we were guests at Mars Hill Church Olympia.
this morning, my family and i visited our JESUS-Family at Mars Hill Church in Olympia at their 10am service. below, i'll share [in detail] about our experience.
it was great to go to a church as a lay person and have the experience of going to an unfamiliar church service as a new visitor.
when we first decided to go, i visited their website [www.marshillchurch.org -> choose a location -> olympia] to find out what time their services were and where they were located. i also wanted to make sure that they had children's ministry/nursery available since they were a new campus. [they do.] while i knew the general idea ahead of time, the information i was looking for was easy to find and very clear.
as we drove up on sunday morning, the standard black & silver Mars Hill-branded signs were out and easy to follow so that i didn't need to look at the directions again. there was lots of parking and MH-branding on all the major entrances to the building, which was a regular SPSCC lecture hall.
in front of the main entrance, a few people were congregated, and after being greeted and asking about childcare, a kind woman walked us around the corner to the check in station. it wasn't hard to notice the large man wearing a black MH-polo shirt tucked into a pair of jeans standing just away from the entrance. his shirt said "SECURITY". if we had any fears of the safety of our kids, they were then dispelled.
here's an opportunity to speak of some "fears/questions" kristi had as we discussed attending a new church service:
"do they have childcare for Judah?"
"Judah won't know anyone, what if he doesn't stay or like it?"
we knew Mars Hill had high standards for Children's Ministry workers, and so we never questioned our son's "safety" in that regards. their over communication of this, really helped ease our minds.
so, at the children's ministry check in table, we were greeted by several workers, all female, all moms [i assume]. we filled our a family-identification card, and judah was given a name tag and we were given a corresponding number. we were told that he would only be released to us and we need to have the slip they gave us. then they would turn him over and take off his name tag sticker. if the security saw a child leaving the classroom with the sticker still on, he would bring the kid back to the classroom regardless of who they were with for proper checkout. defending and protecting the kids- now that's awesome.
judah got setup playing with some toys, gave mom and dad a kiss goodbye and was fine and dandy the whole service. he had larry in his pocket for a "just in case" time and he didn't even get it out!
here's a sign that was on the registration table giving a schedule of what to expect your kids will be doing while you were in service [click to enlarge]:
[NOTE: for your child's safety, we will contact you for diaper changes.] <- i like it.
kristi and i went to the service, and we were surprised at the amount of people [150] and the makeup of the people. we thought 1/3 were age 35 or older, including some gray hairs. the others were made up of young families, college students, and children who were in the service with their family. including middle school and late elementary students. the pre- and post- service music was MH worship songs played quietly. the ambiance was nothing special: florescent lights [except for the back row] turned off, a few incandescent cans on.
the service started with announcements by the "emcee" of the day who was a man from Centralia, also a community group leader. he wasn't super-eloquent or excellent with the mic, reading, or public speaking, but the great part is that he is a man in the church that they are training in leadership! [he did just fine, by the way]
the band was made up of a female lead vocalist playing a keyboard [setup with synth in one hand / keys in the other through a keyboard amp], an acoustic guitar player through an amp, and a female and a male background vocalist. each of the vocalists lead at least one song. they did Mars Hill songs, executed in a mediocre way [just saying...]: 2 before the message [the glory of GOD, For YOUr goodness] and 3 after [i don't know the name-i was getting judah, the solid rock, and psalm 51]. the lyrics were displayed on the screen in PPT. NOT gigantic letters, and for the most part accurate and with proper line breaks.
after the first set of musical worship, the emcee came back and read scripture [Romans 6], then the DVD started.
MH|Oly is setup to run on DVD teaching of Pastor Mark Driscoll a week late, so we watched last week's sermon PRAY LIKE JESUS: Gethsemane Prayer, which was absolutely fantastic. it encouraged me to get closer to jesus, lead my family, repent of sin, and study scripture more. here's a short clip, if you're interested:
the DVD had glitches and pixelations. then, a little after halfway, it froze and quit. it took about 5 minutes for the tech team to get the DVD back up and running and in the right spot, since there are no chapter markers within the sermon. now some of you Video-teacher haters are going to say "a live preacher wouldn't freeze and quit!"... and that IS true. however, the majority of the audience was patient and gracious, a little squirmy, but were mostly understanding of the technology barrier they were working through. i'm all for multi-site church planting, the anointing and appointment of teachers like Pastor Mark and the dedication to use technology to further the Gospel. don't be a hater. people are getting saved and transformed.
that being said, i'm also looking forward to next week [we will be going back again] when Pastor Gary Shavey, campus pastor of MH|Oly will be preaching live for 4 weeks through the book of Jonah. [this will be happening church-wide for 4 weeks.] the campus pastors typically preach 12 times a year. Pastor Mark via video/live preaches the other 40 weeks.
