The Mars Hill Blog » Pastor Scott Thomas

Church Planting is All About Jesus

Pastor Scott Thomas — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:40:43 +0000

Mars Hill Church recently marked the conclusion of our 2009 fiscal year. How does the Acts 29 Network summarize a year like this one? Grace.

The numbers below are encouraging. The numbers are not our joy, however, they are residual evidence of it. Our joy is in seeing Jesus call the lost to himself, inspire men to love their wives and lead their families, call and equip church planters, unite leaders with his Spirit, protect and shine through his people in suffering, bond brothers together, and keep pointing us to the glory of the only One worthy of our praise.

70,000 visits to Acts29Network.org during April (monthly record)
62,000 average weekly worshipers across all Acts 29 churches
2,450 people attended one of six Acts 29 Boot Camps in the past year
2,484 members on Acts 29’s Facebook page
800 pastors trained internationally in the past year
499 new applicants in the past year
339 current applicants
256 total Acts 29 church plants (173 full members; 83 current candidates)
135 church planter assessments in the past year
53 new churches planted directly through Acts 29 churches in the past year
22 new church planting coaches being trained this year
7 board members working in unity
1 approved Western European church planter

We also certified coaches, forged friendships with top Christian leaders around the world, comforted a young planter and his wife who lost their precious newborn, hosted internationals for a World Church Planting Summit, and received a host of encouragement from folks like seven-year-old Ravi who mailed us five one-dollar bills with a note: “I want to help plant a church. God bless.”

We have truly experienced unmerited grace this year as the attendance in Acts 29 churches has doubled. We are amazed to participate in Jesus’ work, as he changes hearts, plants his Church, and unifies his Body the world over.

Acts 29 Network

Pastor Scott Thomas leads the Acts 29 Network, which exists to start churches that plant churches. More information at the Acts 29 website.

The Best Men Should Leave

Pastor Scott Thomas — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:02:16 +0000

Mars Hill Church aspires to be a church that continues to be known for starting more churches (not just campuses).

The main purpose of a multiplying church is twofold:

To plant the gospel so that new churches exist where none existed before.
To bring missional renewal to existing churches.

The New Testament tells the story of the local church in Antioch that sent Baranabas and Saul on the first missionary journey (Acts 13). They took John Mark as a young man in order to train him.

The Holy Spirit was central to this process:

The Holy Spirit called them (Acts 13:2)
The Holy Spirit sent them (Acts 13:4)
The Holy Spirit filled them (Acts 13:9)
The Holy Spirit directed them (Acts 16:6–7)

A multiplying church comes alongside a church planter to participate with the Holy Spirit’s work in that man and in the community of believers. Mars Hill seeks to inspire men to plant new churches and then commends men as they are sent out.

Western culture promotes and encourages the personal call and entrepreneurial spirit of the planter. In contrast, the New Testament stresses the corporate initiatives of congregations—communities—in selecting qualified men for Gospel ministry.

For example, when the church in Jerusalem heard of the need in Antioch, together as a congregation they expressed their sense of responsibility and they sent Barnabas (Acts 11:23; 14:22).

Instead of leaving the initiative solely up to the individual, we want to deliberately approach our best, most gifted Christian leaders to send them to places of greater need. In this way, the individual’s subjective sense of call is confirmed by the objective call of the church body, which recognizes his gifts and qualifications. This reinforces the assurance of the Holy Spirit’s call upon a man.

At Mars Hill we want to select our best men (Acts 11:24) and send them.

Acts 29 Network

Pastor Scott Thomas leads the Acts 29 Network, which exists to start churches that plant churches. More information at the Acts 29 website.

We Want to Start More New Churches

Pastor Scott Thomas — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:27:16 +0000

A 2007 article in Outreach Magazine (PDF) identified Mars Hill as the second most prolific multiplying church in America. This article motivated me to increase church planting in and through Mars Hill Church—to live up to our reputation, as it were.

The Pastors Training Program

We have worked hard to steward the resources of Mars Hill Church and Acts 29 Network to identify, equip, assess, and send church planters through Mars Hill Church. The Pastors Training Program (PTP) is one example. Fully funded by Mars Hill and run by our Church Planting Branch, the PTP trained ten church planters for twelve months.

