By a female teenager at the Ballard campus

I was raised going to church every Sunday. I thought I was a Christian because I was really good at following rules and thought I was an expert on Jesus. But the personal, life-changing relationship wasn’t there.

This seemed to work for me in middle school, where I told everybody from my haughty position of “Christian” how wrong they were. Then high-school rolled around. Jesus became the last thing on my mind as I was swept up in a whirlwind of partying, drinking, drugs, and promiscuity.

At first I felt profoundly guilty and hypocritical, breaking all of the rules I knew I wasn’t supposed to, but it got to a point where I was just numb enough that I didn’t care anymore. I became fully immersed in my gods of vanity, popularity, self-hate, and self-destruction.

This downward spiral continued until February 7, 2009, when Jesus shook up my world. It was the day after I got higher than I ever had been before, and I felt like I should go to church so I wouldn’t feel so guilty. I couldn’t tell you what specifically happened, but I heard God’s Word at Mars Hill, and my heart began to soften.

I went home that night and flushed all of my drugs down the toilet and threw away my pipe and my alcohol. Jesus redeemed my body, and told me that I was precious, that I didn’t need to give it away to any boy who wanted it.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, my friends were baffled. Who was this strange girl who listened to Christian radio, wore a cross, and stopped swearing. I think most of them have figured out that this “Jesus thing” is here to stay, and I just love them.

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Our Lake City campus is offering a Wednesday night service similar to their Sunday morning services as, not only an option for those who work on Sundays, but to challenge their people who come on Wednesdays to use Sundays to be active in their neighborhoods and communities. You can get more information from Pastor James Harleman at the Lake City blog.

The Ballard campus is also mixing it up by adding a Wednesday night gathering for community prayer and worship called At the Feet of the Father: 8 Weeks of Seeking the Will of God through Prayer and Worship. Pastor Bubba Jennings has a few helpful videos about the events.

Pastor Bubba Jennings and Pastor Joel Brown, At the Feet of the Father Promo 2 from Mars Hill Church | Ballard on Vimeo.

At the Feet of the Father, what did you have to say? – Mars Hill Church | Ballard from Mars Hill Church | Ballard on Vimeo.

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By Joyce Smith, Ballard campus

Chaotic Destruction

Before becoming a Christian, I was a party girl. I was big into coke, and I’d drink like there was no tomorrow. I’d often go out seeking male attention by dressing the part of the girl who would sleep with someone on the first date.

When I finally settled down into a monogamous relationship, with a man I’d met through a coke deal, my favorite thing to do with my new boyfriend was snort meth and do everything that was utterly perverted. When we weren’t having sex, we were most often in violent fights, which I typically lost.

I left my boyfriend and the stimulants (for the most part) behind, and moved to Seattle. But I continued to drink more than ever, and the sleeping around resumed. That was my life. I had little else going for me. Then I met Jesus, and everything changed.

Gospel Transaction

I traded the booze for the Bible, and men for the Son of Man. I’m not sleeping with anyone, and have made a firm decision not to again until after I’m married. Without the partying, I have the time and ability to do things that are important, like read the Bible, go to church, and spend time with my family, especially my new niece.

I used to be terribly afraid of doing anything without my friends, but since becoming a Christian, and since trying not to sin—as opposed to going out of my way to sin—I’ve lost most of my friends.  But I’ve also lost my fear of being without them. Now I’m able to do things by myself for Jesus.

Noteable Transformation

I decided to go back to school, and by the grace of God, I was accepted to a lovely Christian university in Alabama, and was given a full tuition scholarship.

When I tell my old friends about the things I’m doing and the biblical values I now hold, they ask me, “Who have you become?” I know they aren’t trying to be nice when they say that, but it’s a wonderful thing to hear, knowing that Jesus has made me the person that I am, and everyone can plainly see I am not the person I was.

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By Rachelle Richardson, Bellevue campus

Jesus 101

I was the typical 19-year-old at Washington State University thinking about my next class, my latest crush, and getting into the coolest sorority. I felt empty and unsettled. I had no concept that I had a Father in heaven who was plotting a rescue for my life.

Providentially, God put me in a room in my sorority house right across from a girl named Jenny. Jenny was totally different. She always hung out and had a great time, but she never got wasted or hooked up. I kept seeing her love and help others with a quiet joy. What did she have that I didn’t?

