As a pastor I have the privilege and joy of seeing and celebrating amazing evidences of God’s grace in the lives of his people. This past year was no exception as there have been several milestones of God’s faithfulness that I want to share with you.
Every family needs a home
For four years, Mars Hill Federal Way had been a nomadic set-up-tear-down church looking for a permanent home. By God’s grace we were able to purchase a 106-year-old vintage church building in Tacoma, Washington. After nine months of renovations and 8,000 volunteer man-hours of sweat equity, we replanted Mars Hill Federal Way, became Mars Hill Tacoma, and moved into our new home in December 2013. We would not have been able to buy our new home and relocate without the help of Mars Hill Global—thank you all very, very much for helping us! You made our dream of having a permanent home come true.
Seeing the family grow
Since opening up Mars Hill Tacoma, we have seen hundreds of new people join the church and many people have become Christians. In the past six months, we have celebrated Jesus with 54 baptisms. Each baptism is a story of someone who has been saved by Jesus, has been adopted into God’s family, and is growing in grace as a Christian.
One young man who was baptized shared his testimony of how he was sexually abused as a child. During his teen years, he sold drugs and became violent toward others. This resulted in him going to prison for assault. He was angry and alone, but Jesus saved him, giving him a new life and a new legacy. As he shared this story with the church body, another young man named Michael heard his testimony and realized that he was on a path of self-destruction. Michael called out to Jesus for help and became a Christian. Within minutes Michael was baptized. After getting dunked, Michael hugged his wife. I will never forget seeing Michael and his wife hugging in celebration of Jesus’ redemption. Their lives will never be the same.
Again, Mars Hill Global, thank you! Your contributions to the Tacoma church have made a direct impact in the lives of many people. I pray that, in the years ahead, we will see many more people meet Jesus.
