Our Church

Carson Oaks Community Church is affiliated with The Brethren Church, whose headquarters and seminary are located in Ashland, Ohio. The First Brethren Church (as we were known then), was founded in June, 1940 as a mission church of the Northern California Brethren conference and we were located in south Stockton on the corner of Fifth & Commerce. Dr. Charles Yoder, a retired Brethren missionary was instrumental in the organization of the church, and some of the pastors who followed in his steps to bring COCC through the 1940's through 1960 were Frank Geham, Virgil Ingraham, Charles Johnson, Cecil Johnson, and Alvin Grumbling.

During this period the attendance averaged between 60-80, and as of 2006, we still had 4 original members from the congregation that began at Fifth & Commerce. In the early years, this church was a busy congregation with an active Women's Missionary Society, Brethren Youth Crusaders, and the Sisterhood of Mary and Martha, in addition to the regular weekly services. It was and is, a loving, caring, church, with a reputation for having a heart for local and foreign missions.

In 1961, William Fells became the pastor here, and because of his leadership, encouragement and vision, and through a donation from the Felton sisters of Stockton, this church acquired the property where the church is presently located on Alturas Avenue. As with every church, COCC has had its share of ups and downs, but it has always maintained a core group who has stuck together and remained united. Even an arson fire in 1981 that destroyed the church could not deter this group of believers as they rebuilt and continued on in the ministry.

In 1970, this church was incorporated as the Brethren Church of Stockton (our legal name). Since we are located in the Carson Oaks area of North Stockton, and because we wanted our name to reflect our heart for the community, we changed our name in 1999 to The Carson Oaks Community Church. The pastors who helped carry this church through 1970-2003 were Alvin Schifflet, Delmer Lawson, Richard Boyd, Randy Best, and Gregg Moser.

Since December of 2003, COCC has been under the pastorate of Paul Stanley. We have experienced extraordinary growth in attendance and membership in the past few years and continue to be an active, caring, mission-minded congregation. We believe that because of the Holy Spirit's leading and direction, and a willingness to be faithful and patient, Pastor William Fell's legacy is finally being fulfilled. We started a building expansion program to accommodate the increased attendance in 2006 and we moved to the new worship center in May 2008!

Our Value Statement

We value and guard our personal relationship with God our Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge that our relationship with the Lord is possible only once one accepts and believes in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, who was crucified, buried and raised to life, and now sits at the right hand of God in heaven.

We value the Bible as the inspired word of God. We believe that it was given without error and that it is to be inerrant and infallible, as the guide for daily living in the Christian's life.

We value personal relationships within the body of Christ, especially with our brothers and sisters of like faith. This includes the regular gathering for worship, and the gathering together outside the church where we enjoy fellowship and companionship that strengthen us for the Christian life.

We value families and our children. We strive to incorporate our families and children in all aspects of worship and fellowship in order that they will understand the benefits to be found in the Christian family.

We value those who do not yet know Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of their lives. We strive diligently seek them out in order to build honest relationships with them that will allow us to share the gospel message of salvation that is found in Jesus Christ.

Our Vision

In addition to providing a house of worship for those who believe in Jesus Christ, we also believe that God has called Carson Oaks Community Church to reach out to the unchurched in Stockton and the surrounding areas so that they too may become disciples of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to help them overcome the existing social and religious barriers that prohibit them from understanding a real relationship with Jesus as Lord. We believe that God has called us to prepare His people for ministry, leadership, and the proclamation of His Word, and to send them out to the ends of the earth in order to fulfill the Great Commission. We believe that it is our mission to build God's kingdom by edifying believers, reaching the lost, and being in service to Christ and community. Moreover, we believe this vision can only be fulfilled when all of God's people; all languages, all tribes, and all nations are united under the banner of Jesus Christ, with one united focus of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world!

Our Logo

The dove represents the Holy Spirit, the Bible represents the Word of God, the cross represents the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the heart formed by the wings of the dove represents our love for God, one another and our neighbor.

In the essentials we will show unity, in the non-essentials we will show liberty and in all things we must show love.