Our Story & History
It all starts with Jesus.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” Ephesians 2:19-21
The Church exists for the display of the glory of God. Those of us who trust in and follow Jesus are caught up in something much bigger than ourselves: we are incorporated into God’s redemptive purposes in the world. We as Eastside Community Church are merely one local-Austin manifestation of God’s global Church, and His purposes in our world, city, and community.
Eastside Community Church
Our church was planted in January 2017 as part of the Association of Hill Country Churches network. Since the beginning we have longed to see every man, woman, and child in East Austin have the opportunity to respond to the gospel, so that they might turn from sin and experience the life-changing reality of Jesus now and forever.
Learn more about the AHCC Church Planting Network here.
2012-2014
Initially, Holland and Jenny had their sights set on south Austin, and had planned a “scouting trip” to explore the area with a small team and see if the Lord would open any doors for church planting. After making arrangements to stay in a church for a week as a “home base” for the trip, the church ended up not being able to host everyone, and someone on the team recommended a different location that they believed could host—a non-profit called Mission Possible, in East Austin. While the team was disappointed about this change of plans at first, they ended up learning more about East Austin and Mission Possible’s ministry to low-income families, and fell in love with the community. Holland had recently started attending Redeemer Seminary in East Austin as well, pursuing a Masters Degree, so it looked like all signs were pointing to the eastside!
2015-2016
Holland and Jenny spoke with the leadership of mission possible about the idea of planting a church that met in their facility (which was originally built as a Christian church in the 1900’s), that was focused on ministering to those in the community who are under-served, and having a church home for those whom Mission Possible was already serving as well, and the vision for Eastside Community Church was born! After speaking with several other pastors in the area and being invited and welcomed to plant a church, we began gathering a team, praying together for easy Austin, and eventually moving our team into the community to serve and build relationships.
2017-Present
Eventually, on January 29th, 2017, we held our first official worship service as Eastside Community Church! We began with 30 members, some of whom came from Wells Branch, others we met through Mission Possible, and a few folks from the community who wanted to join us as well. Our vision was, and is, to shine the light of Jesus on the eastside, for the good of our community and the glory of God. Over the years we have seen God do many amazing things, and we believe the best things are still to come as we continue shining the light of Jesus in this community!