OEC
Waldaa Oromoo Warra Wangeelaa Columbus Ohio
Oromo Evangelical Church In Columbus Ohio
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Pastor Kansa Deresa
Pastor Teshome Deingede
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Meet Our Pastors
OUR MISSION
To lead all people into a life-changing, ever-growing relationship with Christ, building and equipping believers to become fully devoted followers of Christ. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
OUR VISION
Our vision is to become a Biblically rooted congregation moved by the Great Commission, which equips and enables men and women to communicate Christ through significant relationships with God and with one another believers.
WHAT WE DO
OUR COMMUNITY
The Church provides Regular Sunday worship, weekly Bible study, prayer time every Saturday morning and evening, Sunday school for children, annual spiritual conferences, congregation fellowship every Sunday after service, confirmation class, Baptizing, pre-marriage counseling, marriage ceremony, and entertain social events.
After several years of worshiping in rental places, OEC now owns a formal Church that is fully furnished and equipped to provide different community services to members and local community. Planed services include: daycare, after school, English as a second language and different social services as needed.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
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The Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
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Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.
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Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation.
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The proclamation of God’s message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired by the Holy Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God’s revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them the Holy Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.
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The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God are the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith and life, "according to which all doctrines should and must be judged
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The Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the faith of the Church.
OUR HISTORY
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Timeline History:
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In early 2011, majority congregations of OEC departed from Oromo Lutheran Church affiliated with Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) due to the disagreement on the Social Statements of Human sexuality. In the same year, the congregation voted to join the Northern American Lutheran Church (NALC).
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With no place to worship around mid-2011, the congregation was forced to worship at one of the Columbus Cities Park and Recreation event facility. After two weeks, the congregation was prohibited from worshipping due to the rules and regulation of the city park.
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In October 2011, OEC members started worshiping at “Crossroad Wedding and Event Center” for three months during which the Oromo Evangelical Church in Columbus Ohio was born and registered with the state of Ohio.
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In early 2012, OEC members started worshipping at Nazarene Church in Whitehall for about six months. In the same year, OEC congregation rented office building for a worship service on South Hamilton Street in Columbus, Ohio.
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In early 2018, with the help of NALC, OEC bought a permanent and fully furnished Church in Baltimore Ohio, east side of Columbus.
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In summary: OECs biggest challenge was a place of worship. The congregation faced and overcome several ups and downs. As of February 2018, OEC is growing at 20% per year, has 260 members (of which 90 members are children).
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