Articles for tag: Eastside Christian Church

July 26, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

NACC””You Didn”t Have to Be There 

By Mark A. Taylor Of course, if you had attended the North American Christian Convention in Anaheim, California, July 12-15, you would have experienced many good things . . . We enjoyed dry, warm days amid the beautiful palm-tree setting of the Anaheim Convention Center We shared the enthusiasm of California Christians, many of whom had never experienced an NACC before. Over half the crowd at the packed opening-night assembly were Californians. A similar number said this was their first NACC. Gene Appel, minister with Eastside Christian Church in Anaheim, praised convention President Dave Stone for the hard work he

July 20, 2016

Christian Standard

An Interview with Gene Appel

Contributing editor Ben Cachiaras speaks with Gene Appel, minister with Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, California, about next year”s North American Christian Convention (he”s president), why he loves the “tribe” of Christian churches/churches of Christ, and how to lead change in a local church. See this exclusive interview here.

February 6, 2016

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (8)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either.   TRACEY D. LAWRENCE Tracey D. Lawrence is an author and professor. She has written for Chuck Colson”s BreakPoint, the Wilberforce Forum, Promise Keepers, Sheila Walsh, Rebecca St. James, and others. She holds a BS in Christian education and an MA in church history and theology. Her book written with Eric Irivuzumugabe, My Father, Maker of the Trees, a memoir of the Rwandan genocide, was featured on The New York Times best-seller list. Tracey serves as a professor

January 14, 2016

Christian Standard

An Unlikely First Step at Expansion

By Jennifer Johnson Although Eastside Christian Church“s building in Anaheim, CA, is large””it”s a former Boeing Aerospace facility””the church knows that one location isn”t big enough to accomplish its vision of reaching tens of thousands of people. So when Eastside purchased and renovated the building a few years ago, it designed the site as a “hub” that could support additional campuses. “Four thousand churches close each year,” says Jill Gille, executive project director at Eastside. “I grew up in a small church, and I know the challenge to get past that critical mass to keep growing. There is quite a

July 19, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

A Conversation with Gene Appel

  Gene Appel says “The evangelistic temperature of a church drops faster than anything else.” He discusses how to solve this problem, including a strategy of reducing ministry programs where he preaches, Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, California. Hear his interview with CHRISTIAN STANDARD Editor Mark Taylor here.

May 8, 2014

Christian Standard

A Closer Look at the Numbers*

By Kent Fillinger   AVERAGE SIZE Megachurches: 4,810 Emerging Megachurches: 1,354 Combined average weekly attendance: 382,144 The three largest megachurches account for more than 20 percent of all megachurch attendees.   GROWTH RATES Megachurches: 5.6 percent (up from 3 percent in 2012); overall, 73 percent of megachurches grew. Emerging Megachurches: 2.4 percent (down from 4 percent in 2012); overall, 52 percent of emerging megachurches grew.   FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES 2|42 Community Church, Brighton, MI, 112% Third City Christian Church, Grand Island, NE, 31.6% Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, CA, 26.3% Current””A Christian Church, Katy, TX, 22.1% Ten Mile Christian Church, Meridian, ID,

August 4, 2013

Christian Standard

Church Goes “˜All-in” to Reach Latinos

By Jennifer Johnson Many congregations start Spanish-language services, but few go “all-in” like Eastside Christian Church in Anaheim, CA. “Our mission is to reach 1 percent of the 5.8 million people within a 20-mile radius of our building,” says communications director Jan Lynn. “A third or more of these people are Latino, so we needed to be intentional about creating new ways to serve them and share Jesus.” For Eastside, that”s “Semilla@Eastside,” a new service held each Sunday at 2 p.m. Hector Hermosillo serves as the new pastor for the initiative, and works closely with the rest of the staff

July 4, 2013

Christian Standard

40 Under 40: Ian DiOrio

IAN DiORIO Director, community life/young adults,  Eastside Christian Church,  Anaheim, California  Ian DiOrio is truly a modern-day Renaissance man. He is a pastor, teacher, author, leader, professor, student, entrepreneur, former rave DJ, loving husband, and sold-out dad. Describing the giftedness of a man like Ian in just 200 words is very difficult, because he has such incredible bandwidth and influence in both the spiritual and secular arenas. His exhaustive passion and love for God drives him to succeed. He has a depth of knowledge and an understanding of the Bible and of the millennial culture like few people I know.

January 6, 2013

Christian Standard

How Do You Define Your Leadership? Gene Appel

By Gene Appel Others tell me that I”m a visionary pastor whose personal leadership style is collaborative, empowering, and team-oriented. I love to get the right people and right systems working right. I believe that with God”s touch, great things can happen. Several years ago a leadership consultant studied me and defined me as a “catalyzing leader.” I am motivated by problems and love to build teams, cast vision, and solve problems that have kingdom implications. I like to pull key leaders and influencers together to prayerfully dream and consider what God is calling our church to do and be.

