"What if we built a Nickelodeon-type studio? What if we put together short, punchy, age-appropriate, Bible-based lessons about Jesus for kids with characters and fun and interaction? What if we recorded that and distributed it to all the campuses and made it available elsewhere as well for those who wanted to use it?" And so this is what we've been working on with Mars Hill Kids.

–Pastor Mark

by Pastor Dave Bruskas

Pastor Mark pulled back the curtain during this week’s sermon and gave you a glimpse of the renovation going in our Children’s Ministry at Mars Hill Church. This work will not only impact Ballard, but all Mars Hill campuses shortly. I wanted to update you on the status of our project and give you a heads up on what to expect in the coming months. My hope is that you will both pray for many children to meet Jesus and participate in his mission.

Building on a solid foundation

Much like a classic home in a great neighborhood, our remodel has the value of a solid foundation. Many of you have invested weeks, months, and even years serving the families of Mars Hill by leading children on Sundays. As our recent Children’s Ministry audit revealed, your ministry has made a huge impact! So we aren’t demolishing an old structure to build a new house from the ground up. Instead, we are doing a "studs out" renovation and wish to keep the focus on Jesus that has been well established over the years.

The three pillars

The big idea driving our renovation is the mission of Mars Hill Church: to make disciples and plant churches. This unifies everything we do and everyone we serve, including our kids. Three weight-bearing pillars give strength to our new design:

1. Jesus is the centerpiece of the Bible, and the Bible is sufficient for all we need in life and doctrine;
2. Like God is a Father and Jesus the great high priest to his children, dads are the best pastors for their children; and,
3. Ministry targeting children should be both age appropriate and compatible with youth and adult discipleship strategies.

With this in mind, here are the applications you can expect to see soon. First, you will see a vibrant curriculum and context so that learning about Jesus throughout the Bible is maximized on Sundays. Second, you will receive user-friendly take home assignments that will help parents to teach the Bible to the family. Third, you will see a Sunday experience for children that helps them prepare for what their parents do complete with worship songs, video sermons, and the application of the gospel in small groups.

Meet your architects

For a task this important, we needed to find the best team available. We believe Jesus has provided just that team. Chrissie Wright has been hired to draw up the curriculum and design the optimal classroom context for our children. Chrissie is an award-winning classroom teacher with public school experience in New York and most recently in West Seattle. More importantly, Chrissie loves Jesus and longs to see as many children as possible worshiping him at Mars Hill Church. Joining Chrissie in this project will be our Media and Communication team, which will be working to produce books, videos, music, and classroom art that we trust will be used powerfully to introduce our kids to Jesus. Also, the Development Group will be drafting building concepts so that every campus has useful space to best serve our children.

The timeline

Several of our campuses will see renovations as soon as this fall. Chrissie will be meeting with Children’s Ministry leaders and volunteers at all campuses this summer to inform, answer questions, encourage, serve, and train. We invite you to join us now. Dave Bruskas is the Mars Hill network pastor.