During this inaugural tutelage, these men discussed strategy, experienced community, formalized philosophies and doctrinal positions, and forged lifelong friendships. The result: multiple new churches around the country (North Carolina, Ohio, New York, Rhode Island, Louisiana) and one campus pastor for Federal Way, Samuel Choi.

Mark Bergin was the only Mars Hill member to participate in the PTP this year. Over the course of the program, we explored many options for this gifted, intelligent leader (nicknamed “The Hammer” by his PTP peers). Mark now serves the Shoreline campus as a volunteer pastor, and he will move to Chicago in the next twelve months to begin gathering a core to plant a gospel-centered church.

Through the generosity of its members, Mars Hill Church…

Gives over $1 million a year toward church planting.
Funds 26 church plants in America, and two church planting leaders internationally.
Give an additional $100,000 to a fund overseen by the Acts 29 Board to advance church planting.

The additional funds provide the training of 63 pastors to be coaches of church planters; research shows that a planter with a coach has a 200 percent higher survivability rate than one who isn’t coached (Leadership Network).

New churches in the works

This fall, the PTP will begin training, assessing, and equipping several Mars Hill leaders who are preparing to plant new churches. Andrew Pack (Lake City) is looking to plant in Seattle. Greg Joines (Ballard) is praying about going to North Carolina. Bergin is headed to Chicago, and Jesse Winkler is leaving his Mars Hill campus pastor role to gather a core in San Diego to start a new church. Dustin Nickerson (Bellevue) is another a potential planter for the Eastside of Seattle.

We are praying for more Mars Hill men who desire to be sent out as church planters to proclaim the gospel. We want to lead as a multiplying church for the glory of God and the gospel transformation of all nations.

Acts 29 Network

Pastor Scott Thomas leads the Acts 29 Network, which exists to start churches that plant churches. More information at the Acts 29 website.

It’s All Jesus

Pastor Scott Thomas — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:34:55 +0000

“Driscoll is nuts!” said one church member as he walked out of the third service of the day at Mars Hill Church in Ballard. I knew what he was referencing. I said, “It is so crazy that it is brilliant.” He looked at me like I was just as delusional. He tossed his bulletin in the trash, shook his head, and he shuffled out the door.

Pastor Mark Driscoll made the announcement, online and in a recent sermon at Mars Hill Church, that he wants 900 men to be church planters or campus planters. With Acts 29 at about 200 churches, 800 more are needed to reach the stated goal of 1,000. The goal for campuses at Mars Hill is 100, 93 short.

So technically, Pastor Mark needs 893 men to fulfill a vision he has to follow the mission of Jesus by planting churches through Acts 29 and the planting of MH campuses. The nutty part is that he envisions this being done in less than ten years.

It Can’t Be Done

That is what is brilliant about the vision. It can’t be done. It’s as nutty as Jesus looking at less than 500 people after His resurrection and telling them that they are responsible to make disciples of every ethnic group; every tribe; every nation (Matt. 28:18-20).

At the time, the world population was an estimated 181 million. Jesus was addressing a microscopic speck of the population and telling them that it was up to them to go to the different people groups who didn’t live in the area, speak the language, and 99.4 percent who held to a different religious system other than Christianity (World Christian Encyclopedia).

Jesus made one last promise, however, that made the impossible, possible. He promised the church then and now that He would empower them with His Holy Spirit until He returned. That same Spirit is alive and empowering us as we look to Jesus and ask what His vision is for Mars Hill and Acts 29.

“I envision 300,000 people worshiping Jesus every Sunday under the banners of Acts 29 and Mars Hill Church in the next ten years,” Driscoll said. Some people waited for the punchline, delivered in his frequently snarky style. But this time it was no joke.

How to Accomplish the Impossible

In the last two weeks, dozens of men have cast their name in the ring as potential church planters or campus planters. The average age is 29. One is engaged. Ten are single (most in their early twenties). Their singleness won’t last long when the girls learn of these men who are willing to dedicate their lives to the mission of Jesus.

The only way this work can be done is through the power of the Holy Spirit. It was true of the first-century disciples, and it is true of us today.

