Early Years: 1963-2000
(Downtown Location)
According to some records, the church began informally in the late 50s by Mel and Opal Bowering. The church more officially began with 16 members in 1963 as “Parksville Pentecostal Assembly.” Early on they met in various places for their gatherings, including the Parksville Community Hall.
They hired their first pastor in 1964 and the next year built and soon started meeting in their downtown location at 187 Alberni Highway (the site of the current Salvation Army Church). The building was formally finished and dedicated on May 31, 1969.
During the time at the downtown location, from the 1960s to 2000, the church had eight different pastors and hovered around 50 people.
Modern Years: 2001-Present
(Current Location)
In July 2000, under the leadership of Pastors Jim & Elaine Caruso (1999-2007), the church purchased the 4.6 acre “Bird World” property it is currently located on and sold the small downtown church property to the Salvation Army. At the same time, they changed the official name to Oceanside Community Church.
The new building opened and was formally dedicated on January 21, 2001. For the first four years the congregation met in what is now the Multipurpose Room as they renovated the rest of the building. They officially moved into the space that is a part of our current sanctuary on February 20, 2005.
In the first 15 years in the new building, the church’s average attendance fluctuated between a high of 80+ people in 2005 to a low of 48 people in 2014.
From 2010 to 2015 the church could no longer afford a full-time pastor. During this time, retired and interim pastor Dave Munk worked 10 hours a week to courageously keep the church going.
All along the church held on to promises from God that the church would be full, both of people and the power of the Holy Spirit, and would play a significant role in the community.
In 2015 the church took a huge step of faith and hired full-time pastors once again. Joseph and Hannah Dutko began as lead pastors on April 16, 2015. Within five years the church quadrupled in average attendance, averaging close to 200 people in the months preceding the 2020 COVID shutdown.
Oceanside is now a multi-staff, multi-service church that over 500 people call home, with over 250 people regularly gathering on Sunday and with an ever increasing reach in our community.
The future and unwritten history of Oceanside is up to you! Thanks for joining us on this journey and embracing the mission of God in our community!