One day Jenny told me about the God who created her and the relationship she had with Jesus Christ that changed her heart. By God’s grace, I knew that same God had created me, and I desperately wanted to know Him and get this new heart. So I knelt of the floor of my sorority and surrendered my life to Christ.

Physical training is of some value…

My senior year of college, I was training for a half marathon and needed some good sermons to run to. I had heard about this pastor that went to WSU and talked for a long time, so I began to download his content.

I loved Pastor Mark’s teaching instantly, and it was just what I needed at that time in my life. After I moved back to Seattle, I knew I wanted to be a part of Mars Hill Church, so I began to attend regularly and started the membership process almost immediately.

I began to attend the women’s ministry events and joined a women’s Bible study. I will never forget how they loved me. They showed me such a redeemed image of motherhood and what being a woman of the Lord looked like.

Back to School

I praise God for allowing me to become a member at Mars Hill and be under biblical teaching that tells the truth in love. I want to imitate a similar approach in my ministry where I am approachable but uncompromising for the Lord. To that end, I plan to be on WSU’s campus full time by this fall, if the Lord provides my funding.

It breaks my heart to think of how many students are spending their college years getting drunk and hooking up, when they could be introduced to our patient and matchless Savior.

Learn more about Rachelle’s work with Campus Crusade for Christ.

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I love preaching and teaching the Bible. And I often praise God that I do so in the age of the Internet at a church with fellow elders who embrace technology for the sake of getting the gospel of Jesus Christ out to the world. When I began pursuing my undergraduate degree in communications before I was a Christian and before the Internet was even a reality, I had no idea how God’s providential timing was working in my life.

I want to sincerely thank everyone in our global online audience who enjoys my sermons and helps get them out to others. It means a great deal to me personally that so many people would invite me into their life to speak into their relationship with God.

It’s only getting better because we have more free content to give away than ever. So, I’ll explain to you what is next from Mars Hill and me:

1. We have upgraded our video cameras to the RED cameras used for major films like District 9. This means that the video experience at a Mars Hill Campus or online is better than live – for free.
2. We have upgraded our media player by creating our own technology to handle the high-definition video content we are now capturing and are giving it all away online – for free.
3. We have built an iPhone app that allows anyone anywhere to retrieve anything they want (sermon audio, sermon video, music, blogs, etc.) from the Mars Hill media library – for free.
4. Beginning with the new series, Luke’s Gospel: Investigating the Man Who Is God, we are transcribing the sermons each week and giving them away online – for free.
5. Soon, we will be translating the sermons into Spanish so that we can have some services with subtitles to welcome a bilingual congregation and will also give these sermons away online – for free.
6. In the next year we will take many of the sermons I have preached at Mars Hill as well as at other conferences and have those sermons transcribed and those millions of words given away online – for free.
7. As always, we will continue to capture in audio and video formats the conferences we host through www.theresurgence.com and give those away online – for free.
8. We are capturing the content from our lectures at Re:Train from men such as John Piper, Ed Stetzer, Sam Storms, Bruce Ware, Gregg Allison, Rick Melson, Bill Clem, and myself and are giving those lectures away online – for free.
9. I’ve written two free e-books that we give away online (see the last two resources at http://relit.org//library.php) and I’m working on another e-book we will give away online in the coming months – for free.

Of course, none of this is actually free since generous people are paying for it. If you would like to be generous and help us give away more, we would appreciate a one-time gift of any amount. A generous friend has pledged to match up to $1 million for anyone who gives at http://marshillglobal.com/, so if you give now, whatever you give will automatically be doubled.

Lastly, if you think about it, please pray for the hard-working team of staff and volunteers behind the scenes who are doing all the real work to make this possible. Anthony, Jesse, John, Mike, Sarah, Jordan, Andrew, Charlie, Rick, Nick, Andy, Sam, Seth, Patrick, Grant, Crystal, Nathan, and others are pulling long hours to make it all happen because they love you and love Jesus.

Mars Hill Global

New campuses, new churches, leadership training, and free resources for churches everywhere. In partnership with Acts 29 and Resurgence.

The new campus in Federal Way was standing-room only, with over 500 people gathered to worship Jesus. Albuquerque had well over 500 people crammed into the Lobo Theater, the oldest operating movie theater on Route 66, and the U-District service location on the UW campus didn’t have enough seats and had to turn people away at the door.