Speaking of pastor Gary Shavey... he was no where to be seen today! and i wasn't bothered by this even at the least! while i did find it weird that the campus is just a few weeks old and he's the campus pastor, i also know his heart, having heard it personally, that if this campus is going to succeed, it will be because the men of the campus will rise up and take on leadership roles and make it happen! and that's just what i saw occurring! while pastor gary could have "saved them" by being an eloquent emcee, or by filling in and communicating well during the "technical difficulties", the leaders of the church stepped up, took on the situations and are better off now, having faced them and will [hopefully] find some solutions for the next time they run into them.
at the end of the message, parents were released to pick up their kids from children's ministry, and the congregation participated in singing to jesus, communion, and giving of the tithes and offerings as they do every week. i gathered judah and was really blessed by holding him in my arms and having him hear me sing songs of worship to jesus, explain communion to him [again], then tell Judah about what the leader was praying as we closed and were released.
my family greatly appreciated our time at Mars Hill Olympia, and we will go back next week, while we are on vacation. it also encouraged me to rejoice that such a force in the Kingdom of GOD has now found a home in Olympia as TEAM JESUS is strengthened here in the South Sound. finally, it got me really excited about the future of FBC and "Night Church", as these wheels begin turning towards serious planning, beginning this tuesday!
JESUS WINS!
it was great to go to a church as a lay person and have the experience of going to an unfamiliar church service as a new visitor.
when we first decided to go, i visited their website [www.marshillchurch.org -> choose a location -> olympia] to find out what time their services were and where they were located. i also wanted to make sure that they had children's ministry/nursery available since they were a new campus. [they do.] while i knew the general idea ahead of time, the information i was looking for was easy to find and very clear.
as we drove up on sunday morning, the standard black & silver Mars Hill-branded signs were out and easy to follow so that i didn't need to look at the directions again. there was lots of parking and MH-branding on all the major entrances to the building, which was a regular SPSCC lecture hall.
in front of the main entrance, a few people were congregated, and after being greeted and asking about childcare, a kind woman walked us around the corner to the check in station. it wasn't hard to notice the large man wearing a black MH-polo shirt tucked into a pair of jeans standing just away from the entrance. his shirt said "SECURITY". if we had any fears of the safety of our kids, they were then dispelled.
here's an opportunity to speak of some "fears/questions" kristi had as we discussed attending a new church service:
"do they have childcare for Judah?"
"Judah won't know anyone, what if he doesn't stay or like it?"
we knew Mars Hill had high standards for Children's Ministry workers, and so we never questioned our son's "safety" in that regards. their over communication of this, really helped ease our minds.
so, at the children's ministry check in table, we were greeted by several workers, all female, all moms [i assume]. we filled our a family-identification card, and judah was given a name tag and we were given a corresponding number. we were told that he would only be released to us and we need to have the slip they gave us. then they would turn him over and take off his name tag sticker. if the security saw a child leaving the classroom with the sticker still on, he would bring the kid back to the classroom regardless of who they were with for proper checkout. defending and protecting the kids- now that's awesome.
judah got setup playing with some toys, gave mom and dad a kiss goodbye and was fine and dandy the whole service. he had larry in his pocket for a "just in case" time and he didn't even get it out!
here's a sign that was on the registration table giving a schedule of what to expect your kids will be doing while you were in service [click to enlarge]:
[NOTE: for your child's safety, we will contact you for diaper changes.] <- i like it.
kristi and i went to the service, and we were surprised at the amount of people [150] and the makeup of the people. we thought 1/3 were age 35 or older, including some gray hairs. the others were made up of young families, college students, and children who were in the service with their family. including middle school and late elementary students. the pre- and post- service music was MH worship songs played quietly. the ambiance was nothing special: florescent lights [except for the back row] turned off, a few incandescent cans on.