We just added fifteen more churches in Acts 29 this past week. Mega churches (2000+) are joining us en masse to help plant churches through Acts 29. At a recent meeting with one of our newest churches, the pastor told me how his church grew from 3,000 to 5,000 this past year—the same year their world-famous worship leader left their church to join another ministry. I asked him how this happened. He said, “It had nothing to do with us. It’s all Jesus. “

“It’s all Jesus.” That is how we are going to pull off this nutty vision.

Are you one of the 900? Register for next week’s Acts 29 Boot Camp in Seattle.

Mars Hill Church | United Kingdom

Pastor Scott Thomas — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:29:47 +0000

While I was in London and Brighton, England, this past summer with Pastor Mark, the Spirit impressed on me with the phrase, “For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

I had not read that passage for eighteen months, and yet the Apostle Paul’s statement burned in my spirit and continues to burn. I had been told that the UK was not receptive to the gospel, but I was terribly misinformed. In addition to Pastor Mark’s numerous speaking engagements, we held a church-planting boot camp where planters from twelve different countries attended. Between each session, the men asked pressing questions and begged us to start planting churches in their respective countries.

A wide door for effective work has opened to us, and we are asking the Holy Spirit to help us walk through this door into areas of the world where the church has diminished the gospel. Many young people in the UK want a message and mission similar to that of Mars Hill Church and the Acts 29 Network. Not only is there receptiveness to the gospel in the UK, but also there are several vibrant ministries and strong leaders working faithfully in Jesus’ name.

Newfrontiers is a UK-based ministry that understands the gospel. It’s a church-planting movement that has started 200 churches in the UK, and over 500 churches in 52 countries around the world. Pastor Mark preached to 5,000 leaders at their annual conference and made a huge impact on them. The leader of Newfrontiers, Terry Virgo, is a dear man who is full of the Holy Spirit and an embodiment of an elder above reproach. He and Mark spent a great amount of time together talking about the future of Newfrontiers. Mark was in awe of Terry’s character, but was able to help him think through the next ten years for their continued impact. This week, Terry wrote about some of the highlights from Mark’s summer visit to Newfrontiers.

About eighteen months ago, I received a manuscript from an author I was not familiar with–another minister in England. He asked me to review it and give him some feedback. The manuscript was entitled Total Church and was written for a British audience. I was busy at the time, but dutifully read the chapter on church planting. I was greatly impressed so I read the chapter on missions. I wrote the author, Steve Timmis, back and asked him if he wanted suggestions, endorsement, or a review. He wanted it all! I printed the manuscript out and placed it in a three-ring binder and carried it with me everywhere I went for a week. I read it at half-time at basketball games, at stop lights, and during boring meetings (is there any other kind?). I made over 200 comments in the manuscript—mostly translating UK terms to English…uh, I mean American. It was a labor of love.

As a result, Steve Timmis and I struck up a friendship. I invited Steve to speak at the Seattle Acts 29 Boot Camp at Mars Hill Church. We taught together this summer at the Dwell:London church-planting conference. I introduced Steve to several key Acts 29 pastors who were immediately drawn to the gospel-centrality of this book. I submitted the book to Mark Driscoll and asked if it could be published through Re:Lit. Crossway Books approved the manuscript and the book is scheduled for release this month. In anticipation, Desiring God posted an interview this week with the book’s co-author, Tim Chester.

Mars Hill Church’s mission is more than Mars Hill Church. We love Seattle, but we also want to see the gospel take root and grow throughout the world. And so we start new campuses, start new churches, publish books and other resources in order to participate in Jesus’ global movement of redemption.

Starting New Churches

Pastor Scott Thomas — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:23:22 +0000

In addition to starting new campuses, Mars Hill Church is busy starting new churches through the work of the Acts 29 Network.

The Acts 29 Network is a ministry supported by Mars Hill Church that helps start churches around the world by providing theological, relational, missional, and pastoral support. For many church planters, Acts 29 provides crucial fellowship with like-minded brothers and encouragement in what may be the loneliest and hardest calling for a man and his family. Pastor Mark Driscoll serves as the president of Acts 29 and I serve as the secretary, treasurer, and chairman of the board.