Many campuses also did impromptu baptisms and in Ballard alone we got to see 25 people declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior and be baptized. Pastor Mark had amazing stories about people who were baptized this Sunday – including many who were at our church for the first time. Another incredible testimony involved a man who has been dating a single mother and, after being in the service yesterday, he decided to give his life to Jesus, marry his girlfriend, and adopt her daughter.

It is amazing to see the Holy Spirit work in a community through the Word, and to be a people changed from rebels to worshippers. Those are things only God can do, so He gets all the glory – we’re just grateful to be able to see it and be a part of it.

By Sally Spohn, Ballard campus

Sunday School Falls Short

I grew up being taught about Jesus and attending church regularly, but it wasn’t until I was a freshman in high school that Jesus changed my heart and helped me pursue a real relationship with him.

Before this time, I did not know what it meant to love Jesus and actively seek him in my life. I knew about Jesus from many years of Sunday school and youth group growing up, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with him.

Knowledge Falls Short



I went to the University of Washington in 2003, and for the first time in my life, I was challenged about my faith by friends and those curious about who I was. This was a very vulnerable time for me, and I felt myself losing sight of Jesus in my life very quickly.

I did not have any sort of fellowship with other believers during my freshman year in college and I rarely attended church except when I would go home to visit my family. 

When I first came to Mars Hill five years ago, I felt like I had found the missing puzzle piece. No other church that I have attended has ever preached straight from the Bible each and every week, and Jesus used this to slowly change my life.

I felt like I was starting at the beginning in my relationship with Jesus because I began to really understand what Jesus did for me on the cross and who I am as a believer. For the last five years, the desire to live my life for Jesus has grown more and more, and I don’t know what I would do without him as my personal Savior.

Family Falls Short



Over a year ago, my dad walked out of my life. I have never felt the sense of pain and abandonment that I experienced then. I have never needed Jesus so badly. By the grace of God, my mom, brother, sister, and I have stayed strong and looked to Jesus in the midst of the sadness and suffering.

Jesus is Faithful

Without Jesus, I would not be where I am today, and I am truly grateful for every minute of it. I can now honestly say that Jesus has opened up my heart and shown me what it means to be a sinner saved by the grace of God. I truly believe that God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins and that he is my personal Savior.

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Has Jesus worked through the ministry of Mars Hill Church to change you? Send us your story, in writing or on video. More stories.

By Brandon Prescott, Ballard campus

I was raised Mormon. Around age 16 my parents got divorced, and I began to question everything in my life.

Under Judgment

I began having premarital sex and when guilt kicked in I tried going back to the Mormon church to begin the repentance process, but I no longer felt welcome. I’m not sure if people knew the nature of my sin or not, but the other members knew I was dealing with sin, and I felt like everyone was already judging me for falling short.

It was then that I decided religion was not for me. For the next seven or eight years I was sexually active and heavily involved in drugs. I struggled with depression and was desperately trying to find my place in the world.

Word of Mouth

It was about two years ago when I met the woman who would end up as my wife. We dated for a several months living in sin before she suggested attending Mars Hill.

She was being convicted to go back to church and invited me to go with her. She had heard of Mars hill through an old friend that owned a tattoo shop. She had been there several times before we had met and was feeling that she needed to go back.

I agreed to check it out. After that first week I couldn’t help but be intrigued. We started going pretty much every week from then on, commuting from Auburn to Ballard every Sunday to hear what Pastor Mark would say next about Jesus.

The Gospel Routs Religion

Over the course of a few months or so, God began an amazing work in my heart. I heard exactly what I needed to hear. Pastor Mark talked about how religion doesn’t save anyone and it’s all about Jesus.

Although my life was filled with sin and folly, I didn’t feel ashamed for falling short. I felt welcomed by the church because Mark teaches that God loves me first, despite my sin–I don’t have to accomplish A, B, and C to earn God’s love. I learned that God pursued me first, and it’s through his love and sacrifice that I get my salvation–Jesus already paid the price for my sin.

Last summer, my wife and I got married. We are now blessed with a beautiful baby girl, and through God’s amazing grace I’ve been able to stop smoking pot; he has truly changed my desires. Although occasionally I am still tempted, the Holy Spirit is with me and helps me to remain strong in the Lord and continue to turn away from sin and toward Jesus.

What’s Your Story?

Has Jesus worked through the ministry of Mars Hill Church to change you? Send us your story, in writing or on video. More stories.

By Emily Kesling, Ballard campus

Peace Interrupted & Restored

I was raised in a Christian home, so from an early age I was exposed to the message of the gospel. When I was young my life was very happy, and I never felt the need to strongly consider my faith.

