For over a century, The Oasis Church International has been a beacon of hope, offering Christ-centered, Bible-based guidance and a unique Trauma Informed Ministry. It's where healing begins and faith grows, welcoming all to join our journey of spiritual enrichment.
The roots of Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church go back to 1921, when a church organized as Green Chapel on Third Street in Kansas City, Kansas, where Rev. L. C. Green was the pastor. The church moved to the Missouri side to 604 Charlotte Street. After a few years, the names of a number of ministries were included in the pastorate of the newly organized church.
1938 marked the beginning of Zion Grove – The church was located at 1623 E. 14th Street under the leadership of Pastor F. C. Connery. In 1946, a larger building was acquired at 14th and Woodland Avenue. Services were held there for six years. A groundbreaking was held at the new location, 1921 E. 12th Street in March 1952. While the new facility was under construction, services were held at the UBF Hall, which was owned by one of the first deacons of the church, Robert McGee. Under the Pastor Connery, the church grew from eight members to more than 600 during his tenure as pastor. Pastor Connery’s tenure 1938-1964, 26 years.
On May 24, 1964, Rev. A. L. Johnson, Sr. began his pastor-ate of Zion Grove. The years between 1964 and 1977 were record breaking in terms of growth, which necessitated the move to an even larger facility. On January 15, 1977, Rev. Johnson led the congregation in a massive parade to its present location at 2801 Swope Parkway. Rev. Johnson enjoyed an impressive career and achieved much in both the religious and civic community. He ended his pastoral leadership of Zion Grove through retirement on January 12, 1997 and continued to serve as Pastor Emeritus until he was called home to be with the Lord. Pastor Johnson’s tenure 1964-1997, 33 years
In August 1997, Rev. Frank Selkirk III was elected as pastor and served until April, 1999. 2 years
Zion Grove was without a Pastor until June 26, 2000, when God gave us Michael E. Brooks as the new Senior Pastor of Zion Grove. He has focused on studying God’s Word and growing the Body of Christ as primary concerns. During his tenure Pastor Brooks has created numerous ministries and reinstated others. HOPE Academy, a charter school dedicated to educating young men/women between 16-22 years old that had dropped out of traditional schools was formed. On October 29, 2017 Pastor Brooks made history by ordaining three women as Pastors of Zion Grove. This was the first ordination of women as Pastors at Zion Grove. In January 2018 Zion Grove joined with New Vision World-wide Fellowship of Churches International under the leadership of Apostle Larry B. Aikens. At the end of 2018 the church decided the best course of action would be to sell the current facility and look for another one. The transition began in March 2019 when the church temporarily was housed at The Mohart Center, Serenity Chapel, and HyVee Arena.
While at HyVee Arena in 2020, the church voted to change the name of the church to The Oasis Church International. In March of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic force all churches to close their doors and we worshipped virtually the remainder of 2020. In July of 2020 in the midst of a pandemic we purchased our new facility located at 11500 East 53rd St, Raytown, Mo. Our Vision and Mission has changed to be Kingdom focused and our ministry will be an Oasis where hurting people can come to be healed. We moved into the new facility in September of 2022. The rebuild has been tremendous and God has a special anointing on the ministry.