During the last twelve months, Mars Hill Church gave over a million dollars to Jesus’ work across the nation and around world. Here’s a glimpse at how we’re working together to spread the gospel.

Over the last year, 39 new churches were started through Acts 29.
Acts 29 has over 138 member churches in 32 states from various traditions, including Baptist, Presbyterian, Assembly of God, EFCA, and nondenominational—all united by Jesus.
Currently, 56 more church plants have been approved and are completing the membership requirements. An additional 211 applicants are in the pipeline.
In all, over 35,000 people are worshipping at Acts 29 Network churches across the United States every Sunday.
Mars Hill Church helps fund Acts 29 churches in strategic locations where cash flow is a perennial obstacle despite faithful and generous members.

As one example of the relational and pastoral benefits of Acts 29, a few months ago Mars Hill Church hosted one hundred eighty people in Vail, CO, at an annual retreat where lead planter couples could relax, be encouraged, and be strengthened by each other for the upcoming year.

In the past year, we provided church planter coaching to new Acts 29 pastors. We have trained forty-six pastors as certified church-planter coaches. This coaching increases the effectiveness of the church plant and encourages the church planter by providing wisdom to make proper decisions.

We hosted five Acts 29 “Boot Camps” in the past year:

Raleigh, NC (September 2007): Sold-out attendance of over 350
Chicago, IL (January 2008): Sold-out attendance of 240
Seattle, WA (February 2008): Sold-out attendance of over 1,100 (in conjunction with Text & Context)
New York, NY (April 2008): Dwell NYC. Attendance of 470
London, UK (July 2008): Attendance of 200 with representatives from 12 different nations

Acts 29 Boot Camps focus on 1) The Man (his character, calling, competency, and courage); 2) The Message (of Jesus and reformed theology); and 3) The Mission (to plant reproducing, gospel-centered churches). Most Boot Camp content is available for free on the Acts 29 website.

Thank you for your care and support, Mars Hill Church. With your faithful stewardship and devotion to the mission of our local church, you’re helping thousands of people around the country and around the world to know and love Jesus.

Visit acts29network.org for more about church planting and Acts 29. Read this article in the 2007-2008 MHC annual report.

35% off ESV Study Bibles

Pastor Scott Thomas — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:28:28 +0000

Our friends at Crossway have outdone themselves with the forthcoming ESV Study Bible. I’ve seen a copy of it (so has Pastor Mark), and it’s like the iPhone of Bibles. I’ve already ordered a bunch to give to our pastors in training, and I’m excited for the October 15 publication date.

From now until July 31, you can pre-order the ESV Study Bible for 35% off, and Crossway will donate 5% back to the Acts 29 Network. We are investing this 5% directly into our Foundation Fund, which helps pastors start churches in low-income areas in cities like Philadelphia, Oakland, LA, and San Diego.

Go to Crossway’s special website to learn more about the ESV Study Bible and order your discounted copy. Thank you to our our partners at Crossway who are so generous with their resources.

(Offer expires July 31, 2008, and does not apply to any other Crossway product)

Dwell Conference Goes to London

Pastor Scott Thomas — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:44:15 +0000

The inaugural Dwell Conference in New York City this past April was a sold-out urban church-planting conference attended by men from 12 different countries (the content is available here).

The largest contingency was from the UK, so I am heading to London in July for a one-day conference with Mark Driscoll and Steve Timmis, founder of The Crowded House and the Porterbrook Network in Sheffield, England.

Church planting is not about a mechanical method that is only practical in a specific place and time. It is a passion for the gospel of Jesus and it is rooted in the Scriptures that tell the story of his redeeming grace.

Here is the schedule for the day:

Saturday, 12 July 2008 | 9:30 AM–4:45 PM
Session 1: Gospel of Grace vs. Religion of Works – Mark Driscoll
Session 2: The Church Planter as a Minister of Grace – Steve Timmis
Session 3: Am I a Church Planter? – Scott Thomas
Session 4: Planting Communities of Grace – Steve Timmis
Session 5: Preaching Jesus – Mark Driscoll

The cost is only £20.00 Register Today

CONFERENCE SPONSORS

Acts 29 Network is a network of pastors from the United States and the world whose dream is to help qualified leaders called by God plant new churches and replant declining churches.