My entire world shattered when I was in 8th grade and my father died. Those weeks and months following that event were the most traumatic in my life, but it was also in that time when I first felt the comforting hand of God upon me.

It would have been easy for me to feel alone, but I didn’t. I called on God, and his Holy Spirit. In John 14, Jesus promises that he will not leave us as orphans, but that the Father will send us a comforter in his name. Believing in that promise, I called on the Holy Spirit and did feel God’s comfort, love, and peace.

Good Behavior Not Good Enough

It was only after my father’s death that I would say I truly became a Christian, but the next few years were still a constant struggle for me. I spent my high school years trying to integrate Christian principles into my life rather than submitting to Jesus and asking him to give me a new heart.

My friends in high school were not Christians, so I avoided expressing my faith to avoid confrontation with them. Scared of what they would think if I shared my faith, I was more concerned with pleasing man than pleasing God. It was when I first came to college that I began to feel God changing my desires.

What About My Needs?

My decision to attend the University of Washington had been a very hard one because I had wanted to go to a much more expensive private school. I remember crying and praying for God to deliver me, to provide a miracle so that I could follow my dreams. I was totally crushed with where God had put me; if he wanted me to go to school at the UW, I felt certain that my plan for my life was better than his.

Of course, I was wrong. God has used my experiences as a student at UW to grow my faith in ways I couldn’t have imagined. My freshmen year I became involved with Campus Crusade for Christ and began attending Mars Hill regularly—as well as being blessed with several strong Christian friends.

God had the best plan for me in mind all along, and it was only God’s infinite mercy and goodness which protected me from following my own desires; it scares me to consider where I would be now if my life had followed my will instead of his.

New Desires

This fall I will be a junior. Looking back, I can see so much that God has taught me and the paths onto which he has led me. On Easter I was baptized at the Ballard campus so that I could publicly proclaim the grace God has given and the changes he has made in me.

God has transformed my heart and given me new desires. Now, above all else, I wish to live a life that is pleasing to him. My desire is for every aspect of my life to reflect Jesus and the grace, goodness, and mercy I have received through him.

What’s Your Story?

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By Ren Minutola, Ballard campus

Mad at God

Before I met Jesus I was a very angry, selfish person.

My parents divorced when I was 2, and when I was 5, my younger brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He spent a lot of time in the hospital, and because of this, my parents had to spend most of their time with him and I did not get much of their attention. My sister was born when I was 7 and had water on her brain, which caused a lot of disabilities, so she too was in and out of the hospital.

I was mad at God for giving me such a hard childhood and for not protecting me from the pain and suffering I experienced. Attending Catholic school for 13 years taught me a lot about God, but I felt that He gave up on me.

The final straw came when I was 16 and a nun told me that I was not recognized in the eyes of God because my parents divorced and received an annulment. I suffered serious depression, had violent mood swings, used drugs, alcohol, and basically lost all respect for myself.

But one day God changed my heart.

Broken Before God

It had been so long since I had been open to hearing God’s voice that I did not recognize it. I was invited to attend Mars Hill and absolutely hated it. I could never pinpoint what I didn’t like about it, but I didn’t want to go back. But God continued to pursue me and I eventually returned and gradually began to accept that it wasn’t as bad as I wanted it to be.

During The Peasant Princess series there was a sermon about forgiveness. I felt Jesus holding my hand during that sermon and He encouraged me to let it all go. I sat and sobbed in the back of Mars Hill during the entire sermon as each word felt as if it was directed towards me and what Jesus was calling me to do.

That night I was saved by Jesus and was able to let go of all the anger and hurt I had been harboring for so many years.

Found in God

Through all of this I have gained a much better understanding of God as my Father. I had always viewed God as just an exaggerated version of my dad; I thought He’d abandoned me too, but He didn’t. I’d also felt like God was the one to blame for my siblings and their bad health. He wasn’t.

I have begun reading the Bible, started the membership process at Mars Hill, joined a community group, and, with God’s help, begun to live a life that I feel Jesus wants me to live.

Because of Jesus, I have patience and a confidence that I have never experienced before. I am not ashamed of who I am because my identity is in Jesus; He has given me a new heart. I have learned that He’s not the one who causes bad stuff; He’s the one that walks with you through it all.

What’s Your Story?

Has Jesus worked through the ministry of Mars Hill Church to change you? Send us your story, in writing or on video. More stories.