We use the Air War/Ground War metaphor at Mars Hill to help describe the work we do as a church.

Air War

The Air War describes our ministries that deal with the masses: preaching, teaching, events, conferences, websites, marketing, technology, etc. The Air War is measurable and often yields instantaneous results. Here is a glimpse at the work of our Air War over the past year:

• Nearly 3 million visits to marshillchurch.org
• Over 11 million pageviews
• 4.4 million sermon downloads
• Nine new websites (including relit.org, peasantprincess.com, and marshillglobal.com)

Ground War

The Ground War describes our ministries that deal with people face-to-face: community groups, discipleship, pastoral care, service and mercy ministries, classes, counseling, Redemption Groups, post-service prayer, etc. Here is a glimpse at the work of our Ground War over the past year:

• More than 3,000 official members of Mars Hill Church
• More than 350 community groups with 4,000 participants
• 39 elders/pastors (and almost two dozen more in training) and 67 staff deacons

At Mars Hill, we want a good Air War to gather and teach, and a good Ground War to disciple and serve. Both the Air War and the Ground War must be united in order to be mutually effective. Tomorrow, I’ll explain a bit more about how we develop this balance.