East Coast was founded by our lead pastor, Jason Williams, in late fall 2004. After 10 years in youth ministry, Jason began to pray and ask God what the future held for him in August of 2004. After visiting a church called Westridge in the Atlanta, GA area, he and his wife Amanda answered God's call to plant a new church in Suffolk, Virginia.
In November 2004, the journey began. The church began with 12 people in a living room sharing a common desire to see the kind of community described in Acts 2. Plans were made to launch the church at a Suffolk public school on March 27th. God continued to work and provide in amazing ways for this new ministry.
Since launching Easter 2005, East Coast has become a true family. Our small group of 12 has grown to a group of over 150 with weekly attendance at over 100. This Easter was a highlight of 2006 with over 3000 folks from the community coming to enjoy our annual SpringFest!
In January 2007, East Coast took a step of faith and hired Jon Marshall as our worship leader. Jon now coordinates our creative Sunday morning services, and works together with a great team of musicians and tecnical staff to bring the best possible worship experience each week. We are thrilled to have Jon on the East Coast team.
We are excited to see more people involved in home groups and in service opportunities. We expect to see God continue to work in our little family to reach more and more people in the upcoming years.
... leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
... by creating environments where people are encouraged and equipped to pursue intimacy with God, community with our regular attendees, and influence with those around us in our daily lives.
We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Spirit of God to write the very words of Scripture. Therefore, we believe the Bible is without error.
We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, salvation occurs only when people place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin.
We believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus Christ is the second member of the Trinity (the Son of God) who became flesh to reveal God to man and to become the Savior of the lost world.
We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for himself. By obedience to the Word of God and daily yielding to the Spirit of God, every believer should mature and be conformed to the image of Christ.
We believe that mankind was created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him but became alienated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, man is incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through his own effort alone.
We believe that the church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the head. The members of the church are those who have trusted by faith the finished work of Christ. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving Him and by making Him known to the lost world. |
