About EastLake:
Jesus never saw church as a place to go, but as a people who love Him and who are learning to love others. At EastLake, no matter what your spiritual background or past, we want you to come as you are (for real though, we're not just saying that to sound relevant.) We believe God takes us completely "as is." From there, we'll help each other grow to be all God intended us to be.
The very first thing we'll ask of you is simple: relax. You don't have to dress up. We don't care who you voted for in the last election. You don't need any previous church experience or Bible knowledge to show up and have a good time. And please, don't feel the need to pretend about anything.
What you'll find at EastLake:
- Services last 60 minutes
- The band will rock some modern music
- Friendly people will help you find your way around
- People will look like they actually enjoy being there
- A message that is relevant to your life
- Fun, age-appropriate kids programs
Whether you're single, married, single again, with or without children - no matter where you've been or what you've done - we invite you to experience EastLake.
What we believe:
We believe that loving God and loving others is our purpose.
We believe that in the midst of all the big theological words and concepts, there is a compelling story of love that has the power to eternally change the course of our own personal stories.
We believe that there is a God, one God, who created everything. He created us as humans in His image, which means we are like Him in many ways, yet entirely different. The amazing thing is, He pursues a relationship with us and wants to interact with us today.
That is remarkable love.
We believe humanity was separated from God by sin. But that didn't stop this loving God. He still longs to be with us proven by this: God sent His son Jesus to die a brutal death in our place to ultimately cancel our debt in full to God. Jesus said, "It is finished." We believe He meant it.
That is amazing love.
But God did not make us robots with no decision-making ability. So, God simply asks that we accept His love for us through faith in Jesus's sacrifice and resurrection as a generous gift that we could do nothing to deserve. And we believe that step of recognition, or faith, changes everything for eternity.
That is perfect love.
Statement of Beliefs (in detail): (click to expand)
We believe God inspired the authors of Scripture by his Spirit to speak to all generations of believers, including us today. In the original writings they are without error. We believe the Scriptures speak with the authority of God while reflecting the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human authors. By God's Spirit, we seek to interpret, contextualize, and live out this story even today.
We believe in one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. God created humans in his image to live in loving fellowship with him. But the enemy tempted the first humans and because we choose to sin and go our own way, we are alienated from God and suffer the corruption of our nature because of our sin. Because of this, death, disease, darkness, and evil have entered the world and all of creation is in desperate need of redemption.
This perfect and holy God did not abandon us to our own destruction but instead promised to provide a way to restoration and redemption. That way took on flesh in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died a substitutionary death on the cross as payment for our sins. His suffering, death, burial, and resurrection bring hope for all humankind. Sin and death have been defeated and the promise of forgiveness and eternal communion with God are available through Jesus. No amount of good works or human effort can restore us from our state of eternal alienation from God. It is only by God's free grace that we are saved from this state of alienation. This grace is appropriated by a change of heart toward God's leadership in our lives, and by faith in Jesus to forgive our sins.
God's Holy Spirit works in us to bring conviction of a person's need for the forgiveness of sin through Christ. He regenerates their heart and then permanently indwells them, affirming as children of God all those who trust Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowers us with gifts, convicts, guides, comforts, counsels, and leads us into truth through a communal life of worship and a missional expression of our faith. This expression is called the church.
The church is rooted and grounded in Christ, practicing spiritual disciplines and celebrating baptism and the Lord's Supper. The church is a global and local expression of living out the way of Jesus through love, peace, sacrifice, and healing as we embody the resurrected Christ, who lives in and through us to a broken and hurting world.
