Nazarene church back to Lincoln with new minister

During lunch about 18 months ago, Nathan Oates was asked by his spiritual advisor to consider restarting an International Church of the Nazarene congregation in Lincoln.Called the Emmaus Church Community, the first preview meeting of the Nazarene church with Oates as its pastor begins at 10 a.m., Sunday in the First Street School."We think you guys would be a good fit in Lincoln," Oates said his advisor told him, partly because of his rural background.Reared in Newcastle since the age of 3, Oates raised pigs, rode horses, played baseball and said he never watched TV because of all the space to move around and experience the rural life."It was that having space to imagine things and to have adventures outside, just to be a kid outside," he said. "And that's what I get sad about when I see the development happening. I just wonder if my kids are going to have any space like that to run around in, ride a horse." Husband to Carmen and father to Sienna, 4, and Isaiah, 2, Oates and his wife also recently bought a house in Sacramento. They have since sold it and are looking to purchase a home in Lincoln.But the elements of his rural upbringing and wariness of development, countered by understanding the tensions of being a first-time homebuyer and trying to get rooted in a new town lead Oates to feel he will bridge the old and new dynamics of Lincoln in his congregation.He was a bit surprised from all the talk about old and new Lincoln, but feels he resonates with both groups. Also, the old and new conversation ultimately deals with the want for a place to belong, and that's where Oates feels the teachings of Jesus Christ begin to apply to everyone, "because everybody's looking for a place to belong, a sense of community," he said.Oates is familiar with what Lincolnites are talking about because he recently was a "very assistant coach" for the Lincoln High School football team, he laughed.That came about while he was walking around downtown about a year ago, "trying to decide if God wanted me to move here," and he ran into Clint Nelson, Oates said.Currently the head football coach at LHS, Nelson was Oates' best friend and fellow football player at Del Oro High School more than a decade ago.Both men had kind of lost touch, but they were able to rekindle their friendship through coaching together, which is something they had talked about since they were 15.Planning to be a "very assistant coach" again this fall, Oates said he had a great time and got a good look at the community through the students."I really want to be involved in the community, and this is one of the ways I can practically, actually take part," he said.A full-time pastor for about seven years, Oates was a youth pastor at the Arden Church of the Nazarene in Sacramento from 1998-2004. He then did an internship at Bayside Church in Granite Bay and visited many churches in Lincoln and Placer County."I got to meet a lot of pastors in town and am really encouraged by the level of cooperation that exists among the pastors in Lincoln, especially the new churches," he said.Prior to being a youth pastor for the Nazarene church, Oates studied at Santa Clara University in the Bay Area and then at Wheaton College near Chicago. He pointed out that Wheaton is a 150-year-old evangelical Christian school where Billy Graham attended. Oates has a bachelor's degree in Christian education and a master's in spiritual formation.He worshipped in several Christian denominations, but chose the Nazarene church because it fit best with his philosophy and theology. Oates was ordained a pastor in the Nazarene church in 2002.The Nazarene church is a Christian church that started in Los Angeles as a mission to the poor in 1895, Oates said. The name Nazarene refers to the town where Jesus Christ grew up: Nazareth.There's a passage in the Bible where people weren't taking Jesus seriously because he came from Nazareth, "a po-dunk town where nobody educated or important came from," Oates said.So the church took the name of Nazarene because it's distinctively Christian and reaching to the poor and common person, fitting with the church's thrust of applying the teachings of the Bible to everyday life.The word Nazarene is not included in the name of the church Oates and about 40 core members in Lincoln are starting partly because the church leadership allows the freedom for congregations to name churches whatever they want. The church is still within the Nazarene denomination and Oates said he submits to the church's leadership."I love the name Nazarene and the meaning behind it, but I felt that we could express our vision most clearly if we went with a fresh name," Oates said.Emmaus Church Community was chosen "because it refers to a story that talks about journey and discovery, and that's really who we want to be," Oates said.In Luke 24, three days after Jesus was crucified, two disciples are walking on the road to Emmaus."These two guys are walking on a journey together, discussing their sorrows, and this third traveler joins them on their journey," Oates said. "And this third traveler brings a perspective that is so life giving that they ask him to stay and have a meal with them (in Emmaus). And it's at that meal that they realize the third traveler is Jesus."Oates said his congregation is reaching out to people in Lincoln and Placer County who may have had negative experiences with traditional churches, by following the model of Christ in the Emmaus story, which he said is sharing life and discovering God together."Too often in the church world, you're either in or out," Oates said. "And we want to take the posture that we're all searching for God. ... It's not about who's in and who's out; it's about seeking God together."Karen McReynolds, a newly hired science professor at William Jessup University in Rocklin, plans on attending meetings of the Emmaus Church Community.A Lincoln resident since August, after moving from Belize in Central America where she directed an environmental field station and retreat center, McReynolds said she's a member of the Mennonite Brethren, not the Nazarene church. But she plans on attending Emmaus because her feelings resonate with Oates and the church."We're very impressed with him," she said. "He's sincere about deep Christian spirituality and about wanting to help and encourage others on that same path."Basing what she said more on conversations with Oates while visiting each other's homes, McReynolds is confident Emmaus will find a unique place among the churches in Lincoln.Also, as a new resident of Lincoln trying to become part of the community, she said it feels good to be in a church of similar circumstance."It's neat to be part of a new church in this new, growing community," she said.Oates invited all interested, even those from non-Christian backgrounds wanting to explore spirituality, to attend his congregation at 10 a.m. Sunday at the First Street School, 1400 First St. Another preview service is at 10 a.m. Feb. 20. A service March 20 begins the congregation's weekly meetings.Communion will be celebrated every week, and Oates plans on using art and video elements to resonate with the younger generation."And the whole point, ultimately, is to engage culture with a message of love and redemption," he said. "And I really hope that Emmaus church will be a church that serves this city. I don't want to keep us inside of the church. We'll be a failure if we don't make an impact on this city."Visit www.emmauscommunity.org for more information.