Eagle Hills Church Profile 2024

A Brief History

Founded in 1888 as the Boise Valley Methodist Episcopal Church, we have been doing ministry in the Treasure Valley for 135 years, under a variety of names and in several different locations. In 1990, we moved to our current site under the name of Eagle United Methodist Church. In 1993 our current pastor, John Grimsted, joined us and has led the church through two building expansions and membership growth.

In January of 2023 we rebranded and changed our name to Eagle Hills Church in hopes of more accurately reflecting who we are and our commitment to serving the community. Later that same year we disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church and are currently serving as an independent church. One constant is that we are a traditional church following the Wesleyan beliefs.

Mission, Vision and Beliefs

Mission

To attract and grow disciples for Jesus Christ.

Vision

To grow church involvement generationally in our local community. We desire to grow disciples filled with the Holy Spirit to equip saints young and old to teach one another in the ways of Christ in accordance with Scripture.

Statement of Beliefs

• The Bible is the inspired Word of God – 2 Tim 3:16-17
• My sinfulness separates me from God – Rom 3:23
• We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ – Eph 2:8
• God loves everyone – John 3:16
• The Holy Spirit works within me to sanctify me – Phil 2:12-13
• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the one true God – 2 Cor 13:14
• All I have belongs to God – 1 Tim 6:17-18
• God works through the church – Matt 18:20

Opportunities for Worship, Learning, Fellowship and Service

We currently have one worship service on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. that consists of music, communion (1st Sunday of every month), and a Bible-based message that seeks to teach instead of to preach.

Our music is a mix of contemporary and traditional music led by Robb French, the Choir Director and Worship Team Leader. Services are roughly an hour in length.

Stained glass windows and art play an important part in our worship. The services are live streamed each week for the benefit of those who cannot worship in person.

Learning

Eagle Hills Church offers an adult Bible Study led by Pastor John on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. Each week Pastor John teaches from a book in both the Old and New Testaments.

We also offer Eagle Kidz Children’s Ministry for ages Pre-K through 6 grade that meets during the worship service. The two classes seek to provide a safe environment (using KidCheck Secure Children’s Check-in) for children to learn about God and His love for them through community-building activities, song, stories and play.

For the younger children six weeks to three years of age, Eagle Hills Church offers Little Sprouts nursery, where volunteers believe that God’s love is shared with each child through the way they are encouraged, helped, supported, and cared for.

In addition to the adult and children’s Sunday class, Eagle Hills Church encourages its members to participate in small groups Bible studies.

We currently offer the following:

• Mixed Group Bible Study
• Men’s Bible Study
• Women’s Bible Study
• Disciple/Christian Believer Bible Study–an intensive 36-week course led by Pastor John

Fellowship

Eagle Hills Church seeks to be a welcoming community and encourages its members and guests to stay for fellowship after Sunday’s worship service. Church volunteers serve hot drinks at a free coffee/latte bar (donations are accepted that supports the Free Wheelchair Mission) and desserts, cookies and treats.

Eagle Hills Church Family group meets once every month for dinner, games, study, encouragement and prayer time together. This is for the whole family and childcare is provided.

Service

Eagle Hills Church believes that people are blessed in serving others as much as those being served. We, therefore, provide many opportunities to serve in the church such as hospitality, working with children, building and outdoor maintenance, and media.

Missions

Helping Our Community

• Red Cross Blood Drive–Eagle Hill Church sponsors a bimonthly blood drive and is one of the largest donor sites in the northwest. To date there have been 4,317 units donated at the church.
• River of Life Dinner–Every third Thursday of the month, Eagle Hills Church provides and serves a dinner at the Boise Rescue Missions in Boise.
• Eagle Food Bank–We support the Eagle Food Bank by collecting food and money every month.

