In 2007, we started using a new Oakdale logo with an oak leaf prominently used, as seen above, set behind the “O.” You probably never thought to ask why. It’s rather obvious, right, a concrete reference to the literal meaning of the Oakdale name, a visual identity that makes sense? We are, after all, Oakdale.
Look again. The leaf transcends the literal and touches upon the very essence of the Oakdale ministry. The leaf means life, the expression of what Oakdale intends to accomplish in the lives of our students.
A fresh green leaf is the evidence of life. For a leaf to be produced, the tree must be nourished with water, soil, and sunlight. It must have roots.
Oakdale provides nourishment to its students. The light of life(1), the living water(2), the good soil(3).
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
(1) “…whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 (NIV)
(2) “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12b (NIV)
(3) “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop…” Matthew 13:8a (NIV)
