Over the last week I have watched my social media feed become more divided and filled with toxicity than I ever wanted to see. Our nation is trying to move forward with a contentious election while certain people are using it to embolden their own evil hatred of others who are different than them. When we gather as a community we have people in the room from all different walks of life and backgrounds. It's a unique opportunity to remind everyone that in Jesus we have the ability to focus on someone who we can have in common. Our politics and the politicians we support will change over time but our King never will.

This weekend was an incredible example of that for Eastern Hills. We saw thousands of people engage in mission and make a difference for thousands more. I can't tell you how incredible it was to watch so many choose to bring hope and help together as a community on mission. I saw so many who chose to channel their energy into the contributions they could make in uncertain times rather than becoming paralyzed with fear or pridefully claiming victory without thinking of others.

This weekend we saw God use the people of Eastern Hills to:

• Prepare meals for 2600 people through Mountains of Mercy
• Take 400 tags to go buy gifts for families in need this Christmas
• Feed and invest in 70 homeless women at Delore's House, one of our regional partners
• Dedicate dozens of families in all of our services to be supported by us and focused on Jesus
• Honor the heros that make our nation truly incredible and provide the freedoms for us to love God and love people openly and without fear
• Celebrate dozens of people to make first-time decisions to follow Jesus with their life and eternity

And I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for next weekend as we celebrate what God has done through all of our Reach Groups this fall, the parties we threw all around our community, have a soft-opening for our newly remodeled cafe and celebrate baptisms!

If you are a part of Eastern Hills I hope you are encouraged that your engagement in what God is doing here is making a real difference because we are not a building, we are a people on a mission to tell the world that the Gospel is for Everyone!