Our History

Gresham Foursquare Church was first chartered in November 1938 by the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (the charter is signed by Aimee Semple McPherson herself). It disbanded during World War II.

In 1955, Emery and Winnifred Brunet moved from Idaho where they had started several Foursquare churches, to Corbett Oregon to serve as directors at Camp Crestview.

Years earlier, they had received a vision and prophetic word that they were to be involved in planting another church, one that would be a place of peace and healing … where lost and hurting sheep could be loved back to wholeness.

They rented the foyer of the old Moyer Theater, where Main City Park is now. The Brunetts faithfully conducted three Sunday services - morning, afternoon and evening - and people began to trickle in. Gresham Foursquare Church eventually outgrew the theater. God then provided an old Assembly of God Temple at 4th and Kelly for one dollar per year.

They had enough members to reactivate the charter in 1956.

Jerry Cook, appointed as pastor in 1965, was a gifted communicator and author whose book, "Love Acceptance, and Forgiveness" further defined the church's philosophy of ministry.

After Jerry came, the church moved to an auditorium on Division Street and changed the name to East Hill Foursquare Church.

East Hill became known as a hospital, a place where people not only heard, but also experienced love acceptance and forgiveness.

In 1976, the church purchased the 50 acres of the old Multnomah County Fairgrounds with plans to develop a regional shopping center and housing development, as well as a new church building.

In 1979, the church moved into the new building at 701 N. Main Avenue.

In 1984, God called Ted Roberts to East Hill as senior pastor.

International Foursquare sold 35 acres of the original Multnomah County Fair Grounds property to the Gresham Towne Fair developer in 1985.

The Office Complex, formerly a small strip of commercial property, was purchased and remodeled in 1987. An old grocery store on Fifth Street, Prairie Market, was purchased in 1988 and made into the Youth Center.

The Children's Center was completed and dedicated in 1995.

In 1999, a vacant lot west of the Office Complex was purchased, which brought the campus to ten acres.

In the fall of 1998, a long-time dream of Pastor Ted's to have college-level training for those wanting to enter the ministry came to fruition with the opening of East Hill Institute of Ministry (EHIM). With Dr. Ted Roberts as president and Dr. Gil Albelo as the Vice President, EHIM moved forward.

Since that time, over 450 students have attended. The school is authorized by the State of Oregon and certified by the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, so students are able to earn an Associate Degree in Pastoral Ministry, which enables them to be an ordained pastor with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, or even transfer to a growing list of Bible Colleges and seminaries for more advanced degrees.

In January 2002, the name was changed to Oregon College of Ministry to reflect that the school serves a much wider area than Gresham and East Hill.

We have been blessed the last few years by having some remarkable men of God come and speak to the East Hill Family.

In July 2001, Graham Cooke from Southampton, England, spoke a prophecy over East Hill Church while he was here. He told us that we were to have a year of unprecedented, unparalleled favor of God.

In May 2005, Clive Pick visited East Hill and spoke on tithing and good financial stewardship as we move to "living under an open heaven."

From the beginning, relationship and a sense of family have been the "order of the day" at all times.

We have been steadily moving toward not simply being a church with small groups, but a church of small groups. More and more people are meeting together regularly, mostly in homes, to go deeper into the teaching, using the Small Group Study Guide distributed weekly.

How heartwarming it is to know that our present emphasis on small groups and serving Christ, the church and one another reflects what the early pioneers of East Hill Church had on their hearts.

On August 21, 2005, the East Hill Family gathered at Mount Hood Community College to celebrate 50 years of being His hands extended to a hurting world. Generations of East Hill were present together and guests from the surrounding community came to celebrate, too.

In 2006 Pastors Ted and Diane Roberts received national attention when their "Sexy Christians" Wednesday series was featured on local news stations and later on ABC's Good Morning America television program. The interest in, and clear need for this open dialogue about healthy sexuality as God designed it, prompted Ted and Diane to design an entire seminar from the "Sexy Christians" message, which they now teach throughout the county.

2007 marked the expanision of East Hill's Pure Desire Ministry, a ministry geared toward freedom from sexual addiction. Pure Desires Ministry International was founded with the goal of spreading PDMI to multiple nations throughout the coming years. In August 2007, Pastor Ted stepped down as senior pastor of East Hill Church so that he could focus on Pure Desire. He remains a vital and active part of the staff and East Hill is still his home church.

Pastor Jason Albelo took the helm on August 25, 2007. He serves as senior pastor of East Hill, supported by his wife, Nikki. Jason has been on staff at East Hill since 2000 and looks forward to all that the Lord has ahead for the East Hill Church Family.