The Porterbrook Network is a developing initiative aimed at contributing to a wider church-planting movement by equipping individuals and churches to rediscover mission as their DNA through training, resourcing, and consulting.

Acts 29 and its Influence in the World

Pastor Scott Thomas — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:36:57 +0000

(By Pastor Scott Thomas, with Pastor Mike Gunn)

“If you have pity for perishing people and a passion for the reputation of Christ, you must care about world mission.” –John Piper

Ten percent of Mars Hill Church’s general budget goes to fund the Acts 29 church-planting network. Acts 29 has helped plant more than one hundred twenty churches in the United States, but its work is by no means limited to our own country.

Here are some statistics to give you a better idea about the international work of Acts 29:

Acts 29 is training pastors, planting churches, and financially assisting churches on three continents (African, Asian, European).
Since January 2007, Acts 29 Network has trained 800 pastors in other countries.
Acts 29 has trained pastors from approximately 1,000 churches and at least 100,000 people (most of whom have been saved out of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam).
Since January of 2007, we have conducted official “boot camps” (training and assessment programs for pastors and prospective church planters) in India, Pakistan, Thailand, Zambia, South Africa, and the DR Congo. In 2008 alone, Acts 29 will host at least five international boot camps.
We are supporting church planting leaders in India, Nepal, Thailand, Zambia, the DR Congo, Uganda, Pakistan, Guatemala, and Ecuador, and we are currently planning potential boot camps in Brazil, Ecuador, Australia, Senegal, Uganda, London, Europe, as well as returning to Thailand, India, Congo, and Pakistan to conduct more training conferences and boot camps in other cities in these countries.
Right now, all but two of our international church planters are being mentored and encouraged by other Acts 29 churches in the United States.
We are forming partnerships with The Crowded House in Sheffield, England, and Redeemer Presbyterian (New York) in Europe and South Africa in order to more strategically distribute the workload and labor in concert with like-minded ministries around the globe. Acts 29 will partner with The Crowded House to host a church-planting conference in London this July.

Legalism, the prosperity gospel, and other false teachings are prevalent in many of the countries where Acts 29 is building a ministry presence. The populations within these same countries often suffer from extreme poverty and disease, such as HIV/AIDS. For the most part, the church in these areas—preaching a self-centered gospel—is weak and too impotent to do anything about the very real problems that afflict much of the globe. At the same time, Islam is gaining a massive foothold in this world while the church sleeps!

For any churches or individuals interested in active participation with Acts 29, the international missions opportunities are endless in countries such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Afghanistan, and Nepal. Those with interest in these ventures can email info@acts29network.org.

(Mike Gunn was a pastor at Mars Hill Church who was sent out to plant Harambee Church in Renton, Washington, through Acts 29. In addition to serving as lead pastor at Harambee, he is actively leading Acts 29’s international movement.)

Prayer and Fasting: A guide to April 22

Pastor Scott Thomas — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:10:31 +0000

Fasting joined with fervent prayer and reading of scripture is a spiritual discipline of humbling ourselves in abstinence before God to hunger for him, to give him glory, to seek his direction, to turn away some tragedy, and/or to obtain some blessing. Fasting is traditionally the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a limited time.

On April 22, your pastors will be spending the day fasting and praying for you. For one full day, we will devote ourselves to intense time in prayer for the body, for the leaders, and for the mission of Mars Hill Church.

We are asking all church members–and anyone on board with Mars Hill–to do the same, as they are able.

What are the reasons why we would fast?

Your elders believe that our corporate fasting for unity in our mission is necessary as we all examine our commitment to being sent by Jesus to build his church, to grow his people and glorify his name (John 17:20–23).

There are multiple reasons for fasting:

1. It is a principle taught by Jesus.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:16, “When you fast…” He did not say “if” you fast. Jesus also said fasting would resume after his ascension into heaven (Mark 2:20).

Additionally, we see examples of fasting for direction in the early church. In Acts 13, the church at Antioch was led to fast and pray. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (13:2–3).

