Eastside Church (Was Mars Hill Bellevue) Chooses New Staff; Is Soma Still Involved?

This came out earlier today.
Sounds like business as usual with no mention of Soma or Jeff Vanderstelt.

Some Good News Heading Into 2015
Pastor Jason Skelton
Eastside Family,
As we soon close out 2014 and head into the New Year as a new church, we wanted you to be aware of some good news for 2015.
Staff Selection
We have been prayerfully considering a number of hires for the new church staff. By God’s grace and your generosity, we are able to support a great team to serve and equip you for ministry in 2015. There are a number of conversations still in process, but we wanted you to be aware of a few of the team members:

  • Jim Franks will serve as the Director of Operations equipping and supporting our volunteer teams, Sunday services and daily operations of the church
  • Tim Patton will serve as the Director of Administration stewarding the finances and business obligations of the new church. Tim will also serve as one of the elders.
  • Alex Ghioni will serve as the Pastor of Biblical Counseling leading our Redemption Group ministries, marriage counseling, etc. Alex will also serve as one of the elders.
  • Adrian Kilgore will serve as the Director of Media and Production equipping our production volunteers and overseeing technology as well as communications

We are in ongoing conversations regarding the hire of a Director of Youth Ministry to lead Kids and Student Ministry. We have much more to share with you about these ministries soon, as well as determination of our Director of Community Groups. We’ll share more information with you in the coming weeks.
New Service Times
The elders have been prayerfully considering what service time schedule would be serve the Eastside. After talking with many members of the congregation, we have made the decision that we will change our service times to 9a and 11a, beginning in January 2015. This will allow us to focus our efforts on Sunday morning services, as well as utilizing the remainder of the day for additional training and equipping opportunities, particularly allowing those driving from a further distance to not be required to come into Downtown Bellevue on multiple days per week. It’s our prayer that this will also help our volunteer teams who have served sacrificially these past few months.
Student Ministry Date and Time
In 2015, we will also be changing the date and time of our Student Ministry. We have been meeting on Wednesday evenings, but in January 2015 will change to meet on Sunday evenings at 5pm. We believe this will better serve our families and will better steward our resources (when we already have paid for the parking in the church lot on Sundays). In making this change, it’s our goal that we will not only be able to accommodate Student Ministry on Sunday nights, but offer training opportunities for parents at the same time.
Supporting the New Church Plant
Many have asked about ACH giving and how to set this up for the new church. We would ask that you continue to give faithfully, generously, and sacrificially to Mars Hill Church through the remainder of 2014, and in 2015 we will share how you can set up giving to the new church. You have been incredibly generous, and we are grateful for the way that your giving will allow us to complete the plan that we outlined in October of launching many new independent churches out of our former church.
Location of the New Church
After prayerfully considering numerous options, we have determined that we will stay in our current facility in Downtown Bellevue, in the John Danz Building. We’re currently finalizing the lease with our landlords, with whom the relationship has remained very strong and we’re grateful for their partnership. The Lord opened numerous doors for us to stay in this building, allowing us to make a decision that we believe to be wise in regard to both location and finances. We will share more about this in the coming weeks, but wanted to share the good news that we will be able to continue to meet in the building that many have called home for the last several years. To our friends from the Sammamish Plateau, we understand that this location may require additional commute time, but look forward to sharing the vision of how the church building can become an equipping center in order that you are better prepared for ministry throughout the week.
We understand that change can be unsettling, and thus we share these things knowing that it’s important to communicate with you as clearly as possible moving into the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out directly to any of the staff members listed above, or any of the elders. It’s our goal and desire to communicate in a way that honors you as members of the church, and equips you for fruitful ministry by sharing opportunities to pray and serve.
Thanks for your continued partnership in the Gospel. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we continue our “Jesus: Gift of God” series at 8:30a, 10:30a, and 4:00p.
In Christ,
Pastor Jason