Chip Heim, Senior Pastor
chipheim@gmail.com

Hi. My name is Chip. I have served at East Side since 1984 and have been the Senior Pastor since 1996. I have been married to Karen for 30 years and we have a daughter, Karleigh, who is 19. We have fun together as a family with a highlight each year being our vacation in Watch Hill, Rhode Island at the Ocean House. But the Ocean House sold so Ocean Grove, New Jersey is our new vacation home. Great waves, great views, and great food.

I love being a pastor. The most fun parts of my job are studying and teaching God's word, the Bible, and being with our church people. In all my years at East Side there have only been (literally) a handful of times when my office door has been closed as I love to have our church people come in and say hi. My favorite book of the Bible is Genesis. I have taught it about ten times and each time I am more and more captivated by God's grace for us. If you have ever wondered if God's grace can reach you, read Genesis. My favorite verse, though, is found in Zephaniah 3:17 which reads, "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." I will never figure out that one out – why would God want to sing over me? I have served as a visiting professor at Zaporozhye Bible College in Zaporozhye, Ukraine on nine occasions. A great experience.

I am an avid reader. My favorite books are Crime and Punishment, The Grapes of Wrath, The Fifties, and anything by Nelson DeMille. I love sports with the New York Yankees my favorite team. I am no bandwagon jumper either as I suffered with them while in high school during their dismal years in the late 60s and early 70s. On my first trip to Yankee stadium I spent a hundred bucks on souvenirs. It was money well spent. I was at Yankee Stadium last summer when Jason Giambi hit a walkoff homerun against the Pirates in the eleventh inning. We all sang "New York, New York." I still try to play basketball even though my mom tells me that at 52 I am crazy. She thinks I am too old (moms never stop being moms). My favorite singer is Bruce Springsteen although I've discovered country music recently. My favorite movies are Field of Dreams (I cried the first two times I saw it), For Love of the Game, A Few Good Men, and The Shawshank Redemption.

Well, now you know a little about me. If you ever happen to stop by our church facility my door will be open.

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