We anticipate Brandon starting at Eastview in July of 2024. This allows Brandon three months to finish well at Rise City Church. While we’re excited for this announcement and what lies ahead, our sister church in California is losing their Founding Lead Pastor. We want to be gracious in how we partner with Rise City to set them up for future success as well as Eastview. Brandon is expected to finish up at Rise City at the end of April and then take a two-month sabbatical. This sabbatical was already planned by Brandon and Rise City before he began his interview process with Eastview. We think it’s wise to continue to take this sabbatical time to process letting go of Rise City, rest, and be refreshed mentally, spiritually, and emotionally before starting this new adventure at Eastview in July 2024.

In collaboration with the Slingshot Group, Eastview formed a Lead Pastor “Search Team”. This team was responsible for reviewing the initial list of candidates that Slingshot provided Eastview. The Slingshot Group presented Eastview with a short list of five qualified candidates for consideration. These individuals were among the larger pool of over 40 candidates engaged in Slingshot’s official Eastview pipeline. The Search team began the interview process with these five candidates which included:

• A thorough review of each candidate’s submitted profile, references, resumes, etc.
• Two initial interviews with each candidate led by the Search Team
• A sampling and survey of each candidate’s preaching ability via video sermon

After the interviews, the Search Team met to review notes, impressions, and ratings from the interview process. They used a guided “scorecard” to objectively evaluate each candidate individually, and then collectively against one another. The Search team unanimously agreed to pass along two candidates for final consideration to the Elder team which included a recommendation on a leading candidate. This began our final phase of interviews and on-site visits. After which, the Elders unanimously extended an offer to our leading candidate and they accepted!

This was ultimately the Elder Board’s decision. We’re grateful for the search team’s investment in the initial phase, and that 20 unique Eastview staff were able to interact with our leading candidate throughout this process. But, the final decision was the Elder boards to make.

• A Visionary Leader - Someone who brings vision and direction that inspires the church to reach the lost and transform the community. Someone who leads our staff in a healthy culture. Someone who can see the future and lead patiently through change.


• A Collaborative and Dynamic Preacher - An excellent communicator of the Word of God whith a passion for developing and leading a larger teaching team that dives dep into God's word.


• A Relational Collaborator - A person who understands how to steward decision-making authority while listening to, involving and empowering others.


• A Humble Person - A person that is present, others minded, and has a teachable spirit. A person who welcomes feedback from others and coaching from the Elder team.

We believe God has gifted and shaped Brandon to be the type of person described above in our guiding criteria as our next Lead Pastor. He will cast vision, preach and teach, develop and lead our staff, and help our church to partner with the Holy Spirit in what lies ahead. We believe Brandon’s best leadership will be expressed on stage on Sundays and throughout the week with his organizational leadership and vision. We are committed to Brandon leading our congregation through his vision casting and consistent preaching, but also recognize the beauty of having additional trusted teaching voices that compliment Brandon’s voice. Over the past year, we have grown to appreciate the diversity of multiple preaching voices so long as they are tethered to the word of God and dig deep into its truths. We anticipate Brandon preaching 26-32 times a year, coupled with 1-2 additional teaching voices that compliment Brandon’s voice and point towards the same mission and vision.