Growth at Eastview
While this has been a challenging season for our church, it has also been a season of unexpected growth. Recently, we’ve been asked, ‘are you concerned about drops in attendance and giving?’ In our flesh, it’s hard not to pay attention to those things. Yet, despite the trials of this season, Eastview is growing! Clearly, God is at work, which should not surprise us in the least.

You may be surprised to learn that year-over-year, from Mar-Aug, in-person attendance at the Bloomington and Normal campuses are up more than 8% and total attendance (in-person and online) is up nearly 65% when compared to the same period a year ago. We acknowledge that those figures are somewhat inflated due to a significant increase in attendance during the 4-week period following the departure of our former Sr Pastor, especially online. Yet, even when we remove those four weeks of higher attendance, year-over-year growth from April 1 to mid-August, in-person attendance at the Bloomington and Normal campus is up over 5%! Year-over-year online attendance for that same period (April 1 to mid-August) is up over 33%! That equates to an average of 1,125 more people at Eastview and online each week when compared to the same period a year ago.

All praise, glory and honor to God for the work the Holy Spirit is doing to stir up our community in the midst of a difficult season. It’s as if God is reminding us that Eastview is HIS church, built on Christ alone. We are encouraged and excited about what God is doing in our midst.

Giving
We have also been asked if we are concerned about lower giving during this season. However, this is another area where God has graciously equipped us. We acknowledge that giving from March-July of this year is down about 6.5% when compared to the same period a year ago. However, as of this week, giving is up .7% year-to-date when compared to the same period last year! God has indeed been gracious to us and has equipped His church well for this next season of ministry through your continued generosity and faithfulness. We are praising God for the many ways (not just financially) that He has equipped Eastview for ministry in Central Illinois, in our communities, and around the world!

Praise God for what he is doing as He prepares us for the next season of ministry!

Lead Pastor Search
After months of preparation and prayer, the Elders and Advisory Council have officially initiated the search for our next Lead Pastor. We have hired Slingshot Group, a highly respected search firm, to help us navigate through this important process. Below is a forecast of what to expect as we move toward hiring our new Lead Pastor.

1. Discovery Phase
   

   We are currently in the discovery phase which includes several meetings to help Slingshot Group articulate Eastview’s DNA to potential candidates--things that are true about our church that are non-negotiables for our next Lead Pastor. Our Statement of Faith is at the top of the list (https://eastview.church/aboutus/beliefs). Later this month, Slingshot consultants will conduct a series of meetings and focus groups with elders, the Advisory Team, directors, a small group of staff, and a small group of ministry partners. The goal of this on-site time with these teams is to create a profile of our church, the role of the Lead Pastor, and the characteristics that are most important to Eastview for the person that will fill this role. Also, during this phase the Elders and Advisory Council are gathering a list of known potential candidates that may qualify for the role, and Slingshot Group will be vetting any candidates presented to them. We expect this phase will continue until mid-September.

2. Search Phase
   

   During the search phase, Slingshot Group will extend the search to find additional candidates, evaluate them, and present the Elders and Advisory Council with the best of the best candidates that fit our requirements. They will also evaluate any candidates that we have brought forward to them as part of our discovery phase. Slingshot Group will continue to vet and present candidates until we are ready to move to the interview phase. Slingshot Group expects to have a complete list of candidates for us this fall.

3. Search Team Interview Phase
   

   The Elders and Advisory Council will be forming an internal Search Team made up of elders, staff and highly invested ministry partners to conduct initial interviews with the candidate list provided by Slingshot Group. The Search Team will recommend the top candidates to the Elders and Advisory Council in order for those candidates to move forward with Elder-led interviews. At this time, it is too early to forecast when this phase will be complete.

4. Elder Team Interview Phase
   

   Once the Search Team has presented their recommendations, the full Elder Team will hold another round of interviews with each of the top candidates. Multiple interviews may be required. Once the Elder Team has reached a unanimous decision, we will select the top candidate. It is too early to forecast when this phase will be complete.

5. Placement & Onboarding Phase
   

   Once a new Lead Pastor has been hired, we will work with Slingshot and our Executive Team to begin the process of onboarding the new Lead Pastor.

The Elder Team and Advisory Council are unified in our commitment to a thorough and effective search. We are excited about the interest that has already been expressed in this role, and we fully believe that God has gone before us and is preparing the heart of our next Lead Pastor. We are calling our entire church family to join us in praying regularly for the Holy Spirit’s leading throughout this process.

"Fireside Chats"
As we have mentioned in previous posts, the elders have met with several small groups and individuals who have asked for in-person meetings to hear directly from the elders on matters concerning the church. We have tried to honor every request we’ve received, and yet we realize that in a church of our size it will be difficult to honor all possible requests going forward. However, because these meetings have been incredibly valuable and encouraging, we are organizing “fireside chats” to create opportunities to meet with larger groups. The first meeting will be with our ministry partners and small group leaders to review much of the progress that has been made so far and to forecast the journey ahead. We plan to offer additional meeting dates for members of the church family to hear directly from the elders as well. We hope to release more details about our first fireside chat in the next week or two. We are intentionally working to shift our culture to be more collaborative and transparent and we hope these meetings set the tone for that change.

Please pray for our students
Our church was incredibly blessed to have nearly 600 Junior High and High School students join us in the worship center on Sunday. It was a powerful time of prayer and an encouragement to our students as they begin the new school year. It was also an encouragement and a blessing for the adults to pray over our students. Please continue to pray for revival in our schools. Seeing Christ move in our students at Eastview is a strong reminder that we do not labor in vain, and that God is calling us as a church to stand firm and give ourselves fully to this work (1 Corinthians 15:58). Thank you for standing firm with us.

Eastview, we are humbled and honored to serve alongside you. We are in awe of the ways God has equipped our church for ministry and for the incredible life-changing work the Holy Spirit continues to do in the lives of thousands of people in our community. While the past few months have been difficult, it is clear that as we persevere through this season, God is refining us and preparing us (James 1). We sense an eager anticipation building, and we are excited to be a part of that with you. So, we praise God for all that He has done and all that He continues to do in our church and in the communities we serve. We love you and pray for you often. Stay strong in the faith…our best is yet to come.