Kickin’ Off Fall

As sights and sounds of summer morph into the splendor of autumn, the Eagle Brook, Spring Lake Park teams are gearing up for a fabulous fall kick off. This coming weekend, September 12/13, is one you’ll remember for a long time.

Come Early

This coming weekend we’re rolling out a brand new feature called On the Fly. It’ll begin about seven minutes before the service starts. If you want to be in the know, you’ll need to come early, otherwise you’ll miss it…and believe me, you don’t want to miss it.

Celebrate the Past

Together we’ll revisit highlights of this past year at Eagle Brook. God has been at work in many ways and we want to celebrate what He is doing through our church.

Peek into the Future

The next three months will potentially have more impact on the future of Eagle Brook Church than any other period in our church’s history. You’ll hear where we believe God is leading us…and it’s BIG. I can’t think of a more exciting time to be part of this church.

Sing a New Song

The Eagle Brook Worship pastors have been collaborating on a new theme song for this season of our church’s life. You’ll get to sing it with your church family for the first time this coming weekend.

By way of reminder, we need your help to make sure everyone has a great experience. In particular, we want to be sure that those who come seeking Christ have a seat in the worship center. Here’s how you can help: if you have flexibility in your schedule, please come at 4:05 or 6:05 on Saturday. If you need to attend church on Sunday at 11:05 and you are physically able to climb a flight of stairs, we need 100 people to choose to worship at the Corner House (at 11:05 on Sundays only).

In addition, we’ve added parking spaces by paving the overflow grass area adjoining our existing lot and we’re running shuttle service to the Rise parking lot to the south of our facilities on Sunset Road.

Thanks for your persistence as we work to provide permanent seating for everyone who wants to attend church in our area—God is doing amazing things through you!

Where in the World is Pastor Steve?

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve updated my blog and people have been asking, “Where’ve you been?” In answer, I’ve been wringing the most out of the final days of summer.

First Exposure to the Boundary Waters

I took my first trip into the Boundary Waters with a group of EBC staff. It was amazing. To experience God’s creation without the many conveniences we’re all accustomed to was a highlight of my summer.

Enjoying God's Creation

 Jumping Out of an Airplane

I also experienced the thrill of skydiving. I’ve always wanted to jump out of a plane at 13,000 feet and I discovered why when I informed my dad of my plans. He said, “It doesn’t surprise me. You’ve been jumping off of things from the time you learned to walk. As a matter of fact, when you were a toddler you had to get stitches in your head because you jumped off the couch and slammed into the coffee table.” Would I skydive again? Absolutely.

What a Blast

LifeChurch.tv

EBC’s three campus pastors had an opportunity to experience a behind-the-scenes tour of LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The trip provided great insight as Eagle Brook makes plans to add more campuses in the near future. LifeChurch.tv has 13 campuses across the United States in addition to one internet campus. About 29,000 people attended their 13 campuses while we were there last weekend.

An Amazing Church

I’m glad we’re heading into autumn. Perhaps it’ll slow down a little around here (I don’t think so!).

Of Parking Lots and School Supplies

The parking lot project is far enough along that we may be able to use it soon! Check it out:

Nearing completion

I’m so pleased with the way our church is responding to the school supplies project. This past weekend, the SLP lobby was full of PowerPacks complete with supplies. Way to go SLP!

Putting smiles on children's faces

The Ground is Moving

If you were at the Spring Lake Park campus over the weekend, you probably noticed the construction equipment, survey stakes and piles of drainage pipe. What does it all mean? It’s a sign of progress—we’re on our way toward the expansion of our paved parking.

The parking lot is one of the final projects from the God’s Amazing Church (GAC) campaign. People have been making generous contributions to the GAC over the past three years. And we’re grateful for those who’ve contributed.

When the lot is finished, we’ll have year-round use of the additional parking spaces that we’ve desperately needed since the SLP campus opened in December of 2007. We’re expecting the new lot to be available by the end of August.

Check out this picture of the project:

More Parking Spaces are Coming

What’da-ya Do All Week?

People often ask me what pastors do with all their free time between the weekends. All their free time? I silently chuckle. The fact is, most pastors live a high-octane life, serving others, caring for their own family and squeezing in a little fun occasionally. For me, last week was full of serving, with a little mixture of fun and at least one first-time experience. Let me explain.

EBC’s First Outdoor Lake Baptism of the Summer

It all began with God working through the worship services to draw us close to Him and to one another as we celebrated communion. Throughout each service, we focused on Jesus as the resurrection and the life. We reflected on the reality that, as followers of Christ, we have everlasting life in Him.

Then, we gathered at Northwestern College for the first outdoor lake baptism of the summer. About 300 people publicly proclaimed their faith in Christ. Hundreds more gathered on the hill to observe. If you missed it, you really missed something significant. Perhaps you can be part of the next baptism at the lake on August 16^th. Check out the picture below:

Hundreds gathered near the lake shore.

 A First for Me—A Hot Air Balloon Wedding

This past week I was invited to officiate a wedding in a hot air balloon. Frankly, being surrounded by God’s beautiful creation and celebrating His gift of marriage thousands of feet in the air was one of the highlights of my life—truly a bucket list experience. Here’s a picture:

Up, up and away.

The EBC Pastor’s Fishing Challenge

I’m constantly amazed at the generosity of those who consider Eagle Brook their home church. This past week a group of individuals from the Eagle Brook amateur fishing league, Break Line Fishing, created an EBC pastor’s fishing tournament. It was fun to hang out with fellow believers and enjoy a day on the waters. Kenny Bristol took home all the trophies and is now the duly recognized champion. I’m certain he’ll lose his title at the next tournament! Check it out:

Clean Sweep Kenny