About Eastgate Christian Church
Beliefs
God
We believe that God is the eternal Creator of the Universe. We believe that He created mankind for the purpose of having fellowship (a loving relationship) with us. We believe that He is a perfect, holy and just God. We believe that He sent His Son Jesus to the world so that we might be reconciled to Him.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, the eternal Son of God, our Savior that lived a sinless life, was killed as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind, was buried, was resurrected by God, is alive today and forever, is carrying out His mission still through His body the church, and will someday return to take His church to paradise in heaven. We believe that salvation is available ONLY through the covenant offered by Jesus Christ.
Bible
We believe that the Holy Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. We believe that it is the only official source of Christian doctrine. We believe that it contains both gospel (eternal commands) and cultural applications of principles that should be adapted to fit each culture and generation. We believe that Biblical commands relating to the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ are eternal gospel commands. Examples include: baptism, meeting on the Lord’s Day (Sunday worship service), the Lord’s supper (Communion).
Church
We believe that God has ordained the local church body to carry out His mission of reconciling the world back to Him in Christ. We believe that the church is Christ’s physical presence (His body) on the earth as Christ is in heaven now. We believe that the purpose of the church is to 1) reconcile the lost world to God in Jesus and 2) to mature the individual members of the church to Christlikeness.
History
Our Beginning
Eastgate Christian Church was planted by the Northern California Evangelistic Association (NCEA). On March 1, 1992 Pastor Flint Christensen and Jennifer were called by the NCEA to begin Eastgate Christian Church in the Vallejo/Benicia area. The NCEA is a non-profit organization supported by several Northern California Christian churches whose sole purpose is to plant new churches.
From the first conversations and introductions, Pastor Flint clearly indicated that the target for new members for Eastgate Christian Church would be people without a church, preferably people that didn’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Several Christians have joined Eastgate with that same mindset, but Eastgate has primarily grown through the winning of people to Jesus.
Eastgate Christian Church opened its doors for public worship services at Matthew Turner Elementary School in November of 1993. Beginning then with a nucleus of just over 30, Eastgate has steadily grown in each passing year.
Purpose
Eastgate Christian Church exists to lead people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and to maturity in that relationship.
Vision
Our Highest Goal
Our greatest goal is for everyone in the world to learn the truth about Jesus Christ from someone they know and trust.
Catch the Vision
Our vision is not measured in terms of facilities or programs. Our vision is clearly in terms of people. Eastgate Christian Church is committed to proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ both in words and deeds in a manner that is understood by the world around us. This world is rapidly changing, but peoples’ need for a Savior remains constant. Our vision is to function as a healthy body of Christ.
We believe that a healthy body exhibits these characteristics. First, a healthy body grows. We envision that the church should always be growing in number of people. Also, a healthy body matures. We envision the members of Eastgate taking on the character of Christ as we mature. We see members caring for one another, and caring for the world in ways that persuades them to unite with Jesus Christ. We see changes in society around us as a result of the church’s influence. We see marriages strengthened, families re-unified, communities drawn together, and God being glorified through this church. Additionally, a healthy body reproduces. We see the message being taken to the entire world through missionary efforts.
We see Jesus Christ returning someday and saying to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant,... come and enjoy your master’s happiness.”
Philosophies of Ministry
Bridging the Gap
We strive to be a church that does more than talk about the Biblical standard of Christianity. In addition, a church should provide a means for people to attain that maturity in Christ. Eastgate works to move people from where they are towards the perfect character of Jesus Christ. No matter where a person is in their relationship with Jesus, we invite everyone to “Come as you are”. Then our goal is to help you grow instead of “stay as you are”.
Church should be understandable.
We intentionally gear our worship services and programs to be understood by everyone. Even the incredible transforming power of the gospel is boring if it is not understood. Therefore everything from the vocabulary we use to the songs we sing (both style and wording) and the way our services are conducted are all designed to be understood by virtually everyone in our culture.
Church should be safe.
Church should provide a supportive atmosphere for those who come.
There is no need to focus on people's inadequacies and faults. Rather the
church should hold up the beauty of Jesus and encourage one another to pursue
what is right. We believe that people respond to encouragement much more
successfully than criticism. Gossip is emphatically discouraged!
Church should be relevant.
We intentionally structure our worship services to be applicable to the lives that we live here and now. Members should want to be a part of church because it grows us spiritually.
Every Member is a Minister
We expect every member to contribute to the overall mission of our church by participating in a specific ministry. It requires all of the ministries of the church operating together to be a healthy church. No ministry is a small ministry. Each and every one is vital. We help people to discover what gifts God has given them so that they can apply them to ministry. This results in each member being much more fruitful and much more fulfilled.
Unity is a choice and we work at it
Unity is the strength of our church and disunity is our greatest threat. Encouragement, kindness, support and sincere love will be heralded and rewarded. The things that fuel disunity (gossip, selfishness, pride, etc) will be corrected at the earliest possible opportunity. An important word at Eastgate: TOGETHER!
Expectations of a Member:
1) A commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior demonstrated by:
· An active pursuit of Christlike maturity.
· Leading others to a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ.
· An unselfish love for others.
· Attempting to live by the Biblical standard of right and wrong.
2) A commitment to Eastgate Christian Church demonstrated by:
· Weekly attendance at Sunday morning worship service.
