Over 17 years ago, Mars Hill humbly began in Pastor Mark’s living room. It’s hard to believe, but the first kids born at Mars Hill are now getting ready for college. This is a good reminder to look toward the future with hearts set toward equipping our kids and our grandkids to accomplish the great work that God will do through them.
There’s much work still to be done. There are more churches to be planted and more disciples to be made. By God’s grace, let’s pray together that God will empower us to leave a spiritual legacy that lasts.
On January 12, our Mars Hill family will be replanting churches in Olympia, Tacoma, Everett, and Huntington Beach to move them into better buildings that will better serve their congregation and mission. We are also planting a brand new location in Phoenix. Our hope is that thousands will come to meet Jesus at these churches and become disciples. It will be a big day to kick off our biggest year yet! So as we count down to January 12th, we are encouraging everyone to join together in prayer over the key initiatives coming up in 2014.
Every fruitful mission through the gospel begins with prayer. During the Malachi: Living for a Legacy series, we will be setting aside 40 days to pray boldly that God would move powerfully in our midst though our efforts on the mission he has given us to make disciples and plant churches.
Prayer is God’s invitation to partner with him that his will is done on earth, but equally, in prayer, our hearts are transformed, becoming ever more aligned with God’s will. Matthew 28:19–20 is the great commission to “make disciples of all nations.” We are confident of this: God always has a bigger vision and more exciting future than we can ever imagine (Eph. 3:20). Therefore, we want to prepare for this next season at Mars Hill by praying corporately and individually to be united on the mission God has for us.
We want to pray for God’s will to be done through us in ways that are well beyond our own abilities because we know that we can do all things through God who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). He will move in astounding ways if we have the hearts to follow him and depend on his power. So grab your Bibles and pray big, because, as it says in Romans 8:31, “if God is for us, who can be against us?”
Starting December 1, daily prayers will be posted instead of our regular Daily Devotions. These posts will delve deeper into each prayer request. For more information and to follow along, click the button below.
Pastor Mark first met church planter Pastor Arjuna Chiguluri in 1998, and Mars Hill Church has been working with and supporting Pastor Arjuna and Vision Nationals in India since 1999. In the last couple of years, we have expanded our Global efforts and are privileged to support church planters and evangelists in Ethiopia who have shared the gospel with over 11,000 people, of which 890 people have been saved.
Over the next decades, we want to see Mars Hill Church grow into a worldwide movement and see 1,000 churches planted throughout India and Ethiopia. This is an ambitious goal, but as Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).
For more information, go to Marshill.com/global.
In the summer of 2014, Mars Hill will be hosting an evangelistic, outdoor outreach, aptly titled The Jesus Festival, at Marymoor Park in Seattle. This will be a family friendly event with activities for the kids, music, and amazing gospel preachers. This will be a great opportunity for outreach in the community and to build unity among the Bible-teaching churches in the Seattle area.
The two key missional distinctives of Mars Hill Church are planting churches and making disciples. In order to reach the world with the good news of Jesus, we need biblically literate, gifted leaders. In order to train these leaders, we need a school. In the fall of 2014, we are hoping to offer a 1-year Bible certificate program. Eventually, it will be a fully accredited Bible seminary to help train future leaders and to grow existing leaders in knowledge of the Bible and sound theology
In the new year, our Mars Hill family will be replanting churches in Olympia, Tacoma, Everett, and Huntington Beach to move them into bigger and better buildings, and we are planting a brand new location in Phoenix. Our hope is that thousands will come to meet Jesus at these churches and become disciples.
As the Western World becomes more secularized, the Church is becoming more ostracized. Simply put, Christianity is a threat to many of the sacred cows in American culture. Pastor Mark is currently working on a sermon series and book that will tackle many of these issues, including gay marriage, the exclusivity of Jesus, the authority of scripture, etc. This series springboards from an extensive sociological study on thousands of Americans’ opinions on Christianity that was conducted by a top research firm, and will focus on the objections that real people really have.
Biblically, prayer and fasting go hand-in-hand. Fasting is a form of worship that Israelites and Christians have practiced throughout history, and prayer has always been a part of fasting. Our 40 Days of Prayer will conclude with five days of fasting. We encourage you to join us in a biblical fast, abstaining from food, during January 5th to sundown on January 10th. This could be fasting from one meal a day or fasting during daylight hours. If you are unable to fast from food, consider implementing spiritual disciplines that would change your normal rhythms and create more time for prayer during this time (for example, cut out T.V., internet, games, etc.). Choosing to abstain from them will allow you to use that time to read Scripture, pray, and rely on the Lord.
Click the button below for more information and practical tips on fasting.
Your gifts build a legacy to equip the next generation.
During these 40 days of prayer and 5 days of fasting, we are praying for $2 million over and above our donors’ tithes to fund these endeavors in 2014. We believe Jesus has given the vision, so we trust that he will graciously provide the means to do it through his people. If the Holy Spirit leads you to give during these focused days of prayer, please visit marshill.com/give.
