At Eastside Community Church we want to creatively tell honest and encouraging stories that help us to see that Jesus changes lives. The result of this is that we would together pursue Jesus more wholeheartedly as we seek to bring glory to God in every area of our lives. This fits into our broader goal that every person at Eastside would increasingly and passionately follow Jesus in every area of life and lead others to do the same.
Developing stories takes time and resources. So, it is worth asking: why should we bother? The simple answer is that as we remember the faithfulness of God it encourages us to follow Jesus more wholeheartedly. We see God’s people encouraged to remember God’s faithfulness all throughout the Bible.
In reading Psalm 102 the Psalmist has just been rescued by God from a horrible situation and was commanded to write it down. He was commanded to write it down as a record “for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.”
In the book of Acts, we see Luke write one big story to Theophilus so that he would know that Jesus is king, and that the gospel would continue to spread despite opposition (Acts 1:1-8 cf. Luke 1:1-4).
Stories remind us of God’s faithfulness to us in the Lord Jesus. We are forgetful people—we struggle to remember the way that God has saved his people in the past, and continues to save us today. But as we tell stories we can encourage each other to follow Jesus all the more.
If you feel called to share your story – whether written, spoken, or visualised through photography or film- please contact us at the church office.
“…the loneliest person in the world.” ~ Alan Bartlem
As a young surf lifesaver who was the life of the party it looked like Alan was living the good life. However in his mind he felt like the loneliest person in the world. Alan tells his story of how Jesus totally transformed his life from loneliness to a life full of peace and purpose.
where is God amidst suffering? ~ Joel & Jemma Robbins
When Joel was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer at the beginning of 2019, he and Jemma were faced with a new reality and a difficult question: why would a good God allow this to happen to them? Hear Joel and Jemma share about how God showed them His ultimate love amidst their suffering.