· Financial support through regular contributions.
· Striving to build unity by encouraging others and participating in a ministry.
3) A commitment to my ministry demonstrated by:
· Prioritizing my time so that I can carry out my ministry.
· Other expectations specified for each individual ministry.
Expectations of a Ministry Manager:
1) A commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior demonstrated by:
· An active pursuit of Christlike maturity.
· Leading others to a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ.
· An unselfish love for others.
· Attempting to live by the Biblical standard of right and wrong.
2) A commitment to Eastgate Christian Church demonstrated by:
· Weekly attendance at Sunday morning worship service.
· Financial support through weekly tithes and offerings.
· Striving to build unity by encouraging others and cooperating with other ministries.
3) A commitment to my ministry demonstrated by:
· Attending the monthly ministry team meetings.
· Setting goals and developing a strategy to meet these goals.
· Prioritizing my time so that I can carry out my ministry.
· Evaluating and improving my ministry.
Expectations of a Ministry Director:
1) A commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior …:
· An active pursuit of Christlike maturity.
· Leading others to a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ.
· An unselfish love for others.
· Attempting to live by the Biblical standard of right and wrong.
· An accountability relationship with a Pastor.
2) A commitment to Eastgate Christian Church …:
· Weekly attendance at Sunday morning worship service.
· Financial support through weekly tithes and offerings.
· Striving to build unity by encouraging others and cooperating with other ministries.
· Daily Prayer for the church body.
3) A commitment to my ministry demonstrated by:
· Attending the monthly ministry directors’ meetings.
· Setting goals and developing a strategy to meet these goals.
· Prioritizing my time so that I can carry out my ministry.
· Evaluating and improving my ministry.
· Weekly reports to Pastor.
Following are the expectations of a Pastor:
1) A commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior …:
· An active pursuit of Christlike maturity.
· Leading others to a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ.
· An unselfish love for others.
· Attempting to live by the Biblical standard of right and wrong.
· An accountability relationship with another Pastor.
· Leading and Feeding the church as a servant.
2) A commitment to Eastgate Christian Church …:
· Weekly attendance at Sunday morning worship service.
· Financial support through weekly tithes and offerings.
· Striving to build unity by encouraging others and cooperating with other ministries.
· Daily Prayer for the church body.
· Sacrificially seeking the growth and maturity of the church.
3) A commitment to my ministry demonstrated by:
· Leading the monthly ministry directors’ meetings.
· Setting goals and developing a strategy to meet these goals.
· Prioritizing my time so that I can carry out my ministry.
· Evaluating and improving my ministry.
· A continual focus on the God-given vision for this church.
Requirements
Member
· Hear the gospel message.
· Believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
· Repent by turning over life to Lordship of Christ.
· Confess publicly that Jesus is the Lord of your life.
· Baptized as a pledge to unite with Jesus Christ.
Ministry Manager
· Member for 1 year.
· Active participation in a ministry for 1 year.
· Minimum 1 year consistent financial contributions.
· Demonstrated ability to lead.
· Willing to commit to position for 1 year.
Ministry Director
· Minimum 1 year experience Min. Team Leader.
· Minimum 1 year track record of tithing (10%).
· Proven ability to develop leadership in others.
· Willing to commit to position for 2 years.
Pastor
· Minimum 3 years Ministry Department Leader or equivalent experience.
· Minimum 3 years track record of tithing (10%).
· Degree (or substantial completion of course work towards a degree in extreme exceptions) from an accredited educational institution with a major in church or ministry related field of study.
· Support of immediate family. Spouse and non-adult children must be active participants in the church body.
· Recent successful track record of leading a full scope ministry. A full scope ministry includes attracting and converting non-Christians to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. It includes developing spiritual maturity in these new believers. It includes the successful duplication of oneself in areas of ministry.
· Willing to commit to position for 5 years.
Ongoing Discipleship Participation
Purpose:
The highest goal of Eastgate is for everyone in the world to learn the truth about Jesus Christ from someone they know and trust. Our success is dependent upon our commitment and consistency in our ministry. These expectations are intended to maximize our potential in service.
Hebrews 10:24-25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Volunteer:
· Dedicated regular worship service attendance.
(Less than 2 Sundays per month on average is not considered dedicated regular attendance).
· Ongoing participation in a discipleship development exercise.
(involvement in the discipleship model is definitely considered a discipleship development exercise)
Manager:
· Dedicated regular worship service attendance.
(Less than 2 Sundays per month on average is not considered dedicated regular attendance).
· Ongoing participation in a discipleship development exercise.
(involvement in the discipleship model is definitely considered a discipleship development exercise)
Director:
· Highly dedicated regular worship service attendance.
(Less than 3 Sundays per month on average is not considered highly dedicated regular attendance).
· Ongoing participation in a discipleship development exercise.
(involvement in the discipleship model is definitely considered a discipleship development exercise)
· Follow-up on their volunteers’ and managers’ expectations.
Pastor:
· Extremely dedicated regular worship service attendance.
(Less than 3.5 Sundays per month on average is not considered extremely dedicated regular attendance).
· Ongoing participation in a discipleship development exercise.
(involvement in the discipleship model is definitely considered a discipleship development exercise)
· Follow-up on volunteers’, managers’, and directors’ expectations.
· Lay down life for church.