Summertime is a natural rest stop in the annual rhythm of Mars Hill Church, a brief opportunity to reflect on what God has done in the past year. As a staff, we tend to focus on what’s next or what needs fixing, but I want to make sure we remember some of the ground covered since last summer. This is no occasion for boasting but to celebrate God’s grace and fruit, to recognize the men and women working hard behind the scenes (though by no means does the list include everything accomplished on the ground at our campuses and in our community groups), and to express our THANKS to our congregation and everyone who has emailed a sermon to a friend, given financially, volunteered their time, and otherwise participated in the ministry of Mars Hill. We’re doing our best to make the most of every day and every dollar for Jesus and his mission. Here are some of the results from the past twelve months:

• New campuses: Albuquerque and Federal Way, plus the service at UW
• Nearly 1,000 baptisms
• 1.5 million visitors viewed almost 17 million pages on MarsHillChurch.org (an annual increase of 53% and 41% respectively)
• 756,000 visitors viewed almost 5 million pages on TheResurgence.com
• The Generous Campaign last winter helped raise more than any previous year at Mars Hill
• We produced a short film for Good Friday, shown at all campuses and live online
• 10,000 downloads of Mars Hill Good Friday Music
• Red Letter released a new album
• Bilingual service launched at the Albuquerque campus
• Sermons with subtitles in English and Spanish made available online
• Sermon transcripts incorporated into the Mars Hill media library
• Acts 29 boot campus in Houston, Louisville, Raleigh, Denver, Brazil, Ecuador, London, Australia, and Northern Ireland
• Homepage re-launch for MarsHillChurch.org, with new custom Flash video player
• All new backend content management system developed for TheResurgence.com
• Helped raise $2.5 million for Haiti relief efforts and helped launch international non-profit, Churches Helping Churches
• iPhone app launched
• New websites for ReTrain and Redemption Groups
• 3.7 million YouTube hits
• Move from DVD to BluRay hi-def for sermon playback at campuses
• Hosted 20 churches from three countries for the first Redemption Group immersion event
• Launched the Luke sermon series
• HOW magazine recognized Mars Hill Church graphic design work
• Pastor Mark was featured in national media outlets including Loveline, Nightline, USA Today, and The Washington Post online
• 20,000 people streamed Easter, Good Friday, and John Piper events online
• The Global Fund raised $2 million for future gospel work
• Gave away $1 million for Haiti, church planting, and MicroMissions
• Pastor Mark was named one of the top 25 teachers/preachers in the last 25 years; published three books; and preached in five nations and six states
• The podcast hit #1 in iTunes’ Religion & Spirituality category
• The Resurgence published four ebooks and four traditional books, and hosted three events

In addition, we regularly get a few feedback emails a day. Here’s a quick sample from the last few weeks to provide some context behind the list:

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I have been listening to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s sermons for months now, sometimes a few a day on weekends. I am so blessed. I’ve been a Christian for a long time, and this past season has been the hardest so far in my young life…I am so thankful that these are online and I have been growing in my walk with the Lord because of them. –Chesterville, OH

I have the Mars Hill app on my iPhone, and I listen to a sermon from you almost every morning as I’m getting ready for work. Pastor Mark Driscoll and the others have truly been used by God to encourage, teach, and change me. I’m a recovering drug addict, clean for over two years…For the past two months now, God has been drawing me in to a more intimate walk with him, and he’s used the teachings from Mars Hill as one of his tools to do so. –Birmingham, AL

I am a missionary in South Korea and was introduced to Mars Hill only a few weeks ago and I must say since the first day I have been drinking the sermons up!…They have been a big help to me in every aspect of my life, for food, encouragement, challenges, planning etc and I thank God for it

The bottom line is more people are hearing about Jesus and being transformed by him. That’s the plan for next year as well.