Here is how to make the delicious communion bread we serve at Eastside.

Have you ever wondered how you can trust the promises of God?

If you have spent time perusing the pages of God’s word you know that he has made some incredibly powerful promises to his people. His most profound promises are the things we can all hold onto through our relationship with Christ, grace, mercy, forgiveness and salvation, just to name a few. Others are more personal and are prepared only for us, revealed privately through the prompting of his Holy Spirit.

Whether offered to all mankind or saved specifically for us, God’s promises are often inconceivable, improbable and at times even impossible without divine intervention.

So how can we live with confidence that God will come through when his promises stretch not only our faith but also our imagination?

Each week we gather on Sunday evenings for a time of worship, fellowship, discipleship and prayer designed to develop the core team that will launch Eastside Christian Church. While we work to build both the people and practices that will enable us to launch well, we are studying through the New Testament book of Acts. This record of the early church provides powerful insight into the theology and strategy that led to the most successful and impactful church launch in history…

Over the course of the last two weeks, we have had the privilege to cast the vision for Eastside Christian Church and launch our weekly Sunday evening gatherings. We are grateful for each of those who joined us to consider the calling to plant a church that plants churches in neighborhoods and communities across Orlando.

While we are just getting started we are both humbled and encouraged by this opportunity God has provided to watch faith become fact! Nothing instills more confidence in his ability to accomplish immeasurably more than watching God establish the small steps of faith we take in the direction of his calling.

As I think about the very first Easter, I can only imagine the excitement surrounding their celebration. How could the disciples and the women who had traveled with Jesus and witnessed his crucifixion possibly contain themselves when they saw Jesus alive and well? The truth is they likely couldn’t and the reality is they shouldn’t.

In fact, just forty days after celebrating the resurrection, on a hill outside of Galilee, Jesus gathered his disciples together and impressed upon them the great commission. With his resurrection in mind, Jesus said…

As we count down the days to our very first vision night, I find myself experiencing a unique dichotomy of emotions. On one hand, an overwhelming sense of excitement that we finally have the opportunity to gather together and share the vision that God has set before us. At the same time, a timid sense of fear and trepidation that the vision set before us is more than I am equipped to accomplish.

While in many ways we are just beginning, the journey to plant Eastside Christian Church has already proven to be one of the most exciting and challenging experiences of our lives that is sharpening our convictions and deepening our faith. The invaluable lessons learned along the way have inspired six core convictions, the values that shape the way we live and serve God.

I am fully convinced that the most exciting thing in life is a God-ordained vision! His calling infuses our life with purpose, meaning and significance. Understanding exactly how God has called and equipped us to contribute to the redemptive story he is writing instills excitement and confidence deep within us from the moment our feet touch the ground. The opposite is also true as the writer of Proverbs reminds us…

“If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves, But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.” (Proverbs 29:18 MSG)

We have cultivated six values to shape the ministry and direction of Eastside Christian Church. Each of these core convictions have been derived from the way we’ve experienced God in the past and how we expect to experience him again in the future. We are excited to share these values with you because they are deeply rooted in our personal experience and we believe they are faith-filled steps everyone can take to experience immeasurably more!

As we continue to define these values, you will likely find that some come naturally and with great ease while others need to be refined through obedience. This certainly was my experience with our second value, take action. I love to lean in and seek God’s direction. I look forward to every opportunity to study his word and discern his heart. However, there comes a point when we are confident in his prompting, that we must take action!