By Mike O’Dea | Mars Hill Theology Response Team

On July 6, 2007 my wife Bonnie received a phone call from the Seattle Police Department. They told her an unidentified man had just been in a severe accident.  He was biking northbound on the West side of the Ballard Bridge when somehow he fell into the oncoming traffic.  He was in critical condition with a severed right arm and considerable head and leg injuries.  The police told Bonnie that the man had a cell phone on his person and that her business number was programmed into the phone.  (She is a hair stylist)  They were hoping she could identify the man.

Our first thought, and a scary one, was that the man could have been our oldest son, who was known to ride around Ballard on a bike.  Since we were unable to reach our son, I had to go to Harborview to try and identify the person.  I was shaking as I entered the emergency room. It turns out that it was not our son, Rob. 

About one week later Bonnie received a phone call from a lady named Lisa and she told Bonnie that her husband was in a terrible accident.  She said her husband, Terry, had been a client of Bonnie’s for several years.  Lisa remembered Terry telling her that his “barber”, Bonnie, was really a woman of God and that God heard her prayers.  Lisa said her husband really needed prayer because he was still in a coma and at that point his life was still in danger.  They believed even if he did wake up he might be a para or quadriplegic. Well, at least that explained why Bonnie’s business number was programmed into Terry’s phone.

Terry has been at Harborview, then U.W. hospital, and now a nursing home in Lynnwood ever since.  Thankfully, he has been recovering well.  At this writing his mind seems to be back to perhaps 80% of what it was (He had taken such a blow to his head that they had to sew his right ear back on).  Of course, he has lost his right arm up to the shoulder, and he has very little use or movement in his right leg.  However, he is now getting around well in a wheel chair and he has been told he can come home (in Magnolia) as soon as a ramp is built to accomodate his getting in and out.  Building that ramp is the next priority of our community group and hopefully it will be built and Terry will be home by the time this article is posted.

We interpreted this entire event as God’s divine appointment for us Mars Hillians to love our city and expecting nothing in return.  So far our CG has donated several hundred dollars, split and stacked a chord of wood, cleaned house, did gardening around the house and now we have a ramp to build.  Also, as God’s providence has been at work there is a Mars Hill attendee that lives on the same block as this family and she has volunteered to host a community group.  Pray that this becomes a reality and that this family of four can come to know our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, so that they can know their suffering had a purpose.  (See Philippians 1:12).

Amen?

The holidays are fast approaching. For many, this can be a difficult time of year. One specific way we can significantly help others is by providing gifts, service and prayers to help make the holidays a positive experience. MH is organizing its second annual Adopt-a-family program again to share with one another and minister to one another as a Godly family does. Last year, this event went incredibly well and the blessing received by both the adopting groups and adopted families was immeasurable. We hope you will participate with us in this second year.

A letter is being sent to members and regular attendees of MH that have been assisted financially by MH this year, single parents, and others whom may have unmet financial needs in this season of life. Those recipient families who wish to participate will complete a questionnaire to be mailed to the church office. Each family in need will be paired with a CG or family that wishes to participate in the program. This is a perfect opportunity to lead your Community Group in very practical service to the body at Mars Hill and/or to their own community and experience the wonderful blessing of giving out of what Christ has given you. We don’t want any family to go without this season, so we’ll need lots of Community Groups to get involved.

In addition, if you know of a MH family OR a family in your community, neighborhood or sphere who may be in need this season, please, please send their name and address to Mercy@marshillchurch.org and we will include them in this mailed invite.

How it works:

So to recap those dates:

Confirm by 11/16 that you wish to adopt a family.

You will receive your adoption on or before 12/03

Contact your adoptive family by 12/10 to schedule a delivery day.

Deliver your blessings by 12/20

We thank you for considering participating and look forward to hearing from you!

Mercy Ministry at Mars Hill Church

Community Group Leaders!

Mars Hill Ballard is requesting your help in a very important manner. We are in the process of recruiting new communion servers and wanted to present the opportunity to our community group leaders. We wanted members of our church leadership to be a visible part of this crucial element of worship. Although it is a vital part of our worship and Sunday services, it is not a huge commitment. Please let Samson know if you are available to serve communion at the service you attend. I appreciate your time and thank you in advance for your help.

Contact samson@marshillchurch.org for more information.

Leaders,

Read this post by Pastor Dick. This is an opportunity for the people in your group to serve not only the church, but the city by providing hospitality to families that need to hear about Jesus.

-I am so excited about this new season at Mars Hill with the expansion to the multi campus model and Ballard being the training center in which to send from. This affects each ministry as we raise up leaders, trained teachers and volunteers to fill positions now in their communities reaching their neighbors. As you know Wedgwood launches in Oct. and the Eastside and downtown are soon to become realities, therefore, we will be sending many trained people from Ballard to these campuses.

The fact that we are on mission is exciting and the fact that so many people come to Mars Hill because they believe in the mission of seeing lives transformed for Jesus in and around the city of Seattle is nothing short of miraculous. But part of sending trained people out is filling those now empty spots. We are sending up to 50 trained people (just in Children’s ministry) in the next few weeks and months and therefore need those who are committed to the Ballard campus to step up and fill the holes of those who are being sent. I write this for Children’s Ministry but in reality every ministry is sending and every ministry needs people to fill these positions. If you are on mission with us the easiest way to find out about the needs and opportunities in the church is to go to the serve desk in the main foyer as it is a one stop shop of ministry opportunities in the church. If you see yourself serving the little MH culture please email  renee@marshillchurch.org

Pastor Dick McKinley

Children’s Ministry Pastor

By Mike O’Dea

Becoming practitioners of Galatians 6:10 can become a fun and godly habit for community groups.  We can get so caught up in our routines that we forget to “…do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

In the past year our group has tried to break the routine occasionally in order to “do good”.  There are needs all around us but we found it in our own group with a lady that lives in expensive Seattle and survives on just “Disability” income.  In the past 10 months we have had a garage sale, two Texas Hold’em tournaments, and a car wash.  We raised $420.00 to help pay some bills for her, and we raised $868.00 and we bought her a brand new Dell computer with lots of bells and whistles. We also participated in the “Adopt a Family” project last December. We teamed with two other community groups to raise over $1400.00 for a needy family.

Just monitoring our Member’s website can generate ideas to find ways to help folks.  We have several Mars Hill people serving in the military and names and addresses can be found on the site.  Frequently, people ask for help in moving, or fixing a plumbing leak, or a ride to the airport. Maybe a person from your group could be assigned to scan the Members site on a regular basis.  Maybe, just meeting together on a Saturday morning to pick up trash around your church campus.  Disabled member Randy Chrisman needs a few members to step up and help him with his work out routine a couple times per month.  And on, and on.  God will bless!