11 Stories of Jesus Working at Mars Hill Church in 2011
At Mars Hill Church, we love seeing Jesus work, not only on a global level in the entire church body, but also in each of our Mars Hill churches. As an ending to the year, we wanted to share stories of grace and community from some of our locations this past year.
Pastor Dave Bruskas asked his mother, Betty Bruskas, to share with the mothers and single women at Mars Hill Albuquerque wisdom that she has gained over the years. Many of those that attended the service walked away talking about how her wisdom had touched their lives.
Jessica is a Proxy student at our Ballard church and, since early this year, a follower of Jesus. As she walked around Mars Hill, she saw a poster for the student ministry. The next Wednesday, she showed up.
Lindsey Kasowski leads a Mars Hill Community Group that is unique from all the other 500 groups in the church in one distinct way: nobody says a word. That’s because about half of this Downtown Bellevue group’s members are deaf and use American Sign Language as their primary mode of communication. In this video, Lindsey and group member Josiah talk about the importance of having a group like this, both for deaf church members, and also as a missional opportunity as the church reaches more people in Seattle and on the Eastside.
"When I was three my parents divorced and my mom re-married. My step-dad was emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive. I attended church but I really didn’t know what I was doing or what I believed. During all this time I was hurting inside because of the abuse that was happening in my life... All the while I could hear God whispering in my ear to come to him, but ignored him."
"Here’s the thing about me—I’m a planner. Give me a schedule, a calendar, then let me color code it and my day is made. By my freshman year of college I had decided that by age twenty-four I would leave my future career as an event planner to be married. I would follow in my mother’s footsteps staying home with my children, while my husband worked in a fancy corporate office that I decorated... My plan has not worked out."
"The first time I walked into Mars Hill Church was at the Resurgence National Conference Text & Context in February 2008. I knew pastor Mark Driscoll only through his first two books, Radical Reformission and Confessions of Reformission Rev., and did not know anyone else at Mars Hill Church."
Every week Mars Hill Church sends resources all over the world to our soldiers who are serving in various branches of the armed services. These resources are provided as on ongoing effort of the Mars Hill Military Mission, which is housed and operated out of Mars Hill Church Olympia, to impart Godly wisdom in order for lives to be saved and disciples made for Jesus Christ.
"People were giving their lives to God, left and right. People were wanting to make the public declaration that they were Christian. People were running up to the stage to testify about God’s goodness in their lives!"
Since Shoreline was an idea inspired in the Mars Hill elders, church member Justin Schaeffermade himself present and able to serve the needs of what would become Mars Hill Church’s first video campus as a multi-site church. Over the course of more than half a decade, he’s proven himself a willing servant to whatever direction God has taken us in seeking the advance of the gospel and growth of God’s family north of Seattle.
"Jesus is the hero of my story because he’s made everything in my life new. Spiritually. Physically. Geographically. Emotionally. Mentally. Relationally. Financially. Completely."
"I grew up in a Mormon family and was working my way to BYU, a temple marriage and ultimately "godhood" when God decided to make himself known to me... One day he was listening to a Mars Hill sermon preached by Mark Driscoll and I decided to listen also so that I could show him where the fallacies were in his faith. When I found that I could not refute Driscoll’s straight-up biblical teachings I got scared. In that moment a heavy darkness came over me. I have never felt such a dark presence in my life and after it had not gone away for some time I knew that only the truth could free me from it and I was willing to follow that truth no matter where it led me."
Jesus was a man who claimed to be God. Think on that for a minute. If that were true, how would it change the way you thought, felt, and lived this life?
At Mars Hill, we believe that Jesus is God. We take him at his word. Because of this, everything we do is all about Jesus. We invite you to learn more about this man who is God and how you can find forgiveness and new life in him.
Visiting a church for the first time can be nerve-racking. But having an idea of what to expect can help. There are three main parts to every Sunday service: preaching, worship, and kids. To learn more about each of these, click the links below.
Church is more than a service. It’s people living life together and helping one another throughout our cities to serve our cities. Each week, thousands of people at Mars Hill meet in hundreds of small communities to learn about God, pray, eat, laugh, and live. We call these Community Groups—and they’re the heart of our church.
We provide a number of resources to help you grow as a disciple of Jesus. You’ll find videos on a number of topics and from various conferences. The Mars Hill Blog connects you to life around the church and personal growth. And Resurgence is a blog dedicated to helping you grow as a leader at home, work, and church.
Jesus is the most generous person who ever lived. He gave his life so that we might live. As Christians, we give our time, talent, and money joyfully in response to Jesus’ generosity and to help more people meet Jesus.
At Mars Hill Church, we love seeing Jesus work, not only on a global level in the entire church body, but also in each of our Mars Hill churches. As an ending to the year, we wanted to share stories of grace and community from some of our locations this past year.
