God leaves the 99
We had hit rock bottom and were both struggling with addiction and living in a hotel room. We were eating in a soup kitchen one Monday evening and told a friend about our situation. She said, go to the little place up in Fullerton, call Eastside, they might help you out. The very first weekend we came, Pastor Gene happened to be preaching a sermon, and I remember there was this door on stage. Gene came through the door there was a mat on the ground. He leaned over and picked it up, and there was a word on the mat……WELCOME.
That's exactly what we needed to hear that day. And since we were welcomed that Sunday we came back the next Sunday. And then we kept coming back every weekend, and that was thirteen years ago. We're still here! And now it's our turn to welcome others. To share the message that EVERYONE IS WECOME.
It’s out of gratitude that we give back, we serve. So we are really excited about where we’re going, and what we’re wanting to do. And just the fact that we’re all so UNFINISHED and Eastside is UNFINISHED. We still have a lot of places to still go and people to still reach. Our prayer for UNFINISHED would be for us to be able to plant more churches, not so much for the building aspect of it, but to reach that many more people like Eastside reached us. To put out the welcome mat for others and say EVERYONE IS WELCOME. Every weekend while we are serving we pray that somebody else can feel what we felt and that is the love that we receive here. The love, acceptance, and grace….. we feel so much love! This place has become home. Eastside helped us see that there is a way out. It begins with a relationship with a loving father who wants good for you. God leaves the ninety-nine, to come and find people like us. And he still does today.
If you were inspired by this story, we would love to tell you more about Eastside. We have a relentless love and commitment for all to know God. We are committed to finding unique ways to serve in our local communities and help our global neighbors. We are passionate about finding solutions, building bridges, and bringing the love and hope of Jesus to hurting communities. We would love to invite you to join us in person or online. At Eastside we believe that this is a place for everyone, wherever you are on your journey. If you would like to find out more about Eastside, please visit eastside.com.