I spent all day Sunday at
Mars Hill West Seattle to help deliver the news that Pastor Adam Sinnett is transitioning from his role as campus pastor in order to begin preparations for a new church plant this fall in downtown Seattle.
Full Support
We are sending Pastor Adam out from our ranks with our blessing and full support. Pastor Mark Driscoll wrote in a letter to the West Seattle congregation, read on Sunday:
As a church, we have always been fully committed to planting both campuses of Mars Hill and churches of Acts 29. None of our people, including our leaders, belong to Mars Hill. Everyone belongs to Jesus and he is free to call people to relocate as needed to best serve his mission. So, we are sending Pastor Adam—not losing him, but rather repositioning him with the same theology on the same mission with the same affection.
Why Seattle?
At first glance it may seem strange that Mars Hill Church would help start a new church in our own backyard. In an urban center like Seattle, however, there will always be a need for more churches that can work together and reach dense populations and a variety of people groups.
Not only that, but Pastor Adam also feels a strong personal call to this city. On Sunday he listed a number of reasons why he and his wife Jen want to start a church here:
- We believe God has called us to this city. I love Seattle. I was born here. Jen and I went to college here. I met Jesus here. I met Jen here. Our kids were born here. I worked downtown for the better part of a decade. Jen also spent years working downtown.
- I’ve felt called to an urban context since I first became a Christian at the UW.
- The U.S. is the largest mission field in the Western hemisphere, with Seattle as the fourth least-churched city. There is room in this city to complement and partner in the work already begun by Mars Hill, including that of my good brother Pastor Tim Gaydos at Mars Hill Downtown.
- There are still many of God’s people in this great city that have yet to meet him (Acts 18:10).
- The planting of new churches is the primary tool used by God for the advancement of his kingdom. We will simply reach more people.
- Over the last few months, a multitude of variables have fallen into place without any movement from me. Jen is excited. Others have confirmed. The timing is right.
The Future of Mars Hill West Seattle
Over the next few months, the Mars Hill Executive Elders will work with the West Seattle Elder Team to identify a new campus pastor. We will take our time to find the right man for the job (please pray for this process).
In the meantime, Pastor James Noriega will assume day-to-day leadership of the campus and Pastor Bill Clem will preach most of the weeks when Pastor Mark is out of the pulpit. Both men have a history with the West Seattle congregation that pre-dates Mars Hill Church. We have many other experienced elders at the West Seattle campus as well.
Together, these men will provide stable leadership and champion the mission of Jesus through the campus. Following Sunday’s announcement, they wrote a follow-up letter to our brothers and sisters in West Seattle to set the tone moving forward:
We don’t intend on limping or waiting around for the next few months, but rather we look forward to this time as a unique stage of renewal and revival by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is our Senior Pastor. He goes with Adam and he stays with us, and after today we have all the more reason to depend completely on him. We believe this place of dependency is precisely where God wants us as a church, and we are very excited to see what he is about to accomplish.
It’s amazing to see the Spirit of God moving the hearts of leaders and congregations simultaneously to start new works of the gospel.
Related:
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