Paul (Saul) and Barnabas and some of the other leaders in the church in Antioch were worshiping and fasting. Judging by what happened we assume that the burden that led them to fast was the mission of the church at Antioch. They were fasting to seek the leading of the Holy Spirit in the direction of their mission. They were hungry enough for God’s leading that they wanted to say it with the hunger of their bodies and not just the hunger of their hearts. They were saying in essence, “We want your leading, O God! O Holy Spirit, what is your will for the mission of this church?”

2. We want to draw closer to Jesus.

John Wesley said fasting advanced holiness. The early church fathers, Polycarp and Tertullian, fasted, as did Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Knox. Wesley was so committed to fasting that he would not approve a candidate for ministry if he did not fast twice a week! Bill Bright, the late founder of Campus Crusade, believed fasting fulfilled 2 Chronicles 7:14: humility, prayer, and seeking God’s face, which leads to turning from sin.

3. We want to stir the body of Christ toward repentance.

Nehemiah fasted and prayed after he heard of the demise of the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:3–4).

4. We want to conquer a sin in one’s life.

Fasting and praying lays one’s soul bare to allow the Holy Spirit to set us free from the sins that clings so closely to us (Hebrews 12:1–2). Natural passions consume our energies and distract us away from our devotion to Jesus who said, “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Mathew 4:4; Luke 4:4).

John Calvin said in his fourth Institutes book that fasting has three objectives: “We use it to weaken or subdue the flesh that it may not act wantonly [lacking restraint], that we may be better prepared for prayers and holy meditations and that it may be a testimony of our self-abasement [humiliation] before God when we wish to confess our guilt before him.”

5. Fasting is useful to beseech our Sovereign God’s provision of our needs: physical, financial, spiritual, emotional, social, familial, marital, or mental (Philippians 3:19; Luke 21:34).

I have practiced fasting in my life for almost thirty years. I never make a major decision without fasting. I have fasted for church renewal, for personal decisions, for evangelism of lost, for financial provision, to subdue pride, and for personal spiritual renewal. There is always the temptation to allow fasting to become a source of pride. It is something that is more prevalent with longer fasts, but should be subdued with all diligence. Jesus said those who fast for the purpose of a legalistic or selfish reasons forfeit a reward from God since their reward is the applause of man (Matthew 6:16).

How Do We Fast?

Here are five different ways to fast, depending on one’s preferences and physical ability.

Begin the fast on April 22 at midnight and consume only water through 11:59 pm.
Same as #1, but fast from food only. Juice, for example, would be acceptable in addition to water.
Begin a 24-hour fast following dinner on April 21.
Fast for one or two meals during the day on April 22.
If it is physically restricting or medically dangerous for you to fast from food for a day, consider a modified fast—abstain from TV, computer, or something that takes a significant portion of your time and attention during the day. During the fast, one should take the time normally devoted to preparation and participation in meals (or TV, etc.) to pray for spiritual renewal and the advancement of the gospel through Mars Hill Church.

Please join the elders and thousands of others at Mars Hill on April 22 to pray, worship, fast, and implore the Holy Spirit to shape our hearts for the passion of his mission. As you prepare, we encourage you to pray for:

Thankfulness. We’ve been given much and have much for which to praise Jesus (Psalm 148; John 1:16).
Personal repentance of sin (John 1:5–10).
Unity and shared partnership in the mission Jesus has given our church (Matt. 28:16–20; 1 Tim. 4:11–16).
The continued health and spiritual safety of elders, deacons, staff, and other leaders (1 Timothy 4-5; Titus 1; 1 Peter 5).
The effective partnership of the preaching and the discipleship ministries, which are both working for the same goal: loving Jesus and the people He puts in our lives.
Safety from the enemy, his servants, and their works and effects (Eph. 6:10–20; 1 Peter 5:6–11).
More hearts connecting to the mission through active participation in community, giving, and serving (Matt. 6:19–34; Hebrews 3:12–14; 1 Peter 4:7–11).
The financial health and stability of our church through thousands of regular, sacrificial, and cheerful givers (2 Cor. 8-9).
Three thousand healthy, fruitful members of Mars Hill Church.

Following April 22, as you are led by the Holy Spirit, we ask you to begin the member process (or renew your membership), get involved in a community group, serve, and give to Jesus through Mars Hill. May God grow a strong, healthy, fruitful, rejuvenated core of godly members of his household.