What is Mars Hill Global?
The Mars Hill Global family is made up of the hundreds of thousands of people who follow Mars Hill online, but do not attend a local Mars Hill Church.
Mars Hill Church has been blessed with a tremendous opportunity to make disciples and plant churches all over the world. In addition to the thousands of members and attenders of our local churches, there are hundreds of thousands more people across the globe who follow Mars Hill Church online. This online audience is Mars Hill Global.
We want to serve our Global Family well, with high-quality content and communications that will help them grow in their relationship with Jesus. We want to establish meaningful connections with members of our Global Family, and invite them to participate in the mission of Jesus at Mars Hill Church.
In addition to online services, and on demand content, our Mars Hill Global page features stories from and about our Global Family.
If I donate as part of the Mars Hill Global family, where do my gifts go?
Your gifts to Mars Hill have always supported evangelizing, making disciples, equipping leaders, and planting churches in the United States, but also currently in Ethiopia and India as well through Mars Hill GO. Every gift helps support the ministries and operations of every local Mars Hill Church, as well as our international efforts in church planting and evangelism. In the last few years alone, you have helped to plant many churches as well as helped translate materials, distribute Bibles, fund evangelists in Ethiopia, church planters in India, and so much more. Through your gifts more disciples are being made and churches are being planted, all over the world.
Where have past gifts been used?
During fiscal years 2009-2014, over $10MM dollars has been given to Mars Hill Church by the Mars Hill Global Family. During that same time period $22.48MM has been spent on church planting in the US, India and Ethiopia. In 2009-11 over 80% of funds given by the Mars Hill global family went to Acts 29 church planting and funds were consistently spent in India for church planting in each of those years. In 2012- 2014 expenditures for church planting efforts in India and Ethiopia were increased with the preponderance of expenses related to church plants and replants in the U.S.
I gave and thought that my Mars Hill Global gift was solely used for church planting outside of the United States. What do I do?
If you gave previously and were intending that your gifts would be used solely for international efforts, we sincerely apologize for the confusion caused by a lack of clarity on our part. If you still want your previous gift(s) to be directed to our international work, please email giving@marshill.com and we will make sure that your previous gift(s) will be used to support making disciples and planting churches specifically in Ethiopia or in India.
What happened to the Global Fund?
Since 2009, we have used the term “Global” to help us distinguish between donors who attend our churches and donors around the world who follow us online. In the past we used the name “Global Fund,” which was originally intended to “start new Mars Hill campuses, plant new Acts 29 churches, and equip leaders at the Resurgence Training Center” (as noted in the Global Newsletter from 7/7/2009). As our efforts increased we continued to refer to the fund when specifying our local and international church planting efforts. To reduce confusion we have consolidated the naming into “General Fund (Local & Global)” as we continue raising all funds to make disciples and plant churches, here in the US, and around the world under the "General" heading. If you are part of the Global Family, and would like to make a donation to Mars Hill Church online, please choose the “General Fund (Local & Global).”
Mars Hill “Global Fund" 2012 and later. During this time period, Mars Hill Church changed its view of the Global Fund—not viewing the Global Fund as separate from the overall mission of the church of making disciples and planting churches. In the 2012 and later time frame, Mars Hill Church began reaching more givers through video bumpers before sermon podcasts, blog posts, and YouTube videos. Some of these ministry communications were totally about U.S. church planting, some were totally about Ethiopia, but most of these communications highlighted church planting in the U.S., Ethiopia, and India.
What communications about the Global Fund have gone out to donors?
To be abundantly clear about the use of gifts to the Global Fund subsequent to June 1, 2012, in early July 2014, Mars Hill Church sent approximately 6,000 letters and 3,765 emails to individuals who had made gifts as a global donor subsequent to June 1, 2012. In these communications, Mars Hill Church offered to redirect the donor’s gifts, made as a global donor during this time period, specifically for planting churches in Ethiopia or India. To date, 36 donors have responded to these communications, resulting in the redirection of approximately $40,000 of funds from Mars Hill Church’s charitable purpose to Ethiopia/India church planting.
What is the General Fund (Local & Global)?
Your gifts to Mars Hill, whether you are a part of our local church family or a global family member, go to support the ministries and operations of local Mars Hill Churches and also helps plant churches all over the world, including but not exclusive to Ethiopia, India, and the United States. Your generous gift allows more materials to be translated and distributed, more pastors being sent out, more churches planted, and more people saved by Jesus Christ. If you are part of the Global Family, and would like to make a donation to Mars Hill Church online, please choose the “General Fund (Local & Global).”
Can I become a member of Mars Hill Church if I participate in watching services streamed online?
It is Mars Hill Church’s fervent desire that our online content serves as a supplement to your participation in a local church. There’s no substitute for attendance and membership in a Jesus-loving, gospel-teaching church community. We provide worship and preaching streamed online every Sunday for those who occasionally cannot attend church, and for those who are overseas or deployed somewhere where attending a church service might be impossible or even illegal. If you do follow us online, we love you and consider you a member of our Global Family, but encourage you to find a local church where you can fellowship and serve with other Jesus loving Christians.
Likewise, it’s our desire that any gifts given to Mars Hill as a Global family member are above and beyond your local tithe. But to be clear: you do not need to make a gift to join the Mars Hill Global Family. Sign up today for your free account.
What is Mars Hill GO?
The mission of Mars Hill Church is to make disciples and plant churches. The mission Jesus called us to not only requires that we share the gospel with family, friends, and neighbors in the communities in which we live, but also with those around the world. Jesus called us to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel. (Mark 16:15)
GO is a ministry of Mars Hill Church that supports churches and church planters around the world. We work with in-country partners to train pastors and plant churches in Ethiopia, where we support 40 church planters, and in India, where we support 33 church planters. In addition, we distribute Bibles and translate resources so that people from more cultures can have access to solid Bible teaching.
Marshill.com/go features the stories of God’s people who’ve answered the call to GO and information about our international church-planting efforts.
In the past this content was featured on our Global page, but is now on the GO page to reduce confusion.
Why do you focus on Ethiopia and India?
Our goal is to reach the ends of the earth with the message that Jesus saves. We want to see as many people as possible become Christians (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Matthew 28:19). In addition to the work in the United States, we have had amazing opportunities to be involved in supporting evangelists and church planters in India through organizations like Vision Nationals, and in December 2012 we added Ethiopia to our global vision of planting churches through a partnership with New Covenant Foundation.
Through our partners, we are seeing great fruit in these countries. In a recent 3-month period, 2,489 people heard the gospel of Jesus, 100 people were saved, and 20 people were baptized in Ethiopia! Since supporting our friends in India, we’ve seen them grow one church plant into a massive church planting network of over 500 churches. We will continue to support these and opportunities in other countries as God provides. Some day, by his grace, we hope to be participating in church plants all over the world.
Can I designate my current gifts towards international mission efforts?
To better support Jesus’ mission and to allow us to effectively and efficiently steward the resources that God has provided us, we encourage all donors to send in their gifts unrestricted so that we can apply them where they are needed most. We believe scripture clearly calls us to be on Jesus’ mission, whether here in the U.S. or in other countries.
As such, every donation is a contribution towards our efforts to carry out His mission, here in the US as well as India, Ethiopia, and around the world. Your support means more people are saved by Jesus Christ, more people are growing as disciples of Jesus, and more churches are being planted, no matter the location. If you’d still like information on sponsoring specific needs and projects, please contact giving@marshill.com.
Updated 12/8/14
