Eastiew Community Church
Eastview Community Church

Today at Eastview

The Difference About Dave

Marc Neufeld - 2009-10-10

Photos by Amy Friesen and Kylee ChandlerIt wasn’t until my parents mentioned the ‘Palm Pilot’ that I remembered the guest speaker who was now becoming Eastview’s new Pastor of Adult Ministries. “It’s a Palm TX, actually,” says Dave Ens with a smile.

“I was very surprised with the response it’s gotten,” he tells me. “Before I started here I got together with some college friends and one of them said: “I hear you preach off your Blackberry.”” He laughs: “No funny stories, though… surprisingly.”

Dave Ens, born and raised in Winnipeg, guest-spoke here in early 2009 while Eastview was searching for an Associate Pastor.

“I was surprised by how many people we knew here,” remarks Dave, referring to his wife, Nicole, with whom he has three wonderful children: Megan(10), Lauren(8), and Alexander(5). “I really liked the relaxed feel to the service,” he continues. “The congregation tracks well and responds.”

The Sunday he spoke here at Eastview was actually part of a series of events going back a year or so..
For over a year, Dave tells me, he had experienced a rumbling, or unrest. He and Nicole tried discerning it, seeing if this rumbling was just from them, or from God. It was in this time that the position at Eastview presented itself. Dave spoke with Steve Dick – at that time the Moderator of Eastview’s Council – and had a follow-up meeting a few months after that, this time with Delbert Enns.

“The more [Delbert and I] talked,” says Dave, “there was such resonance and energy not just about Eastview specifically, but also church culture in general. It was very exciting.”

Two months later he spoke here for the first time.

“The hand, or the movement, of God brought us to an opportunity,” Dave tells me. “It’s like God has been leading us the whole time. Faith is faith – if there was no uncertainty then it wouldn’t be faith.”

Dave attended MBBC (later Concord College), where he first met Nicole, who now teaches music. They were married in 1993, and though Dave’s initial career path was in Information Systems, he soon received a call from a Pastor to enter into Youth Ministry, which he did for over five years. He received his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Winnipeg, and pursued graduate studies in Theology. He comes to Eastview now after more than eight years as Senior Pastor at a Brandon-area church, which Dave calls a “wonderful, great experience.”

“Growing up,” Dave tells me, “Church always played a big part – which was sometimes not good. It dominated family, and I often didn’t like it because it asked so much.” He continues: “I came out of that with the idea that it’s important to understand the strengths God has given each of us. Just saying “yes” because the church asks isn’t really healthy; it’s important to serve where you are gifted.”

Dave explains his philosophy regarding volunteers to me: “It’s all about empowering people, walking with people, and fostering leadership at all ages, all throughout their spiritual journey. Volunteers are key. We come into this, God gifts us, and we can’t hire that out; we have to learn how to be faithful. It’s very important that volunteers are in this mix.”

“In that regard,” Dave continues, “my role here at Eastview will be working with care group leaders: empowering, encouraging, and walking with them.”

I ask Dave about his new role, stumbling on his actual job title. Teaching Pastor? Associate Pastor? Adult Pastor? “It really depends on who you ask,” he laughs. “The programmatic part of my job will focus on Adult Ministry: Care groups, Men’s ministry, Women’s Ministry, Sunday XL. It will focus on different ways to encourage and propagate Eastview’s mission statement; growing onto maturity, understanding there is no point where we say “we’ve got it.” I will be cultivating leaders to give leadership to these new areas, creating teams of leaders.”

“There will be a lot of ‘first times,’” Dave says when I ask him about working with Pastor Delbert. “There’s lots of give and take. I’m very excited about the collaborative process. Like themes, for example: I love seeing how they work themselves out in different areas of church life.”

One theme Dave is excited to bring to Easview is “bringing the church to the understanding that we need each other in an intergenerational sense – we need older and younger people.”

“The ‘Adult Pastor’ role is a good opportunity for [helping to realize] this,” he continues. We need to be speaking into each other’s lives, not segregating generations but mentoring each other through our personal and spiritual journeys. Everyone brings something into the mix. In my three weeks of being here, I see a group of people that struggles to understand that we are in this together and stronger together, when united.”

“A church of this size always has a struggle with community,” Dave explains. “Programs only go so far. It comes down to people saying that this is a community to invest in, nurture, feed, and be accountable to. It’s easier to be people of God together."

Another theme Dave wants to promote is bringing belief and mission together in a stronger way. “We need both to be effective. It’s about living out being with people in the world. It’s only when you work something out through your feet that you understand it with your head. Care Groups and Life Groups push to create habits that don’t only focus on studying, but living out in the world.”

I ask Dave about strengths he sees in Eastview and his immediate response is “Generosity. Generosity as strength. The way the budget is laid out – it’s very encouraging, because we are called to be generous as God is generous to us.”

Despite only being here for three weeks (at the time of this writing), Dave seems very comfortable being a new part of the “great staff” at Eastview. “I’m learning a lot of new faces and names, and reconnecting with friends from college and even high school. It’s great finding my place in the mix.”

“There’s obviously the dynamic of a much larger church, so there’s a learning curve,” Dave says. “I’ve just been finding my way through it.”

He goes on to say how excited he is about working in a team setting, and how it’s shaping up: “There’s a real positive spirit in the office about how we can each in our own areas contribute to the team dynamic.”

Despite this positive spirit, however, he still turns his Palm TX’s wifi off while preaching to prevent fellow colleagues or other pastors from hacking in, just in case. After all: sometimes the best defence is a good Dave Ens.