East Ave Community Church

We are easy to find! For the locals, our building is on the north side of East Ave between Floral and Ceres – big rock building with the water drop on the street sign. Can’t miss it. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 46% [?]

Church can be scary, intimidating, and uncomfortable for a lot of people. The formality, being pointed out as a guest…oh, and the offering plate…it’s enough to make the strongest of stomachs a little queasy.

East Ave Community Church is different and we want you to know exactly what to expect before you get there. We are deeply committed to creating an environment where everyone is comfortable and feels welcome. Here’s what to expect and how to prepare for your first East Ave Community experience.

(If you have children, please see our Children’s Page for information on how to pre-register and check in your children.)

Arrival
As our guests, we want you to have the best of the parking lot! We will reserve the closest spaces for those who are our guests and our parents of small children. When you arrive you will normally be greeted by one of our volunteers before you reach the door. If it is raining at a program, we will do our best to bring you an umbrella to avoid that annoying “wet look”!

Caffeine AND Teaching?
When you walk in the doors you will find friendly volunteers to answer as many questions as you have. Your experience is important to us. You will easily be able to find hospitality table were we serve complimentary coffee, tea, water, and snacks. Yes, you can take your beverage into the sanctuary with you. The program you attend will include our live band with words projected on our video screen. You may join them by singing along, or just enjoy the music from your seat. The band usually performs 3 or 4 songs and is followed by a message, normally from our pastor. Our messages are innovative and creative, making the Bible understood in plain English. Our goal is always to hold your attention and make sure you leave feeling like your time was well spent.

Post-Church
At the end of the program, feel free to hang out and meet the pastor, or just slip out. There are always plenty of snacks and beverages afterward.

Our regular attendees and members are challenged to take their guests to lunch and field any questions you might have about our church or the talk you just heard. (That’s right, hit up whoever invited you for lunch!)

What to Wear
Dress however you feel comfortable. Our pastor will be dressed comfortably in some kind of no-tuck shirt and won’t be caught on a Sunday in a tie! It is really a laid-back atmosphere, so however you are comfortable dressing on any normal day is fine with us! A few folks will dress up, but no one here is interested in a dress code because the Bible clearly tells us that God does not look at our outward appearance, but at our hearts. We don’t care how you come dressed – just come!!!

Nickels and Dimes
We will take an offering at the end of the service, but visitors and guests are actively encouraged not to give! We are simply glad you have stopped in and we want to make it clear that we are not just being nice to you to get ahold of your wallet!

We pass an offering plate during the program for those of our regular attendees who wish to give as an outward expression of their worship of God – not to intimidate people into giving. We also have a box on the back wall of the sanctuary that is used for much the same purpose.

Popularity: 30% [?]

The motivation of what we do is firmly rooted in what we believe. So, in order to understand everything else, we thought we should tell you what we believe about our God and our relationship to Him. We really do believe this stuff!

A Triune God
This means that God has revealed Himself to us in three ways: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

One Holy Faith
As a ministry of the Church of the Nazarene, we believe many Christian denominations and non-denominational churches serve the one true God. We count ourselves among them.

The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the scriptures are inspired by God, written by men and inerrantly reveal God’s will in everything necessary for salvation. Furthermore, the bible cannot speak through silence. Therefore, anything we teach must come directly from scripture.

All Have Sinned
We are all born into sin. Jesus is the only person who ever lived without sin. Sin can be defined in several ways, but is best described as the condition of a person’s relationship to God. A sin relationship is where we as humans stray from God’s known and revealed purpose: to bring honor and glory to Him! When we stray we serve Satan’s purpose, which is to take away honor and glory from God. The Bible clearly states that we earn death (total separation from God’s Spirit) with our sin, that is, an eternal hell.

Plan for Salvation
We believe from the beginning, God had a plan to save us from our own sin. When the time was right, God sent His Son, Jesus, into this world. His purpose was to live among us for a time, lead by example and die on a cross. He rose from the dead three days later. By this defeat of death, He can offer us eternal life and citizenship in the kingdom of Heaven through the forgiveness of our sins. He offers this as a free gift of a new life for those who own up to their sin, acknowledge Him as Savior and ask for forgiveness. This gift is given by grace through faith because eternity in heaven could never be earned or deserved in any way.

