Easter Drive-Thru 2020 (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

E2 Church in Elk Grove generously gave over $52,000 to the community this Easter season.

“I felt like God really gave me a vision to give away $50,000 this Easter season,” Lead Pastor Jared Ellis said. “Practicing giving and serving others before you serve yourself, I think that this is what it’s about. I think that’s what a church is supposed to be, not just having a church, but being the church.”

More than $52,000 was disbursed by E2 Church as an Easter outreach to help those in the community who have been impacted by Covid 19. $28,000 was donated to non-profits in Elk Grove and Sacramento that have been effected by the pandemic. Some of that money went to providing over 600 meals to healthcare workers via food trucks, during the day and throughout the late night-shifts. Kaiser South Sacramento and Methodist Hospital of Sacramento were some of the local hospitals that were served. The other $24,000 is part of an E2 Stimulus Package that is giving away $2,000 each to Elk Grove and Sacramento families in need during this crisis.

Food trucks delivering food to healthcare workers (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Providing meals for local hospitals (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Healthcare workers being served during late night-shifts (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Providing late night meals to night-time hospital staff (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

2020 Easter Drive-Thru

In addition, over 700 Easter kits were handed out to families at the E2 Easter Drive-Thru during the Easter weekend. Cars lined up around the block with kids and families waiting to receive their Easter kits filled with goodies and surprises as they were greeted by the Easter bunny and E2 volunteers.

Easter Drive-Thru with the Easter bunny (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Easter Basket Kits for the Easter Drive-Thru (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Video Credit: E2 Church

Previous Easter Celebrations

E2 Church recently acquired a beautiful new building on Laguna Boulevard by Strikes. Easter celebrations in the new building were eagerly anticipated by the church and the community. E2 is well-known in the Sacramento region for throwing a grand Easter bash every year for everyone to enjoy as they open-heartedly welcome the greater Sacramento region and beyond. Moreover, the celebration usually consists of an incredible Easter worship with a thought provoking, compelling message about the Risen Savior, the true meaning of Easter.

After the worship service, the grand bash begins with a free lunch, an extravagant Eggstravaganza and an unforgettable after-party. Long lines of food trucks serve generous amounts of terrific food, all paid for by the church and free to all of the public. Visitors then get to enjoy a fun-filled day with their friends and families, all for free. E2 provides a vibrant after-party filled with Easter eggs, games, toys, music, fellowship and fun. Crowds of hundreds, if not thousands of people, young and old, from every race, religion and ethnic background, come in droves to gather together, to enjoy and participate, in the impressive Easter festivities hosted by a very generous E2 Church.

Fun-filled Easter 2019 (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Music and DJ provided by E2 (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

E2 Church volunteers (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Food trucks & free food provided by E2 Church (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Easter egg hunts & games (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Bounce houses, fun and fellowship for the community (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

Change of Plans for Easter 2020

This year, however, the Easter celebrations at the new building were cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. With the current stay-at-home order, shelter-in-place rule and the required social distancing, our world and the community came to an abrupt halt. But, the Covid 19 pandemic was not about to stop E2 from celebrating the Risen Christ. Unprecedented times require unprecedented actions. So, instead of the community going to church this Easter to celebrate, E2 celebrated by bringing the church out into the community. E2 boldly stepped up, showed up, and went out to serve their beloved cities of Elk Grove and Sacramento.

Pastor Jared stated: “We were thinking this year, everybody’s so on board and they’ve been giving to our building fund, what can we do to give back? I asked my team, I said find out some incredible stories of people in our church, and even outside of our church that have lost their jobs, they’re about to lose their home, their car’s going to be repossessed, maybe we can do something to help them stay afloat for one more month.” With this being said, and while practicing social distancing, E2 volunteers contacted families and non-profit organizations who were impacted by the pandemic. Soon enough, they met online, via Zoom, to notify them that help was on it’s way.

Sabrina Alley, owner of The Health Alley and a single mom, was one of the very surprised and grateful recipients who was contacted by volunteers, who then reported back to E2 of her dire situation. Sabrina’s personal and business lives were both severely affected due to the recent pandemic. 90 percent of Sabrina’s income had come to a complete halt. But, in a heart-warming interview, Sabrina shared her fascinating story with me, one of miracles that will be spoken of for years to come. She shared her utter and complete faith in God, and her message of faithfully tithing, even when life was rough. She spoke of her gratitude to E2 Church’s close knit community and their generosity. She told stories of godly individuals, some roaming among us in Elk Grove, acting as angels on earth. Sabrina spoke of the compassion and support she experienced through this surprise donation as she shared. “Our family is humbled to be a recipient of E2 Church’s Stimulus. God is so good and truly provides in ways you could never imagine.”

Courtney Thomas is another recipient whose home burned down on March 3, 2020, just days before the Covid 19 pandemic hit Sacramento. In an interview with Courtney, she shared that in her widest dreams she could not make up the ‘living nightmare’ she and her family have endured these past few weeks. Courtney and her husband, along with their children, recently left Nevada in December, and moved in with her mother in Sacramento. When her mom’s house burned down last month, the family found themselves completely stranded. Courtney was gracious enough to allow me to interview her over the phone, as she was delivering for Doordash, with young children crying in the background. She shared that everything went awry after her home burned down. Everything shut down and she did not know where to turn. She exhausted all her resources until E2 Church heard her story and stepped in to help. Courtney tearfully expressed her gratitude. “E2 Church has helped ease some of my financial, mental, emotional stress. I know now that there are good people out there, who truly care and are willing to help. We cannot wait for this church to open up so we can meet everyone in person and participate in this loving church community.”

E2 Church said that the $52,000 was a large sum of money to give away, and although the future is uncertain, the church has always practiced generosity, and it has always worked out. Most noteworthy, the next plan now is to support local schools in the area. In my interview today with Pastor Jared, he confirmed that Isabel Jackson Elementary School has officially received their donation today.

Pastor Jared shared: “We want to show who we really are as a church. We love our city! We want our church members to be proud of our church and what we are doing. We want Elk Grove to know that everyone is welcome here. My heart is for people who don’t go to church, ‘the un-churched,’ I want them to know that we are the church for you! This is our first step in letting them know that we are here for them.”

E2 Church is a church that never stops giving. Twelve percent of every dollar from tithes and offerings is specifically maintained for the outreach fund. “Our heart is to reinvest by contributing and serving the community,” says Pastor Jared. The outreach funds are used to help partner up with thirty non-profit organizations that serve the community, such as the Elk Grove Food Bank, Chicks In Crises, Rise Against Hunger and many more that are listed on the church’s website.

Worship Experiences

E2 Church is currently airing all worship experiences online during the shelter-in-place order. In-house worship services and meetings will resume once restrictions are lifted and it is safe for the community to carry on as usual. In the meantime, all services can be accessed for free online through Google Play or through the E2 Church App. Also, prayer requests, praise reports, communications and connections with E2 can be made online.

In-house worship service at E2 (Photo Credit: E2 Church)

A Thank you from the Elk Grove Tribune

All of us at the Elk Grove Tribune would like to thank E2 Church for all the good that you are doing for our communities in Sacramento. During the heartbreak and devastation of this Covid 19 pandemic, thank you for stepping out and celebrating Easter in a way that our city will never forget. Your love, compassion and kindness as a church is putting you on the map here in Elk Grove and in Sacramento. Thank you for all that you have done for our healthcare workers, non-profits, families and friends.