In October of 2019 you may remember that we were the recipients of the very first One Hundred Shares Birmingham grant! The incredible ladies of OHSB awarded us with $75,000.

Well, we’re long over due, but here’s an update on how God enabled us to use this grant and other gifts!

In January of this year we were also blessed by the Church at Brook Hills donating $50,000 through their Roots and Reach fund!

These incredible gifts allowed us to purchase the facilities (which we call the Treehouse) that we have been renting for the last few years. Owning the Treehouse not only helps us save from paying rent each month, but it ensures our proximity to Marks Village for years to come!

Thanks to the generosity of wonderful individuals, we were also able to do some renovations which were long over due! If you’ve hung out at the Treehouse during a summer thunderstorm you know we’ve had some major flooding issues, but not anymore! We were able to replace our roof, ceiling tiles and carpet to make things clean and safe for the children. We also repaved the basketball court and play area (goodbye twisted ankles and cracks ruining the perfect dribble), as well as put in a drain system and front porch to eliminate the danger of flash floods.

Before:

After!

Before:

After!

Before:

After!

(We’re still working on the playground area! More to come!)

Proximity is a priority for us at Oak Tree. When we say community based ministry, we mean it! The location of our building eliminates the barriers of transportation and feeling uncomfortable going somewhere new, anyone in our community can walk right up to our door and feel right at home.

As we come to the closing of this long year and celebrate Christmas, we’re reminded of the beauty of the incarnation. Christ stepped right into our broken world, into pain, danger and heartbreak. He came close and offered hope and healing to each person He encountered. Our heart is for the Treehouse to offer this same respite. We pray each person that enters here will find hope and rest from the brokenness around us and healing from the brokenness within us. We pray that we would grow in the love of Christ as we minister to one another. Being able to purchase the Treehouse and steward this gift well has been an answer to prayer. Our deepest thanks to everyone who has made this possible!