Albuquerque: Not as Random as You Think!
Since announcing the Albuquerque campus a few weeks ago, I’ve received a couple encouraging notes from Mars Hill family.
Redemption Close to Home
“I heard the news about Mars Hill being in Albuquerque,” wrote one longtime member, “and my body shook like I had just been hit by a sprinkler of cold water. I grew up in Albuquerque. I spent many Saturday nights at the Lobo Theater” (current site of City on a Hill Church, soon to be Mars Hill Albuquerque).
To make a long, brutal story short, much of her family still lives in New Mexico, all non-Christians and all suffering from the consequences of an abusive stepfather, recently deceased. “I cannot think of one memory of growing up there that is not tainted by my horrendous childhood,” she says, and “I confess I have sinfully lost hope for my family at times.”
With word of the new campus, however, “I am thankful that there will be kids at my niece and nephew’s school who now talk about Mars Hill and therefore Jesus…I am thankful that out of all the cities in the United States, God has chosen Albuquerque.”
Though not yet a Christian, her mother enjoys listening to Pastor Mark and will most likely visit the campus—just three miles from her house! Please pray for this family.
Unexpected Provision
“As most of you know, it’s been about ten months since I lost my job and we made the painful decision to leave Seattle and move closer to family in Albuquerque,” wrote another good friend and longtime member of Mars Hill.
After visiting various churches in their new hometown, this young family found City on a Hill Church around Christmastime. “We walked in and both my wife and I knew we were at home,” he recalls. “Pastor Dave Bruskas down here is fantastic and has an amazing heart for people and particulary the unsaved.”
A few months later, when the announcement was made that the church was to become Mars Hill Albuquerque, “I wanted to cheer—not because City on a Hill lacks anything but knowing the impact Mars Hill will have down here…I ask for your continued prayers not just for us but also for the people and pastors of City on a Hill.”
I look forward to more stories of God’s provision and grace as we continue to learn the many reasons why he has led us to Albuquerque.
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