This Sunday, October 30, we’re thrilled to replant our Bellevue church right in the heart of Downtown Bellevue in the old John Danz Theater. In the run-up to that, we're profiling Bellevue, our second-largest congregation, its mission, leaders, and community here on the blog. Last week, Bellevue Pastor Thomas Hurst told us the story of his discipleship and becoming a Christian. Today, he sat down with us to do a Q&A the story of his coming into leadership as executive pastor at Mars Hill Bellevue. Pastor Thomas Hurst and his wife, Angela, with their sons (L to R) James, Dakota, and Reilly

Mars Hill Blog: What ties do you and/or your wife have to the area?

Pastor Thomas Hurst: I have always had roots in the greater Seattle area. My mother was born and raised in the Northwest and my father moved here from North Dakota in the late 1960s. The two met in Ballard, were married here, and then moved to San Francisco, California, where I was born and raised. There was a time as a child when my parents were divorced and I lived with my mother in the Skyway area, near Renton. Because of the relatively close proximity of Renton, I’m thankful that our South region draws so many from there and I pray we’ll one day see a church in that area. My wife, Angela, grew up in Bellevue in the Eastgate neighborhood. Born and raised, she went to Newport High School and attended Washington State–go Cougs! Angela’s family has a long history on the Eastside, her grandfather Sterling Sessions, who will celebrate his 91st birthday in November, still tells stories about life before there were any bridges floating on Lake Washington and before there were skyscrapers rising up out of Bellevue. One of the great stories is that Angela herself used to see movies at the old John Danz Theater where the new Mars Hill Bellevue Church will now be located. To see God reopen and use this place to tell his story is a great evidence of God’s grace.

MHB: What’s one of your most distinct childhood memories growing up in the area?

PTH: One memory I have from my childhood is a movie theater in Renton that sits on the I405 & Hwy 167 interchange. My sister and I used to see a lot of movies there – I remember the excitement I had anticipating the bright lights on the big screen and being absorbed into a thrilling adventure. I might make mention, that this same theater now sits empty and I toured it last year for a possible "what if" location for a future Mars Hill Church – Renton.

MHB: How did God call you to this mission at Bellevue?

PTH: It is a long and beautiful story, but in short I had been attending Mars Hill since Angela and I were saved there back in 2003. I was a photographer for the Seattle Times for almost 10 years and it was through an assignment for the newspaper to follow Pastor Mark that God saved me. After being saved I was just another guy at Mars Hill: working a job, trying to walk faithfully toward Jesus, loving my wife well, leading me family with intention, and serving the church I loved. Beyond that, I had no aspirations for ministry, no one had ever asked me to do or be more involved than I already was and I had never considered setting my cameras down for a life in ministry. God clearly had other ideas. About two and a half years ago a pastor friend who served at Mars Hill Bellevue called me up and said there was an opening for an operations director there and I should apply. I looked at the job description online and rolled my eyes wondering how my friend thought I would be a good fit for a fairly high-level operation role at Mars Hill. I had done a lot of things and been a lot places, but I had never really led anything significant or had any experience with "operations." A week went by and my friend called asking if I was going to apply for the job. I said "no." He told me to talk with Angela about it and that we should both pray and see what God says.

"When we have mature Christians living healthy biblical lives in full confidence and in full view of culture, I believe we will see a revival."

We prayed and decided that perhaps God was opening a door, so I made a commitment to be faithful and walk through one door at a time—see if God would keep opening doors—and that’s exactly what kept happening. God opened door after door after door and the next thing I new I was sitting in front of my boss at the Seattle Times resigning. Not just resigning from 10 years at the newspaper, but resigning from 20 years as a successful photojournalist who had been around the world capturing intense moments in history. It was a very moving experience to be completely handing everything over to God having no idea what he intended to do with me and having no idea what "operations" at a church would look like. From that moment on, God has given me a clear picture and vision for leadership and direction and I’ve never wondered what needs to happen next, whether it is operations, moving the church to a new facility, developing future leaders, or building a vision for church plants, God has used the time I’ve spent serving Mars Hill Bellevue to train and refine me as a follower of Christ, as a husband, father and now as a pastor. Even once I was in ministry, I could not have dreamed God would call me to lead his church, and like before, I commit to faithfully walk through each door he opens, trusting his sovereignty over my life.

MHB: How is your family feeling about the mission?

PTH: Angela and our three sons James (6), Dakota (4), and Reilly (6 mos.) love being a part of the church and love serving the church in the way God has called us. For Angela, it has been an adjustment seeing up close the amount of work that is needed in a large church like Mars Hill Bellevue, but she remains loving and supportive in the mission and we never fail to connect and grow together.

MHB: What is God teaching your family lately?

PTH: God is teaching our family about what it means to be bound together as a family. Neither Angela nor I came from Christian homes, so we are continually fighting to live out, with each other, in front of our boys and before God, a life devoted to Christ. When that has not been modeled, there is a lot of two-steps-forward-one-step-back, but we get to do it together and we love God’s journey for us and our family.

MHB: What is your long-term vision for the region? What are you praying for the community where you're replanting?

PTH: My long-term vision is just what you always hear at Mars Hill: "to make disciples and plant churches" because "it’s all about Jesus." What I’m planning for the future of our church is to open as many gospel-preaching, Bible-believing churches, as God will allow. I want to see each Mars Hill congregation grow to a level of maturity in Christ that Scripture is not just something we know, but we live out with confidence. And when we have mature Christians living healthy biblical lives in full confidence and in full view of culture, I believe we will see a revival. Right now in the immediate plan, I am looking to plant a Mars Hill church in our North region (Kirkland area), our South region (Renton area) and our East region (Issaquah area). I would also like to plant a second Mars Hill in Bellevue and over [Snoqualamie] Pass (I have two specific locations in mind).

MHB: What Daddy Dates do you plan on taking your boys on around the Eastside?

PTH: Some of the plans right now are to go see some high school football games, some local soccer games, visit some farms on the Eastside that have pony rides and pumpkin patch. With the holiday season coming up, we’ll be doing some ice skating and checking out the Christmas lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden as well as Downtown Bellevue’s Holiday festivities. This morning, the Mars Hill Bellevue core group will gather for the first Sunday services in the new building. We are geared up to go for a big grand opening next weekend with baptisms and Pastor Mark preaching live all three services. Invite everyone you know from the Eastside! Photo of the Hurst family by Luke Rutan.