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About Us

Oakland International Fellowship (OIF) is the English speaking international congregation of the Pittsburgh Chinese Church Oakland (PCCO). Like many North American Chinese churches, our church is made up of two congregations: one prefers worship primarily in Chinese; the other, English. But unlike many North American Chinese churches, the members of our English speaking congregation are not predominantly 2nd-gen Chinese Americans. The OIF congregation is made up of a mixture of internationals and multiethnic Americans. Much of this has to do with the founding vision of the OIF congregation. Because PCCO is situated between the two major universities in Pittsburgh, UPitt and CMU, the founding vision of OIF is to create a church home for the many international students on campus.
Since the founding of the international congregation in 2004, our vision, together with that of the Chinese congregation, has been refined to a simple statement: Deeper Faith, Stronger Community, Greater Impact. With this simple statement, we try to communicate the relationship between…
gospel and Personal Change. Accepting the Gospel through faith is only the beginning of the Christian journey. Its reality continues to urge and enable the Christian to change from the inside out.
Gospel and Relationships. As each Christian is captured by the reality of the Gospel, the relationships (community) around him are also progressively being renewed through him.
Gospel and Mission. The natural result of a community consisting of changed individuals is the continuous spiritual and physical impact on its surrounding environment. Thus, a church fails when it exists without being transformed by the Gospel and when it stays within its own walls.
Gospel and Growth. The comparative words deeper, stronger, and greater paint the vision of growth in all three areas of the Christian life: personal, communal, and missional. The Lord continues to progressively transform the church through the truth of the Gospel.
To make what is already apparent even more explicit, the Gospel is the foundation and core of OIF.
What is the gospel about? According to the Scriptures in its entirety, the gospel is about God’s saving, redeeming, re-creating of humanity (2 Corinthians 5:17) through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ (Luke 24:44-47).
What does the gospel have to say? The Gospel says that we are more sinful and corrupt than we dare to ever admit (Romans 3:10-11); but at the same time, we are more loved and accepted by God than we dare to ever dream (Romans 8:1,38-39); all because Jesus lived the life that we should live and died the death we should die (2 Corinthians 5:21).
What is the implication for those who accept the Gospel? Those who accept the gospel (i.e. saved by grace through faith) have a different worldview compared to those who don’t (Luke 22:25-27; John 15:18-19). It is a “world” where sin and condemnation do not have the final say in a person’s life (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Instead, it is the love and acceptance of the Savior that direct a person’s life and give everything meaning (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). This is to say that the implication for those who accept the gospel touches every part of their lives.
We at OIF worship Jesus as our God, Savior, King, and Friend and we would like to see OIF not only to become a church home for Christians among the international students, but also to become a blessing to everyone working and living in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Oakland International Fellowship (OIF) is the English speaking international congregation of the Pittsburgh Chinese Church Oakland (PCCO). Like many North American Chinese churches, our church is made up of two congregations: one prefers worship primarily in Chinese; the other, English. But unlike many North American Chinese churches, the members of our English speaking congregation are not predominantly 2nd-gen Chinese Americans. The OIF congregation is made up of a mixture of internationals and multiethnic Americans. Much of this has to do with the founding vision of the OIF congregation. Because PCCO is situated between the two major universities in Pittsburgh, UPitt and CMU, the founding vision of OIF is to create a church home for the many international students on campus.

Since the founding of the international congregation in 2004, our vision, together with that of the Chinese congregation, has been refined to a simple statement: Deeper Faith, Stronger Community, Greater Impact. With this simple statement, we try to communicate the relationship between…

  • Gospel and Personal Change. Accepting the Gospel through faith is only the beginning of the Christian journey. Its reality continues to urge and enable the Christian to change from the inside out.
  • Gospel and Relationships. As each Christian is captured by the reality of the Gospel, the relationships (community) around him are also progressively being renewed through him.
  • Gospel and Mission. The natural result of a community consisting of changed individuals is the continuous spiritual and physical impact on its surrounding environment. Thus, a church fails when it exists without being transformed by the Gospel and when it stays within its own walls.
  • Gospel and Growth. The comparative words deeper, stronger, and greater paint the vision of growth in all three areas of the Christian life: personal, communal, and missional. The Lord continues to progressively transform the church through the truth of the Gospel.

To make what is already apparent even more explicit, the Gospel is the foundation and core of OIF.

  • What is the Gospel about? According to the Scriptures in its entirety, the Gospel is about God’s saving, redeeming, re-creating of humanity (2 Corinthians 5:17) through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ (Luke 24:44-47).
  • What does the Gospel have to say? The Gospel says that we are more sinful and corrupt than we dare to ever admit (Romans 3:10-11); but at the same time, we are more loved and accepted by God than we dare to ever dream (Romans 8:1,38-39); all because Jesus lived the life that we should live and died the death we should die (2 Corinthians 5:21).
  • What is the implication for those who accept the Gospel? Those who accept the Gospel (i.e. saved by grace through faith) have a different worldview compared to those who don’t (Luke 22:25-27; John 15:18-19). It is a “world” where sin and condemnation do not have the final say in a person’s life (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Instead, it is the love and acceptance of the Savior that direct a person’s life and give everything meaning (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). This is to say that the implication for those who accept the Gospel touches every part of their lives.

We at OIF worship Jesus as our God, Savior, King, and Friend and we would like to see OIF not only to become a church home for Christians among the international students, multi-ethnic professionals, but also to become a blessing to everyone working and living in the surrounding neighborhoods. And we would like to see you to come and join us!