December 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Merger a Reunion of Mother, Daughter Churches

By Jennifer Johnson In November, Eastside Christian Church (Fullerton, CA) moved into its new building, a former Boeing defense site (complete with helipad!). On the same weekend, more than 100 members from Community Christian Church in nearby Yorba Linda joined them. Community Christian launched 27 years ago as an Eastside church plant, and offered a strong ministry with intergenerational worship and a car clinic providing free auto services to more than 150 single-parent families each year. But the struggling economy, a building located far from its core members, and declining attendance prompted Community Christian”s senior pastor Greg Curtis and Eastside

September 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Spreading the Gospel, Unleashing Compassion

By Justin Horey This summer, as Eastside Christian Church celebrated five decades of dynamic ministry in Southern California, senior pastor Gene Appel emphasized “Eastside”s second 50 years” as much as its first. Later this year, Eastside is scheduled to complete one of the largest, most expensive, and most ambitious relocation projects ever undertaken by a Christian church””with a total project cost of more than $50 million. The church”s leaders believe the project will “carry forward the congregation”s spiritual passion by positioning Eastside for exponential impact in its second 50 years.” Shortly after Eastside Christian Church began meeting in 1962, the

June 5, 2012

Christian Standard

An Exception to the Rule?

By Darrel Rowland There are exceptions to the rule . . . there are rare exceptions . . . and then there is Ben Merold. Point to statistics showing that a long-term ministry generally doesn”t equal numerical success for a church, and those who disagree will more than likely point to Merold, in ministry for 63 years and counting. After a 12-year stint at an Indiana church, he spent more than 22 years with Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, where weekly attendance grew from 185 to 3,000. Then, at age 65, he launched a 17-year stay as senior minister

August 31, 2011

Christian Standard

Church Uses Flags to Commemorate 9/11

On Sunday, Aug. 28, volunteers at Eastside Christian Church (Fullerton, CA) planted more than 3,100 small white flags in a dirt plot outside the church building. Each of the flags represents an individual who died on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Shanksville, PA. Floodlights shine on the crosses at night and a sign at the site invites people to attend Eastside”s community memorial services on Sept. 10 and 11.

August 18, 2011

Christian Standard

Interview with Keith Poletiek

By Brad Dupray As a boy, Keith Poletiek lived the life of “Johnny Lazarus,” the namesake character in a book series Keith devised to encourage young people toward evangelism. As a popular children”s conference speaker and author, Keith has also connected with children through Project316 (pronounced three-one-six) to motivate, train, and encourage young believers to take the message of John 3:16 to the world. Keith grew up at First Christian Church of Huntington Beach where he learned the beach culture of Southern California; he now uses that as a means of telling the message of Christ. In addition to his

November 18, 2010

Christian Standard

These Seniors Served Overseas

By Doug Priest A few years ago men from Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, made a two-week trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to work with Joni and Nangsar Morse at their rural training center called Eden Center. People from near and far go there for periodic training and to work on its rice farm. A dormitory was needed where people could stay when they came to Thailand from Burma, Tibet, and China, so the Men on a Mission group, as they were called, worked with the Morses to determine the materials needed for such a project. The items were

August 16, 2010

Christian Standard

Lesson for Aug. 22, 2010: Growing in Joy and Peace (Philippians 4:1-14)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for August 22) is written by Thomas May who serves as discipleship minister with Eastside Christian Church, Jeffersonville, Indiana. Growing in Joy and Peace (Philippians 4:1-14) By Thomas May I recently moved into an office in a just-completed wing of the church building. If you visit, you will find two walls lined with scads of books collected over years of ministry and education. My desk is situated in the midst of the shelves so that when I prepare lessons and sermons, many of the books literally are at my fingertips. But in the

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Megachurches: The First 100 Days

By Kent Fillinger In business and in politics, much is made of a leader”s first 100 days in a new role. With 25 years of ministry experience, Gene Appel had a plan as he transitioned from Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago to Eastside Christian Church in Southern California on October 1, 2008. Appel”s plan was simple: focus on getting to know his new staff, their strengths, and the key influencers in the church; preach well; and prepare for a fantastic Christmas. Catalytic Appel really wanted Eastside”s Christmas services to be a catalytic energizer for the church. In those

April 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Gene Appel

By Brad Dupray Gene Appel became senior pastor at Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, on October 1, 2008, after serving as lead pastor with Willow Creek Community Church”s South Barrington (Illinois) campus. In many ways, he has come full circle, having served as an intern at Eastside while a 20-year-old student at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College. At 25, Gene became senior minister at Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, and led the church from average weekly attendance of 400 to 8,000 during an 18-year ministry. Gene and his wife, Barbara, have three children, Jeremy, Alayna, and Jenna, with

December 31, 2006

Christian Standard

Christian Standard obituaries

Obituaries from 2006

An alphabetical collection of obituary notices honoring ministers and Christian leaders. Each entry shares key details of a life of service, along with surviving family members and service or memorial information when available.

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