God often works in ways that we don’t expect. For Devin and Mackenzie Williams, their beginning at Eagle didn’t start with a strategic plan to find a church. It started with a simple drive-by.
However, their story together started long before that. Mackenzie and Devin first met in high school while growing up in Cincinnati and have now been together for over a decade. After graduating from college, the two moved to Indiana in 2020 and got married in 2022.
Devin didn’t grow up in a household that was particularly involved in church, so faith was not something that was regularly practiced early on in his upbringing. That changed in high school as Devin started to get involved in Young Life. Many of his close friends were already part of the group, and what started as something he joined because of their involvement quickly became much more meaningful. Through that experience, Devin was introduced to Jesus, and from that point on, faith became an important part of his everyday life.
Mackenzie’s experience with church looked different. Growing up in Cincinnati, she attended a faith-based school where she learned about Christianity, but she says it often felt more like studying history than developing a personal faith. After leaving that school in eighth grade, church gradually faded out of her life. As she and Devin began dating, she supported his faith, and while they visited a few churches together near the places they lived over the years, it never felt like something she personally wanted to pursue for herself.
At first, finding the right church home wasn’t simple. Like many people visiting a new church for the first time, there was some hesitation. After moving to Whitestown, Devin and Mackenzie ended up living just down the road from Eagle Church. They drove past it all the time — and if you’ve ever seen Eagle Church, you know it’s pretty hard to miss. Big. White. Kind of stands out.
Still, they hadn’t really planned on visiting, but one day they decided to just stop in. Mackenzie remembers riding in the car with Devin and saying, “We should go there this Sunday.” At the time, she still didn’t consider herself a believer. She was simply curious and wanted to see what this church was all about.
When they visited that Sunday, Mackenzie jumped right in. She introduced herself at the welcome desk and immediately started asking how they could get involved. Within a week, they were already connecting with others and getting plugged in.
Not too long after, they joined a young adults small group. It was here that Mackenzie was open about the fact that she was still figuring out her faith, but the community welcomed her questions. Over time, through conversations and friendships, her curiosity slowly turned into a belief in Christ that she took on for herself.
As their faith grew, they eventually felt led to take another step: baptism.
In March 2024, Devin and Mackenzie were baptized together at Eagle Church. Interestingly, the decision occurred independently. They hadn’t talked about it beforehand until Devin texted Mackenzie, saying he was thinking about being baptized — only to realize she had been thinking the same thing.
Although their personal faith journeys looked different, God used the people and community in their lives to draw their stories together, leading them to follow Jesus side by side.
From this point, Mackenzie and Devin found themselves deeply involved at Eagle —building friendships through their small group, serving at various events, and eventually stepping into leadership within groups themselves.
What stood out most to them was the community's authenticity and warmth. They describe the church as a place where people were genuinely interested in knowing them and walking alongside them in life—not just on Sundays.
That sense of community became especially meaningful during one of the most challenging seasons of their lives.
Exactly one year after their baptism, their baby boy, Silas, was born prematurely and spent two months in the NICU. From sleepless nights and confusion, it was an emotional and uncertain time for their family, but the support they received from the Eagle Church community made a profound impact. Church members prayed with them, visited them, and even brought meals during the long weeks in the hospital. For them, it was a powerful reminder of the church's role: to deeply love one another through community, connection, and service.
More. Together. Everyday.
As their involvement at Eagle continued to grow, they also felt called to serve beyond their local community. In April 2024, they participated in a mission trip to Bosnia. Not even a year after they started attending Eagle. The trip focused on manual labor projects that helped build infrastructure for a village, but the experience went far beyond construction work. In a country where Christians make up a very small percentage of the population, the opportunity to serve and share their faith was deeply meaningful for them. They were also struck by the beauty of Bosnia and the powerful worship services they attended while there—moments that strengthened their faith and reminded them of the global church.
Now, missions have become something they hope to continue doing regularly as their family grows, aiming to participate in a trip every few years.
Their encouragement to anyone new to Eagle Church is simple: don’t be intimidated, and don’t be afraid to get involved.
For them, Eagle Church has become much more than a place they attend on Sundays. It’s a community that has supported them through challenges, helped them grow in their faith, and given them opportunities to serve others—both locally and around the globe.
And for the Williams family, that sense of community has made all the difference.