"A birth is always exciting . . . Whether it is your baby or someone else’s, those first cries never fail to make our hearts flutter. ‘It’s a boy!’ will bring smiles to every face. ‘It’s a girl!’ will melt even the coldest soul in the place. Take away new births and tiny-baby smells and soft, warm cuddles and first staggering steps and you’ve removed from life one of its most priceless treasures. Family ties are strengthened as new life extends the roots. Everybody moves in closer and smiles approvingly - even aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces.

What power little babies possess! What frequently happens in a home occurs all too rarely with the church. Somehow the natural and beautiful drive to reproduce gets lost when churches begin to grow old, brittle, and inbred. The result is tragic: a selfish shell of activity where the talk of new life replaces the actual joy of birth. It’s a disease, sort of a Laodicean lukewarmness, that causes once-vibrant, attractive churches to turn inward, to become religious relics, overweight bodies lacking vision, passion, and mission. And the terminal verdict (which nobody wants to admit) is ultimately whispered in the hallways of history: Sterility.” Charles Swindoll.

Thankfully, God continues to birth new bodies despite religious sterility. No-one can stop Him. That’s how births are. You just can’t delay them, even if you try. Under His watchful eye a young body is formed, then springs to life. Smiles light up faces as the labour is ended, and a new church is born.

That’s how it was for Orillia Community Church. The labour started in the first week of August 1999 as thirteen people met for prayer in the home of Alan and Elaine Jarvis. Two weeks later the fledgling church hired the Rugby Community Hall, set out fifty chairs, and entrusted themselves into the arms of the Father . . . God looked down from heaven with a smile on His face and said, “It’s a church!”

It’s amazing what happens to a baby church in the arms of the Father. He brings it the nurture and care it needs.

In week four it was evident that the church was putting on “weight.” About fifty people had gathered at Rugby Community Hall for the Sunday morning service and sitting in the congregation was Pastor Lawson and his family who had been called by God to come and pledge their support and service to the congregation. Several weeks later Brenda came on board as the church administrator and Pastor Murph as the youth pastor. It was a joyful time for all.

By the beginning of October the baby was outgrowing the Rugby Hall crib. Sunday School was held on the lawns and latecomers to the service couldn’t get standing space. It was obvious larger facilities would have to be found. Thus, for the third time, the church moved. This time to The Highwayman Inn.

The growth of OCC continued. It was now a toddler - beginning to crawl. People referred to it as the church on the move. A contemporary, Bible believing, community oriented, nondenominational, evangelical church. A church composed of all kinds of people. A church marked by freedom in Christ (cf. Galatians 5:1). A church in which everyone was encouraged to be sons and daughters “of God through faith in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:26. A church composed of people from Anglican, Alliance, Baptist, Brethren, Catholic, Charismatic, Independent, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Missionary, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Christian Reformed, United Church, and other religious or secular backgrounds. And a church in which people lived by a simple dictum; In essentials unity, in non essentials liberty, and in all things love.

From the outset, the worship at OCC was joyful, the congregation friendly, the Word of God alive, the Gospel relevant, and the healing power of God obvious. Dedications took place in the hotel ballroom and baptisms in the swimming pool. Sunday school spread out into several smaller rooms and we were soon struggling again to find enough space to fit everyone in.

Ten months after the labour started there was a baby shower. The official charter service was held on Friday June 16, 2000. The constitution of OCC was formally adopted, and the congregation signed a large plaque which said, “We the members of Orillia Community Church unite for the purpose of founding a strong and prolific witness to the glory of God in our community in Orillia.”

In Matthew 16:18 God says, “. . . I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (NLT).

Numerically speaking, OCC grew rapidly in the first two years. While this was exciting, it was also challenging. We were still trying to figure things out and still trying to make sense of what God was uniquely calling us to do and be.

Because every local church is organic in nature, there’s never a point at which you can say you’ve arrived. In the first four years we had much to learn. God is faithful. He builds His church as He’s promised to do. We developed our statement of core values and set about preaching, teaching and living out the fivefold purpose of OCC. Growth brings growing pains. With the vision being more clearly articulated, some people left the church. While this caused much heart searching, it also drew us closer to one another and closer to God. Looking back, we’re thankful for the growing pains because God used them to developed perseverance and character at the core of OCC.

The fourth move took place in 2002. There was a fire at the Highwayman Inn that gutted the facilities we’d been renting. We had five days to find an alternative venue and moved to the Orillia Christian School for Sunday services and some mid-week programmes.

From four to six years of age OCC went through a time of consolidation and steady growth. Money and muscle were directed into reaching and growing people in Christ. People were saved, baptised (mostly in Lake Couchiching and sometimes at Mitchell Square), discipled, and built up in Christ. Leadership development and active involvement in local, national and international missions was pursued. City wide initiatives like the Love Orillia campaign, The Gathering, and The Prayer Walk were envisioned and promoted. In a spirit of unity and purpose, several local evangelical churches joined together in these events. Young people were trained and sent to Quebec, Mexico, and the US on short term mission trips. Pastor Al came on board in a part time capacity as the pastor of visitation and Pastor Ron as a pastoral intern.

As we’ve grown we’ve tried to make the main thing the main thing. Church is first and foremost relational. Every person is a VIP at OCC. The vision is community transformation. In creative and fresh ways we seek to pray, preach and establish programmes that will help people become more like Christ. While we love one another (cf. 1 John 3:11), we’re not introspective. We’re kingdom focussed and missional (cf. Matthew 28:19-20), reaching out to the people of our city and beyond with acts of loving kindness (cf. 1 John 3:18). Examine our DNA and you’ll discover we’re not just the church on the move, we’re also the church without walls.

In September of 2008, Pastor Michael Bells joined the staff of OCC as Lead Pastor. In 2009, OCC purchased the downtown Cinema 4 facility for use as a permanent home base for ministry. Major renovations took place and in December 2009 the church family began gathering at the new location.

Someone once said, “Find out what God is doing and join Him.” That’s what we’re endeavouring to do at OCC. Each one is trying to reach one. While we pursue excellence in our work, witness and worship, we try not to do so at each others expense. Authenticity, transparency, accountability, and integrity are deeply held values. We aim to reach people with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and teach people to obey His commands (cf. 1 John 3:24). Discipleship and nurture takes place primarily in our TLC (Tender Loving Care) groups. We also love to sing and we laugh a lot. A lady in the congregation recently said that OCC stands for Our Crazy Church! That’s one way of describing us. We’re “crazy” i.e. passionately in love with Jesus! At OCC we’re learning what it means to make it all about Him . . .