Rising September 15, 9am & 11am
Helping People Experience Jesus in a LifeChanging Way3838 W Floating Feather Rd, Eagle, ID
Eagle LifeChurch is now Ascend Church
Ascend Church Rises Sept. 15, 2024 – God is doing something new. We are taking the next step as a church and community into a future of greater impact for the Kingdom of God. You are invited to join us!
When is Take Off?
Ascend Church rises September 15, with a big grand reopening celebration with two worship services, 9am & 11am.
- Two Worship Services – 9am & 11am
- Food Trucks – Before & After Each Service
- Inflatables – Before & After Each Service
- Give-Aways – During Each Service
- Ribbon Cutting with Eagle Chamber of Commerce – 10:40am at the Front Doors
PLUS, we have several other activities to help you get connected and build friendships.
- Family Night Kick Off, Wednesday, September 18
- Reboot Recovery, Starts Wednesday, September 18
- Taco ’bout Family Sunday, September 22
- S’more Please Fire Pit Night, Friday, September 27
- Newcomer Lunch, Sunday, October 6
Timeline
Why
Change?
What’s
Important?
What do you Believe?
Who is
Leading?
What’s
the Story?
Who Else is Invovled?
Why a New Name?
Over the last serveral years it has become apparent that there was confusion in the community between Eagle LifeChurch and several other churches with similar names. People were showing up at the wrong place when they were invited. As we continued to grow and have a bigger impact in the community, we realized that a new name would help reinforce our vision and disinguish us from being confused with other churches in Eagle and across the Treasure Valley.
Why the Name Ascend?
Ascend means to lift up, raise up, help up, or soar. The Bible is clear that God descended into the mess of humanity and brought a message of hope, love, and life for those who believe. Over and over again, God says that He is lifting people up. That’s our goal as a church. We want to be a place where people at their lowest are lifted up to a higher dimension of living. A community where people soar on wings like eagles as they wait on the Lord.
What’s Different?
Along with the new name you might see some other differences. Many of the new things would have come to our church even if we didn’t get a new name. For example, our staff is growing, our facility expansion is being developed, and we are testing two Sunday services. There are other differences that are coming because of the new name. We have a new logo, a new website (ascendchurch.tv – TV for Treasure Valley), new emails, and a new color scheme.
A lot of things are not changing. Our vision is the same, “Helping People Experience Jesus in a Life-Changing Way.” Our values are rock solid. You can expect the same commitment to being a family, studying the word of God, and experiencing the Holy Spirit. We will continue to become a healing community of care that is focused on individuals and the work of restoring God’s children.
Our Vision
Helping People Experience Jesus in a Life-Changing Way
Ascend Church is a place where your family can get connected to people who will know your names, pray with you regularly, and support you through life’s challenges. Our passion is helping people experience Jesus in a life-changing way.
Our Values
Lavish Hospitality
The Bible & The Holy Spirit
Manifold Grace
Cross-Generational Ministry
Compassionate Care
Follower First
Sharing Meals
Gifted Worship
Generous Living
“Those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength;
they will ascend on wings like eagles;
they will run and not be weary;
they will walk and not faint.”
– Isaiah 40:31
What We Believe
The Bible
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.
God
The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM,” the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus
Humanity
Humanity was created good and upright, in perfect relationship with God. However, each one has fallen from God into sin which results in both physical and spiritual death.
Humanity was created good and upright; for God said, “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
The Salvation of Man
Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Conditions to Salvation
Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life.
The Evidence of Salvation
The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit. The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.
Water Baptism & Communion
We believe in and practice two ordinances. We reject all others as nothing more than tradition.
Water Baptism
The ordinance of water baptism by immersion is commanded by the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Saviour and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life.
CLICK HERE to learn more about water baptism at Ascend Church.
Holy Communion
The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements –bread and the fruit of the vine– is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4), a memorial of his suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26), and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26), and is enjoined on all believers “till He come!”
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
We believe the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Special Experience Following Salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective ministry, just as it did in New Testament times. All believers are entitled to and should expect and seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church.
Speaking in Tongues
The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance, as experienced on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles.
Christian Living
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God. Sanctification initially occurs at salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy, but also a progressive lifelong process of separating from evil as believers continually draw closer to God and become more Christlike.
The Church
The Church has a Mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe ‘the Church’ is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God’s offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.
Ministry
A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church to:
- Evangelize the world,
- Worship God,
- Build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His son, and
- Meet human need with ministries of love and compassion.
Healing
The Church has a Mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe ‘the Church’ is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God’s offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.
The Rapture of the Church
The Blessed Hope is when Jesus raptures His Church prior to His return to earth. At this moment, all believers who have died will rise from their graves and meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever.
