churches and seminars throughout the United States and abroad. His ministry is marked by a dedication to biblical teaching, integrity, and the Word of God. Pastor Don's teachings are also available through his audio library, and the Faith Builders podcast carries his teaching beyond the church.
Pastor Don and his wife, Mary, focus on discipling the congregation and reaching people who have not come to faith in the Permian Basin with the good news of Jesus. They are devoted to raising up men and women as stronger leaders in their homes, relationships, and careers. Their emphasis helps explain why the church's work reaches from the sanctuary into homes, classrooms, a separate youth center, and community outreach.
What It Means to Build a Great Life
The church frames its mission around knowing God, living by the truth of God's Word, and understanding purpose and destiny. More specifically, OCFC seeks to teach God's people who they are in Christ, what they have in Christ, and what they can do through Christ.
Its priorities are:
- Make God's Word first place.
- Worship.
- Pray.
- Win people to Christ Jesus.
- Unconditionally love all people.
- Support missions.
- Honor God's ministry gifts to his church.
These priorities connect the teaching ministry to worship, prayer, evangelism, missions, love for people, and the use of spiritual gifts within the church.
Three Sunday Gatherings and a Midweek Service
Odessa Christian Faith Center holds three Sunday worship gatherings at 9:00 a.m., 10:45 a.m., and 12:30 p.m., plus a Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m. The Sunday gatherings are livestreamed. Services last around 75 minutes. A Spanish Translation Ministry helps bridge the language gap for people who may not understand English.
Greeters welcome people as they enter and answer questions or provide directions to the nursery and children's facilities. Ushers help visitors find seats in the sanctuary. Before or after a service, visitors can browse the bookstore or spend time in the Commons, where coffee and pastries are available. The church encourages people to wear whatever feels most comfortable and enables them to worship freely.
The Parking Lot Ministry assists with arrivals and departures and supports safety around the campus. The main church is at 9000 Andrews Hwy in Odessa. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday.
Children's Classes at Every Stage
Children's classes are offered on Sundays and Wednesdays. At the Children's Check-in Center, parents use a computer to print a name tag and a matching claim tag for each child. A teacher brings the child back at the end of class when the claim tag is presented. The classes are divided by age:
- Nursery for newborns through 11 months.
- Toddler class for children 1 through 2 years old.
- Preschool class for children 3 through 6 years old, with a separate kindergarten class.
- Kid's Faith Church for grades 1 through 5.
The Kid's Faith Church classroom uses praise and worship, Bible lessons, small groups, and object lessons to teach children in an engaging way. By the time a child reaches sixth grade, the ministry aims for four outcomes: knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, understanding a relationship with God, understanding that God has a plan and purpose for life, and being willing participants in service and ministry.
Children's volunteers teach at each age level. The ministry seeks to provide a safe, peaceful environment in which children are taught the love of God in a way suited to their development.
Oneighty: A Place Built for Odessa Teens
Oneighty is OCFC's youth ministry, with its own 18,000-square-foot building and 600-seat auditorium at 8828 Andrews Hwy. The space is designed for students in grades 6 through 12. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and close at 9:30 p.m. each Wednesday for worship, teaching, and time with friends.
The name Oneighty represents a change of direction, a change of attitude, and the choice to turn away from destructive forces. The ministry's aim is to teach young people to be disciples of Jesus Christ and to help them develop a passionate, lasting faith. Through teaching and relationships, Oneighty wants students to have a personal relationship with Jesus, understand that God has a significant plan for their lives, and live out that plan each day.
Classes for Adults, Young Adults, and L.I.F.E. Groups
Adult classes help congregants recognize the gifts they carry and consider how those gifts can affect the people around them. Another class teaches what the Bible says about water baptism as a life-changing spiritual experience and what it means for identity in Jesus.
Young Adult outreach welcomes people ages 18 through 30 to learn, have fun, and grow together. Its theme, drawn from Romans 12:11 through 12, is to stay fueled and aflame in service.
L.I.F.E. groups meet once a month in local residences to study and discuss God's Word. They give people opportunities to ask questions and explore topics in a more personal setting than traditional services. The church considers these groups essential to building faith together and welcomes new and established believers, men and women, and people at different life stages.
Serving Through Worship Arts and Hospitality
OCFC organizes much of its service around specific gifts, including technology, creativity, hospitality, worship arts, children, care of the campus, and prayer. The production team uses lights, screens, and sound to enhance praise, worship, and the teaching and preaching of God's Word.
- The storytelling team communicates biblical truths through stories told with loving relevance and an emphasis on changed lives.
- The music ministry welcomes singers, instrumentalists, and people who work with computer-music software.
- The dance team uses ballet, Folklorico, hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, and other dance styles during weekly services, special events, and outreach ministries.
- The audio, video, and lighting team guides and trains the next generation of technicians.
- Technical support meets once a month for equipment training and maintenance so set changes and equipment operation remain smooth during services.
- The Spanish Translation Ministry helps the uncompromising teaching reach Hispanic families and communities across Odessa, the Permian Basin, and surrounding cities.
The welcome ministries seek to make every person who enters the church feel welcome and safe. Their roles are varied but closely connected to the experience of attending a service:
- Connect Centers provide information for first-time visitors, event and class registration, and opportunities for people seeking ministry placements.
- Greeters offer a warm welcome, answer questions, and direct visitors to the right areas of the church.
- The Parking Lot Ministry assists with greetings and safety as people arrive and depart.
- Ushers help with seating, distribute tithe envelopes, assist with communion, and serve prayer lines.
- The Commons team provides coffee, helps visitors make connections, and offers books that support their faith.
- Cleaning and event hospitality teams care for the building and assist with preparations for special events and guest ministers.
- Prayer Partners intercede for the congregation while also sharing, teaching, and leading people into greater knowledge of God's Word.
Storehouse, RocRageous, and Outreach Beyond the Building
The Storehouse food ministry serves anyone who needs food. People seeking assistance can go to the Connect Centers before or after the Sunday or Wednesday services. Distribution teams also provide food items and other necessities to people in need.
RocRageous is a children's outreach ministry that works with underprivileged children in HUD housing. Its teams use praise and worship, object lessons, and games to minister God's Word. They also provide practical support such as coats, school supplies, holiday meals, and gifts. Another team ministers to children across Odessa through worship, teaching, and games.
Other outreach teams share teaching, worship, and prayer with local residents. Volunteers also enter prisons to minister and share the good news of the gospel. The television ministry carries the Word of God to people beyond the four walls of the church, while the giving ministry supports missions both locally and around the world.
Giving That Supports the Church and the City
Giving is described as a biblical principle that produces a rich harvest when it is lived. Online giving can direct gifts to Tithes and Offerings, ROC Rageous Offerings, the Legacy Project Fund, the Building Fund, Television, Storehouse, the Missions Fund, and Oneighty Youth.
Supporting missions is one of the church's seven strategies for accomplishing its vision. Giving helps maintain facilities so the Word of God can be shared with people who come through the church's doors, while also funding Storehouse food assistance, RocRageous outreach, television ministry, and mission work in the community and around the world.
At the center of Odessa Christian Faith Center is a shared conviction that spiritual growth should carry into homes, relationships, careers, and service. The Sunday and Wednesday rhythm on Andrews Highway, Oneighty's work with Odessa teens, residential L.I.F.E. groups, children's classes, and Storehouse outreach all reflect the church's motto: Building Great Lives.