By God’s grace, each and every one of his people has a part to play in his plan. Part of this plan is to grow the church, planting churches and making disciples. God has been very generous with Mars Hill Church, allowing us to go with him on this journey. Lives are changing throughout the whole of the church. People are growing, being fed, being freed, and being healed. How incredible it is to take a moment to gaze at the wisdom of God! After 40 days of prayer including church-wide fasting, it is an honor to share what God is continuing to do with the prayers of his people.
Today is a big day in the history of Mars Hill Church. On January 12th, 2014, we celebrate the planting and replanting of five churches: Tacoma, Everett, Huntington Beach, Phoenix, and Olympia. Each and every one of these churches is a collection of people deeply loved and wanted by God. Each church is in a city full of people, lost and found, who are deeply loved and wanted by God. We are fortunate to be able to share snippets of their stories. Be encouraged that wherever you are, God’s plan is working in your life as well.
We will be updating this post throughout the day with more photos, stories, and videos from these new (and renewed) churches.
Everett
On February 1, 2013, Pastor Sutton Turner announced that Mars Hill Church Everett had found a new home. The National Guard Armory is an important building in the city of Everett, steeped in history and ringing with the ghosts of Snohomish County. It took $750,000 and nearly every community group in the Everett area to get the armory ready to be the church’s new home. Both services were packed out to capacity today, with 1,129 people in attendance. Of these, 25 came forward to be baptized.
Tacoma
Mars Hill Church Federal Way was planted in fall 2009. For four years it was a set-up, teardown mobile church. Then, in November of 2012, the church found a home in Tacoma, a century-old building in need of a lot of love. There was great deal of work to be done, to put it lightly. Tacoma raised $700,000 in order to renovate the building, on top of volunteering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of labor in more than 7,500 volunteer man-hours. Pastor Dean Curry of Life Center Tacoma Church welcomed Mars Hill and Pastor Bubba Jennings with open arms, supporting the church plant in word and deed.
Olympia
On October 20, 2013, Mars Hill Church Olympia announced that it had signed a lease. This was exciting news for a mobile church that had bounced between rented spaces since its inception. Every Sunday for five years, volunteers unloaded two trailers of equipment, set up, had church, tore down, and loaded up the trailer only to do it over again the next week. A home of their own means more than convenience. It means space for things like childcare and the ability to host events for children and adults.
Phoenix
At 10 a.m. on Sunday, October 20, Mars Hill Church Phoenix held its first meeting in the Bentley Projects, which serves as an internationally renowned contemporary art gallery known as the Bentley Gallery. Within six weeks it had grown to a few hundred people, but Pastor Ryan Welsh was quick to point out that the numbers aren’t the amazing part—the change Jesus is working in the lives of those people is. Today, Mars Hill Phoenix celebrated its official launch as Mars Hill’s 15th church in our 5th state. More than 700 people attended the first two official services of Mars Hill Phoenix, and 10 were baptized.
Huntington Beach
Mars Hill Church Orange County launched in 2012 and experienced more than their fair share of change, meeting in four different locations in four cities. At long last, they found a location they could grow into, and Mars Hill Church Huntington Beach was born. With a permanent location, they can do things they never could before, things like offering classes, having offices, training, and midweek programs. Between their first two services on launch day, Mars Hill Huntington Beach greeted nearly 700 adults, plus more than 100 children.
“We have had a lot of starts and stops in the past two years and our prayer has always been for a home. It has been amazing to see what Jesus has done in providing this space for us . . . We are praying for God to do an evangelistic work through his people here at Mars Hill Huntington Beach. We are all about making disciples and planting churches and we are praying that Jesus continues to do an amazing work among us by saving people who don’t know him and by maturing the believers who walk through the doors. We are praying for Jesus to be made much of as he saves and transforms people in Huntington Beach.” –Executive Pastor Brian Jonkman
“I’m excited for our home in Huntington Beach because it’s where we can put down roots. When you buy a house, you put down roots and you settle there. That’s how it feels here. Now we can start finding new places to hang out in the area, meet new people to invite to church, and see people meet Jesus.” –Amanda Yacoub, Financial Stewards Lead
“I like our new building because we don’t have to move and I get to stay here forever.” –Namoi McLeary, age 11 ½, Mars Hill Kids
“By far the most exciting thing about the building is the extra space for people to meet Jesus.” –Bobby Lee, Operations Director
“I am most excited to have a home that feels like a home, that isn’t temporary or pop-up, but has a hospitable essence. We can create an environment in which people are comfortable and can plant roots. We are creating something that will last.” –Patrick Dietz, Facilities Lead
“Having a permanent home allows us to dig roots into the city that we are in and gives us a place to launch, hopefully, many other churches in Orange County and L.A. Having a place to rehearse makes things a whole lot easier. I’m excited to be able to serve Jesus’ church through music by meeting here mid week to prepare for Sunday and to be in community as a band.” –Ryan Fosher, Band Leader
