As we at Mars Hill Downtown Seattle have our last weekend of services in Belltown and prepare to move into a new home into the heart of the city, it’s been a joy to reflect recently on how God has established a community of people in urban Seattle. Five years ago very little Christian community existed in urban Seattle, and through God’s grace, hundreds of people (us!) have had the joy of doing life together on mission in a city we love.
Though cities are like revolving doors where folks come and go, it’s important to know that there is a place where people can “come” as they make their way into Seattle to have a church family and to also meet Jesus. And that really has been our heart, to see people meet and walk with Jesus. Matthew 5:16, says “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” and we’ve seen massive evidences of this in Belltown over the past five years. So, to remember our five years in Belltown I’ve put together the top five remembrances of God’s grace over the past five years.
1. Loving Belltown with Jesus’ love
Our people have absolutely poured out their love into Belltown. It has been blown me away remembering the tears, hours, and commitment into Belltown. From the Belltown Green & Clean to Christmas Coat Lunch to the Belltown Block Party, thank you for loving Belltown well.
2. Life Together
To see genuine community form and life-long friendships get established, in a context where that can be difficult to happen, seriously brings a big smile to my face.
3. Marriages!
I’ve had the pure joy to officiate or attend dozens and dozens of weddings since 2008 with many of those being in our Belltown facility, which as you know, used to be a place where relationships were torn apart and destroyed. To see so many single men and women meet, date, get married and begin families that love Jesus in our city is completely awesome!
4. Life Change
Over 450 baptisms in 4.5 years, are you kidding me? There is no question that the Holy Spirit has been at work bringing people to the saving knowledge of Jesus as their Savior! That number represents members of our family, our friends, our colleagues, and our neighbors. We rejoice knowing that we will spend eternity with a lot more people because of God’s work in Belltown.
5. Worship!
Jesus was worshiped in Belltown! A lot. I can’t remember all the times I had tears in my eyes as I heard the voices raise the roof of our building. It’s been incredible to sing to Jesus with you and I can’t wait to do more of that in our new home.
I love you, Mars Hill Downtown Seattle. Thank you for loving Belltown well and being such an amazing example for Jesus! Though we won’t be gathering in Belltown any longer, it’s awesome to know that we’ve got a ton of leaders and people who live here, work here, and are going to continue to love this neighborhood.
See you Sunday for our last worship services in Belltown!
Because of His grace,
Pastor Tim
