The Church

Our Leadership



Pastor Bryon Akerman and Family

On a long drive back to Oklahoma, Pastor Bryon and Abby Akerman felt the call to plant a church on the southwest side of Oklahoma City. This began a year long journey of praying, fasting and searching God’s will. There was one goal: Simply BE the church, while giving God every opportunity to show off.

The Church started with 5 people on a Saturday night in a borrowed space from a pastor friend. From the start, the vision was to get rid of the things that didn’t matter and bring more focus towards communion with Jesus. The goal was to continue the foundational practices of the early church, while embracing the modern styles of today. This approach to church planting led to slower growth in numbers, but deeper growth in spirit.

Fast forward to today, God is bringing people from all over the city on a weekly basis to join in our mission of simply becoming devoted followers of Jesus! Come and experience the presence of God for yourself and simply be the church.

Pastor Bryon and Abby have three kids; Brandon, Jaida and Makiah.

OUR BELIEFS
GOD: We believe God is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. When it comes to our Creator, the Bible is the only trustworthy source for understanding Him. Scripture teaches that God created everything we can see -- and even everything we can't see -- out of nothing. Although it might be difficult for the human mind to comprehend, the Bible teaches that He is one yet has existed since the beginning of time as three distinct and equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1; 26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
JESUS: Jesus Christ is God's Son and an equal of the Father, existing from the beginning of time. In the first century A.D. Jesus lived his earthly life, being both completely God and completely human, simultaneously. And after living a perfect, sinless life, Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for every human, ever. After three days in the grave, he defeated sin and death by rising from the grave. He then ascended to Heaven and will return to earth one day to reign as King. (Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14; Titus 2:13)
HOLY SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit is a full and equal part of the Trinity. He works in the world to make all people understand their need for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives inside every follower of Jesus from the moment they decide to follow Him. The Spirit is our power source for life, ministry and spiritual growth. To experience that power, we must continually surrender to the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; 5:1; Galatians 5:25
MAN: Man is the centerpiece of God's creation, being the sole creation God made in His own spiritual image, with the moral ability to choose right from wrong. Every person, although endowed with the image of God, inherited a disobedient heart from Adam, the very first man. This attitude of disobedience (called sin in the Bible), unless rectified through Christ, forever keeps man from forming a relationship with his Creator. This attitude also keeps us from being the kind of person God created us to be. (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23)
SALVATION: Salvation is a gift from God. Our disobedient nature has eternally separated us from our Creator. No matter how hard we try, we can never earn our way back into God's presence. Our only hope is to trust Jesus as God's provision for our disobedience. Whenever you make that decision, you step into the eternal and abundant life Jesus promises for all believers. (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23)
ETERNITY: What you decide about Jesus Christ in this life will determine where you will spend eternity. God made you to exist forever. Heaven is a perfect place, and since none of us is perfect we were all headed for an eternity of separation from God. That's why God sent Jesus: to pay the price for our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him. If you accept Him, you'll spend it eternally connected with Him in Heaven. (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; 21:27; Matthew 25:41; Isaiah 2:4; Jude 14; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18)
THE BIBLE: The Holy Spirit inspired human authors to write the books of the Bible. Every word of scripture is chosen by God himself. The Bible is God's love letter to all of humanity and is the final authority in every issue it communicates. It is complete truth, and we can trust it for all matters in this life and eternity. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:16; Proverbs 30:5; Hebrews 1:1-2; John 5:39)
OUR MANIFESTO
WE ARE A COMMUNITY OF LIARS, DREAMERS, AND MISFITS:
 We will advocate for broken and marginalized people everywhere, both inside and outside of the church. We will be a house of mercy
WE ARE A PEOPLE OF THE FUTURE:
 We act in fearless conviction that the rules have changed because of the cross. We will not be reactionary to anything or anyone and because of the resurrection, will initiate a reality based upon Eternity.
WE ARE NOT A PERFECT PEOPLE, BUT WE WILL NOT USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE:
 We are an ongoing process of growth, change, and development. We will own up to where we are, but we wont stay here.
WE WILL BUILD ALTARS IN THE WORLD:
 We will collect and tell Kingdom stories. we will remember and honor the times God marks our lives.
WE WILL EMBRACE THE EUCHARIST:
 We celebrate the communion as the full expression of God’s use of flesh to accomplish His purpose. We believe life in the spirit has to be lived out in the body. Our own bodies are now broken with His for the sake of the world.
WE ARE YOUR CHURCH, YOUR PARENTS CHURCH, YOUR GRANDPARENTS CHURCH, AND YOUR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS CHURCH:
 We embrace the church’s past, present, and future. We seek intergenerational and cultural diversity. We will harness the classic spiritual practices and truths that transcend time and place. We are a local representation of a timeless ministry.
WE WILL REACH OUT WITHOUT DUMBING DOWN:
 We will challenge you to think hard about God, church, and the culture. We will not treat you like a consumer, but as a co-conspirator in the re-imaging of the world.
WE WILL ENGAGE BOTH INTELLECT AND EMOTION:
 We will incite worship that incorporates both knowledge and passion, believing that the head and the heart are to be integrated and not divorced.
WE ARE NOT LOOKING TO ESCAPE THE WORLD, BUT TO ENGAGE IT:
 We believe the Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it. We anticipate His Kingdom coming and His will being done on Earth as it is in Heaven. We will not be done engaging the world until the final restoration of creation.
Sow your Seed Today at The Church Give TODAY!