the service started with announcements by the "emcee" of the day who was a man from Centralia, also a community group leader. he wasn't super-eloquent or excellent with the mic, reading, or public speaking, but the great part is that he is a man in the church that they are training in leadership! [he did just fine, by the way]
the band was made up of a female lead vocalist playing a keyboard [setup with synth in one hand / keys in the other through a keyboard amp], an acoustic guitar player through an amp, and a female and a male background vocalist. each of the vocalists lead at least one song. they did Mars Hill songs, executed in a mediocre way [just saying...]: 2 before the message [the glory of GOD, For YOUr goodness] and 3 after [i don't know the name-i was getting judah, the solid rock, and psalm 51]. the lyrics were displayed on the screen in PPT. NOT gigantic letters, and for the most part accurate and with proper line breaks.
after the first set of musical worship, the emcee came back and read scripture [Romans 6], then the DVD started.
MH|Oly is setup to run on DVD teaching of Pastor Mark Driscoll a week late, so we watched last week's sermon PRAY LIKE JESUS: Gethsemane Prayer, which was absolutely fantastic. it encouraged me to get closer to jesus, lead my family, repent of sin, and study scripture more. here's a short clip, if you're interested:
the DVD had glitches and pixelations. then, a little after halfway, it froze and quit. it took about 5 minutes for the tech team to get the DVD back up and running and in the right spot, since there are no chapter markers within the sermon. now some of you Video-teacher haters are going to say "a live preacher wouldn't freeze and quit!"... and that IS true. however, the majority of the audience was patient and gracious, a little squirmy, but were mostly understanding of the technology barrier they were working through. i'm all for multi-site church planting, the anointing and appointment of teachers like Pastor Mark and the dedication to use technology to further the Gospel. don't be a hater. people are getting saved and transformed.
that being said, i'm also looking forward to next week [we will be going back again] when Pastor Gary Shavey, campus pastor of MH|Oly will be preaching live for 4 weeks through the book of Jonah. [this will be happening church-wide for 4 weeks.] the campus pastors typically preach 12 times a year. Pastor Mark via video/live preaches the other 40 weeks.
Speaking of pastor Gary Shavey... he was no where to be seen today! and i wasn't bothered by this even at the least! while i did find it weird that the campus is just a few weeks old and he's the campus pastor, i also know his heart, having heard it personally, that if this campus is going to succeed, it will be because the men of the campus will rise up and take on leadership roles and make it happen! and that's just what i saw occurring! while pastor gary could have "saved them" by being an eloquent emcee, or by filling in and communicating well during the "technical difficulties", the leaders of the church stepped up, took on the situations and are better off now, having faced them and will [hopefully] find some solutions for the next time they run into them.
at the end of the message, parents were released to pick up their kids from children's ministry, and the congregation participated in singing to jesus, communion, and giving of the tithes and offerings as they do every week. i gathered judah and was really blessed by holding him in my arms and having him hear me sing songs of worship to jesus, explain communion to him [again], then tell Judah about what the leader was praying as we closed and were released.
my family greatly appreciated our time at Mars Hill Olympia, and we will go back next week, while we are on vacation. it also encouraged me to rejoice that such a force in the Kingdom of GOD has now found a home in Olympia as TEAM JESUS is strengthened here in the South Sound. finally, it got me really excited about the future of FBC and "Night Church", as these wheels begin turning towards serious planning, beginning this tuesday!
JESUS WINS!
3 Comments:
Thanks for the report. Sounds like a great place. We recently moved to Shelton and have been looking for a home church.See you there Sunday.
anonymous, thanks for commenting!
you are right, it is a great church.
it'd be good to meet at church this week. if you see us, grab us aside and introduce yourself.
also, if you're looking for a church service "like mars hill" in Shelton, a team of about 15 of us are getting ready to plant a "church within a church" with first baptist church (sheltonfbc.org) in downtown Shelton, with a tentative launch of maybe November 1. it's be good to get to know you, maybe you'd be interested in hearing more of our plans for that.
look forward to meeting you on Sunday.
I'm originally from Oly and grew up there my whole life. I currently live and serve at the Ballard and Downtown campuses but it's such a refreshing thing to see the gospel being preached in Olympia in this real and authentic way.
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