Pastor Steve Mickel recently announced his upcoming transition to become the next District Supervisor for the Northwest District of the Foursquare Church. Starting July 1st, Pastor Steve will oversee more than 280 churches in the District, which includes Westside Church, a Foursquare church planted in Bend, Oregon in the 1950s. On June 25th, Foursquare will install Evan Earwicker and Ben Fleming as the senior pastors of Westside Church. Ben and Evan have been serving faithfully as senior pastors alongside Steve since 2021, and will continue to serve as senior pastors after Steve’s transition. God has been preparing Westside for this moment through our model of shared leadership, long before Steve ever considered this transition within the broader Foursquare movement.

Steve makes this transition with the support and confidence of the Leadership Team, and the appointment of Evan and Ben to continue as senior pastors is affirmed by Foursquare, Westside’s Church Council, and Westside’s Leadership Team. As the Apostle Paul did with the church in Antioch, Steve and Suzanne will make Westside their home church—they will continue to live in Central Oregon—and continue to participate in the community as Steve’s home base from which he leads and serves the District. Evan and Ben will continue to be mentored by Steve, and Steve will provide oversight and accountability for their leadership in his official capacity as District Supervisor.

A video of Steve’s announcement to the church from Sunday is embedded below.

Summer Camp for Middle School and High School will be held this year at Washington Family Ranch! Camp is for students who have finished 5th grade and are going into 6th grade in the fall through students who have finished 11th grade and going into 12th grade in the fall.

Registration is now closed. (If you’ve already registered, please check your email & spam folder for important communications).

Get Ready for Camp

• Fill out the online medical waiver BEFORE bringing your student arrives at camp Parent release form
• Parents will need to arrange transportation to camp for their student. If they need help finding a carpool, please join our Carpool Facebook Page! Westside Summer Camp Carpool
• Follow these driving directions to get out to Washington Family Ranch and follow signs to CREEKSIDE. Students can be dropped off at camp at 5pm on Sunday (Aug 15) and should be picked up at 12 on Tuesday (Aug 17) Driving Directions
• Packing List:
  • Sleeping Bag & Pillow
  • Towel
  • Bible & Journal
  • Activewear/shoes for free time
  • Pajamas
  • Sunscreen
  • Swimsuit
  • Toiletries
  • Medications (All meds will be checked in, and administered by our camp nurses)
  • **Costco/Family Size Packaged Snack to share (please no large boxes of goldfish or other items that are not individually packaged)
  • Camera if desired (phones and tablets not allowed)

Important

Phones are not to be used during camp, this is an important part of the ‘unplugged’ experience. Phones/tablets brought to camp will be held by our leaders until we arrive back at the church on Sunday. There will be videos and photos of camp available to students.

NO skateboards or scooters are allowed at Creekside Camp at Washington Family Ranch. (That was only for Winter Camp)

This week marks the completion of For The City, a 2-year giving and serving campaign. When we launched this campaign in the spring of 2019, we didn’t realize how God would use this campaign to strategically position our church to support and encourage families in our community throughout the unexpected challenges of the past 14 months. Today, we still desire to embody the way of Jesus: to love God and love people. As we intentionally engage in proximity to our city, we will see the life and love of Jesus bring transformation to everyone, everywhere across Central Oregon and beyond.

The Campaign is complete, but the initiatives will continue. To give to the For the City initiatives moving forward, select “Ministry Fund” on our Giving Page.

Thank you for your continued generosity throughout such a unique and challenging year. Your faithful giving has helped Westside Church meet more practical needs in the Church and in our community than ever before! This spirit of generosity has had huge impact. People have found salvation and life in Christ because of you—Thank you! Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year!

*Reminder: year-end gifts must be submitted electronically or post marked before midnight on Thursday, December 31st related to tax purposes in 2020.

Giving Link

Address:
Westside Church
2051 NW Shevlin Park Rd
Bend, OR 97703

Hi everyone. As we approach the end of 2020, I reflect on what we have been through and what I have learned about myself, my leadership, and the church.

One area of significance and encouragement to me is the consistent financial generosity of our church. During one of the most unpredictable times in all of history, your faithfulness in this one area is truly remarkable. It denotes several things worth mentioning:

First, you trust Jesus. We know that when Jesus has my pocketbook, he has my all. Unlike most anything else in life, giving reveals what we value and in what we put our trust.

Second, you believe in the mission of your church. Although we give out of obedience to what Jesus taught, we also give to worthy causes. As you have heard me say in the past, giving to a healthy, local church is one of the best investments in kingdom living.

Recently we received a note from a five-year-old attendee, Jonas (well, from his mom), who had a conversation with him in the car. This five year old asked his mom while they were driving in the car, “Mom, do you think I will go to Heaven?” The mom asked him, “Well, do you believe in Jesus and love him with all your heart?” Great answer, by the way, mom. Here was his reply: “Yes. I was watching videos about Jesus at church, and I just accidentally started loving him. It kind of surprised me.” That’s so good. The mom encouraged us for having an impact on her family and thanked us for, and I quote, “Westside’s continued investment into our children.”

This is one of many stories where our investment, your investment, is making a difference. So, thank you. Thank you for being consistent in an inconsistent season. Thank you for trusting Jesus with everything. I love you and am so proud to be one of your pastors.

Pastor Steve

Soon, we will be moving away from our current payment processor to a new one (Planning Center, which we already use for event signups and paid registrations). Do you give with a recurring, monthly gift? Please update your information here.