• Wrapped in Prayer–This group meets every Wednesday to knit and crochet prayer shawls, lap robes and shawls; blankets, hats and booties for premature babies; small pocket prayers; and bears. These items are given to people who are hurting to bring comfort and to be a physical reminder of God’s grace and love. We just celebrated the giving of the 2000 prayer shawls in September of 2023.
• Threads of Love–This group meets the second Tuesday of each month to create items from fabric to bring comfort to babies, children and youth. They create quilts, receiving blankets, and burp cloths to be donated to local hospitals, and they also sew doll blankets, dresses, and drawstring bags for the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Ministry.
• Kairos Prison Ministry–Eagle Hills Church supports the Kairos Prison Ministry by sending volunteers inside Idaho State Correctional Institution, sending agape, praying, and providing financial support.
• AA and Al-Anon—We host several AA and Al-Ann meetings throughout the week at Eagle Hills Church.
• Vacation Bible School–Every summer Eagle Hills Church hosts a VBS event open to member children and the community.

Helping Globally

• The Free Wheelchair Mission–Eagle Hills Church has supported this mission since 2013 by giving 190 wheelchairs in 2023 and 2562 to date. The Free Wheelchair Mission provides free wheelchairs to persons with physical disabilities in developing nations in the name of Jesus Christ.
• Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Ministry–For many years Eagle Hills Church has participated in this ministry that provides Christmas boxes in the name of Jesus to children in developing nations. In 2023 we packed and shipped 202 shoeboxes.
• Mission Malawi–This is a new mission for Eagle Hills Church. In 2023 we financially and with prayer supported some members who met the spiritual and poverty needs of the people in rural villages in a holistic way. Additionally, the Christmas Eve offering was donated to provide clean water in Malawi.

• Operational Details

  Budget– $500,000

  Average Attendance–150

• Staff

  In addition to Pastor John, Eagle Hills Church employs part-time a Director of Children’s Ministry, an Administrative Assistant, a Worship Director, a Bookkeeper, and a Finance Secretary. Pastor John has served this church for 30 years and is seeking to retire in the next 12-18 months.

• Governance

  Eagle Hills Church is governed by an Administrative Board elected by the congregation.

• Building

  During our last building expansion in 2010 we decided as a congregation that we wanted the building to serve the community of Eagle. We succeeded. On average Eagle Hills Church hosts around 350 people in our building a day. The following are some of the outside groups that enjoy our centrally located approximately 33,400 square foot building:

  • Eagle Wing’s Preschool–Eagle Hills Church has its own preschool that serves over 100 students three years to pre-kindergarten with eight classes.
  • New Heart Ministries International
  • Eagle Senior Citizens
  • Millennial Choir
  • Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts
  • AA and Al-Anon
  • Jazzercise
  • Eagle Theatre Company

• Vision for the Future

  Eagle Hills Church has seen encouraging growth in attendance since rebranding and disaffiliating from the UMC. Our vision is to continue to be a church that is filled with the Holy Spirit such that people are attracted to us especially as the community of Eagle continues to grow in population with families and retirees. To attract families, we will need to grow our youth ministries. We recognize that our largest challenge is handling the debt load created by the disaffiliation. Eagle Hills Church’s long-term vision would be to grow and plant new churches in the valley.

• Community of Eagle

  Eagle is a suburb located 10 miles northwest of Boise, Idaho’s state capital, and is known for its picturesque setting along the Boise River. The population was 30,346 according to the 2020 census. Eagle’s land size is approximately 30 square miles. Eagle’s proximity to Boise, access to many outdoor activities, and quality schools make Eagle a desirable place to live.

  Popular community events include the Eagle Saturday Market, Eagle Fun Days and Eagle Country Christmas during which Eagle Hills Church hosts a Christmas concert and pie reception.

  In addition to the Greenbelt that runs along the Boise River and offers river access for wading and fishing and walking paths, Eagle is home to several large community parks, and Eagle Island State Park. Ada/Eagle Sports Complex in the foothills also features a skate park, bike and running trails, and a bicycle motocross course.

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