Mountain View Church has been part of the Oakdale community for years now, but just recently found their church’s home on the corner of D Street and Eighth Avenue, right next to Gilbert Park. Now as the world is starting to open back up, they’ve decided to host an open house celebration on Sunday, Aug. 29 to mark the grand opening.

“Right now, we’re going to grill a meal and invite our neighbors,” Clifton Curry, associate pastor, detailed. “We’ll have food after church that day, we’ll have a water slide bounce house for our kids and the neighborhood kids … cornhole and volleyball and stuff like that as well. Almost like a block party after church.”

They are also happy to reach out to anyone in the community that doesn’t have a church home.

“It gives us a home, it gives us an anchor. It lets us gather and bring other people in,” lead pastor Ron Speer explained of the building.

Worship pastor Mitch Fewell reported that a lot of the people in the neighborhood had seen the changes made; lights up, grass cut, and their sign up.

“It gives them a chance to find out not just what our names are, but who we are.”

Speer reinforced that they just want to meet the community where they’re at, whether they’re approaching the church with open arms or with more apprehension.

He said: “We want to befriend them and answer questions and encourage them ... it’s not just that they come to our church; we want to be good neighbors and good friends if they have any areas of concern.”

Fewell also chimed in and said that many people who came to Mountain View Church have felt that this church is home and feels like family. No matter the members’ age, the sense of family and small church scene has been appreciated.

Mountain View Church started out mainly being hosted at Fair Oaks Elementary School in Oakdale. Just before the pandemic, they realized they needed their own building and negotiated on a price for the building back in December of 2019. Once the pandemic started, before they could move the congregation into the building, they went online and then started to meet outside at Gilbert Park right next to their new building.

Through meeting at the park, they started to meet more neighbors. Just as the weather became inclement, the new building was officially open for the church. Now, after a year and a half process, Mountain View is excited to open its doors for a neighborhood celebration.

Curry expanded on the main goal of the event: “Whether they come to church or not, it’s just to have a good connection with our neighbors.”

The grand opening on Aug. 29 is just after their eight-year anniversary as a church. Service starts at 10 a.m. and the neighborhood event will be held after service, close to noon at 311 N. Eighth Ave., Oakdale.

Find out more about Mountain View Church at http://mvcoakdale.com/home.