The Millinnial Reign of Christ
The Millennial Reign of Christ is when Jesus returns with His saints at His second coming and begins His benevolent rule over Earth for 1,000 years. This millennial reign will bring national Israel’s salvation and establish universal peace on earth.
The Final Judgement
At the Final Judgement, those who have rejected Christ will be judged for their sin and consigned to eternal punishment in a lake of fire prepared for Satan and his demons.
Heaven
We look forward to the perfect New Heavens and a New Earth that Christ is preparing for all people, of all time, who have accepted Him. We will live and dwell with Him there forever following His millennial reign on Earth. ‘And so shall we forever be with the Lord!’
Beliefs on Calling, Culture, & Identity
Click here for a list of papers that express our opinion on matters of faith, calling, and culture. This includes papers on sexual identity, marriage, women in ministry, alcohol, gambling, divorce, church governance, abortion, suicide, and more.
Meet Our Team
Pastors
We have a highly dedicated staff of pastors and support personnel who lead Ascend with compassion, care, and conviction. Please reach out to any of us so we can help you discover and deploy your gifts in Kingdom of God.
Brad & Lori Murphy
Our Pastors
Pastor Brad & Lori joined Ascend Church in January 2012. Previously they spent 10 years of full-time ministry in Washington State, but have come back to the Treasure Valley where Brad grew up. They have four daughters, one son-in-law, a grandpuppy, and one golden doodle.
Brad Murphy
Lead Pastor
Lori Murphy
Pastor, Worship Arts & More
Our Story
1995
Pastor Rusty Huwa, then from Buhl, Idaho was led to the small farming town of Eagle, Idaho to plant a church as part of the Assemblies of God Decade of Harvest. As Eagle Family Worship Center, our church began meeting in October at Eagle Hills Elementary School.
Our church family quickly began to grow as deep relationships flourished, a heart for missions developed, and a passion for helping people in the Treasure Valley characterized everything.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our worship services and gatherings became a highlight for all who joined.
2000
The old Methodist building on N. Eagle Road became available and the congregation bought it as our first permanent building. The growth continued and we doubled the size of the building. However, the neighborhood couldn’t contain all the cars filling the downtown streets every Sunday and Wednesday.
During this time the congregation developed strategic discipleship ministries, compassionate outreaches, and generosity for evangelism locally and around the world. Investing in the next-generation became a focus across all our ministries.
2006
On Mother’s Day 2006, we had our first service in the newly built building at the corner of Park Lane and Floating Feather (current building). The church struggled in the years following because of the 2008 economic collapse that destroyed the housing market globally, but very specifically in west Eagle.
2010
After a pastoral transition and the fallout from the housing crash we became Eagle LifeChurch. We adopted this name to simplify our image in the community and to bolster our vision to be a life-changing place in our community.
2012
In January 2012, Pastor Brad Murphy came to lead the church out of decline and into a new season of health and growth. Building on the values of community, compassion, and cross-generational ministry we added women's, children, youth, men's, young adult's, and hospitality ministries.
2018
In 2018, Pastor Brad led the church to adopt a vision statement, “Helping People Experience Jesus in a Life-Changing Way.” This vision has become the compelling voice of the Holy Spirit to guide us into the future.
Through this vision we have become a healing community of care that restores broken and hurting families to health and hope. As we develop this vision, our heart is to equip empowered worshipers to serve the needs of hurting people through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
TODAY
In 2024, the church members voted unanimously to adopt the name Ascend Church as a reflection of God's work lifting people up and setting them on a firm foundation of truth.
Today, Ascend Church is experiencing growth through new conversions, water baptisms, Holy Spirit baptisms, and generous Kingdom Builders locally and around the world.
FUTURE
As we look to the future, we have many plans to accomplish the vision of helping people experience Jesus in a life-changing way.
Some of our immediate goals are to begin a trauma and addiction recovery ministry called Reboot, build a discipleship and children's ministry wing, organize an overseas missions trip, double our Kingdom Builder's impact, plant Freedom Church in Meridian, and adpot or plant a second church in the next three years.
Our long term plans include developing a school (preschool, day school, ministry training school), fully developing our five-acre site for massive discipleship and recovery activities, creating a non-profit incubator for starting new Kingdom non-profits, planting/adopting churches (a healthy church in every middle school attendance zone), and give away $1 million in one year.
Come be part of the story God is writing through this local church with a global heart that's helping people experience Jesus in life-changing ways.
Our Affiliation
Ascend Church chooses to network with the Assemblies of God, and the Southern Idaho Ministry Network.
This affiliation is a unified effort in Southern Idaho to provide camps, conferences, training meetings, resources, and leadership for all of the Assembly of God churches and ministries.