It is also possible to know that you have been saved by your faith because the Spirit of God will testify it in many ways. God wants to give you this assurance through the spiritual growth you will witness in your own life and the presence of God in the form of His Spirit.

Free Will
God made mankind for relationship. God did not build us merely to serve Him, but in such a way that we would have the choice to choose Him as companion and Lord. God does not make us what we are or choose for us where we will spend eternity. Our choices do.

Holy Living
The Church of the Nazarene believes that it is part of God’s plan that we fulfill scripture by living lives that are “holy and pleasing to God.” As we do our part to separate ourselves from the things of this world that cause us to sin, God does His part by healing our spirit by a “circumcision of the heart” that takes away our innate drive to sin. This does not take away our capacity to sin, but it does heal the inward struggle against sin. We will all, however, deal with temptation.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Children are one of our favorite subjects at East Ave Community, and we are confident you will have a great experience in our fantastic children’s department. If anything is ever less than perfect, we want to know immediately. You may ask for JJ Tuttle, our Pastor of Family Ministries or email him with any concerns or suggestions by clicking his name. We genuinely want you to have a 5-star experience in our children’s department, and we will do whatever it takes to exceed your expectations. If you have questions prior to your visit, you may call us at 530.342.1806.

What to Expect from Kids Church
(4 years to 5th Grade)

Children going to Kids Church start out in the sanctuary with their family and are dismissed with the Kids Church Team within the first 10 minutes. Our Kids Church program is designed to be the best hour of your child’s entire week! It is our goal that every child leaves each week extremely excited and ready to come back for more.

You may pick up your child in the Potluck Room within 10 minutes after the end of the service. If for some reason you are detained, please let someone know to tell the Kid’s Church staff member and we will make sure that your child gets the best care possible!

4s & 5s Church – Room 113
This busy little class learns a different Bible story every week. The story is supported by crafts, games and songs. These children start in our worship service and are dismissed to class usually right after the first opening song.

Kindergarten – 5th Grade
This class takes a special kind of energy just to keep up! There are puppets, videos, games, singing and one big dog named Rover! There is so much stuff going on that the fun never stops!

Popularity: 58% [?]

Children are one of our favorite subjects at East Ave Community, and we are confident you will have a great experience in our fantastic children’s department. If anything is ever less than perfect, we want to know immediately. You may ask for JJ Tuttle, our Pastor of Family Ministries or email him with any concerns or suggestions by clicking his name. We genuinely want you to have a 5-star experience in our children’s department, and we will do whatever it takes to exceed your expectations. If you have questions prior to your visit, you may call us at 530.342.1806.

What to expect at Children’s Nursery Check-In
(through age 3)

When you arrive as a guest, you will notice that your child’s welfare is our highest priority. When you arrive at one of our two nurseries for the first time, we will ask you to fill out an informational card prior receiving your child. We will thoroughly explain our security procedures and hand you a numbered pager. In the event that the nursery staff needs to talk to you, your pager will vibrate. When you stop by to pick up your child, you simply trade in the pager for your kid!

Our nurseries are open Sundays from 10:15AM to ten minutes after the close of the morning service.

Two Years and Under in the Nursery
First of all, children of all ages are welcome in the sanctuary during worship (we really do like kids!). Our nursery is here to assist when you are ready and feel it would be easier for you to focus. We will be here for you when the time is right. Our nursery program is staffed with an experienced team of regular workers who have heart for loving your kids. We take caring for your children seriously, and we want it to be a fantastic experience for both you and your pride and joy!

2s and 3s in Room 105
By far the most exciting and energetic room in the church, this toddler room is always hopping with interactive learning. The lesson plans are always arranged around Bible stories and lots of child-safe things to play with. While in our care your toddler will receive a basic peanut-free snack of goldfish, cheerios, or crackers and water. (You may always choose to send an alternate snack).

Popularity: 55% [?]