MHC|WS Biblical Families Director Alan Andersen is sponsoring and mentoring three men and three women who have committed to the year-long program described above. The Biblical Families ministry includes Children’s Ministry & Youth (Proxy).

The DTP participants sponsored by Alan are Nova Fiana, Joe Heider, Jordan and Erin Holland, Jason Lischke, Mand olly Sellen. All have joined the DTP this fall to help shepherd the youth of West Seattle and keep them focused and centered on the Gospel.

Nova Fiana was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. At eight years old Nova moved to Singapore and lived with a guardian. After high school, she came to Seattle to go to UW and has been here ever since. She was introduced to Christ in Indonesia where her best friend’s family were Christians. After some time passed, Nova attended a retreat in Singapore and that seed of faith planted by her friends family sprang forth, and she gave her life to Christ that weekend. Nova is not yet married. Her goal with DTP is to be equipped with more theological understanding. “I want to glorify Christ in whatever I do and wherever I am. I want to live my life that it’s all about Jesus and nothing more.” Please pray that God gives her the strength and ability to grow deeper in Him through this DTP year.

Joe Heider is a local, born and raised in Burien. He and his wife, Shelly, have no children yet. Joe was about 4 or 5 when he felt the call of Christ and asked Jesus to be the savior of his life. He applied for the DTP because of a desire to serve God in the city that he loves and also because he was longing to grow deeper in his walk with Christ. Please pray that Joe would continue to grow in a deeper understanding of what it looks like for him to become totally dependent on Christ.

Jordan Holland come to use from San Bernardino, CA, where he was born and raised. He has the privilege to have been married for 7 months to his wife Erin. Jordan was raised in the church, baptized at 14, but it was at about 19 when his relationship with Jesus became serious and personal. His hope for the DTP year is to learn how to share his faith with confidence and passion. Please pray that Jordan continues to love his wife well in spite of this extremely busy season.

Erin Holland was born and raised in the Bay Area, CA. Erin has been married to Jordan about 7 months. Erin remembers praying and believing in a god at a young age, but didn’t really know Jesus Christ. When Erin was in college she began to learn about Jesus as the Christ and submitted her life to him as a student. Erin believed that the DTP was the right opportunity for her to go deeper in her relationship with God. As well, she desires to be held accountable to a higher standard, ultimately being open to God’s call and service. Erin has a huge heart for supporting, as well as participating in, missions (ideally internationally) and is actively participating in the greater mission and vision of Mars Hill. Please pray for Erin that God continues to reveal how she can completely give Him her anxiety. Also, please pray for the Hollands, as they begin their marriage with the desire to have Christ as the chief cornerstone.

Jason Lischke was born in Seattle and raised in Lynnwood, Washington. Jason has been married 12 years to his wife, Shelly. They have 4 children, 7 year old Elsabet, 5 year old Corban, 3 year old Riddick, and 1 year old Violet. Jason met Jesus as an early teen. He applied for the DTP to help out with the many needs of the church body, to be challenged, and grow in Christ. Please pray that the Lischkes grow together in Christ, that they grow in the way they live so that Christ is truly being glorified in all activities, and that they would lean on him rather than their own strength.

Molly Sellen was born in Edmunds, WA and raised in Lynnwood. Molly attended a Catholic school in Lynwood at St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church and Parish. She met Christ at MHC’s summer youth camp Escape ‘08 during her sophomore year of high school. It became pretty clear that there was a need with Mars Hill youth and after prayerful consideration she decided to apply for the DTP to help out with the middle school youth department. Please pray that Christ fills her heart more, and that her relationship with him is not based merely on head knowledge. Also, Molly asks that we pray that she perseveres through the DTP process, and pray against the temptation to quit.

Please join us in prayer for these men and women and their families, for sponsor Alan Andersen, and for the Biblical Families ministry. If you are interested in serving in the Biblical Families ministry, check out the Youth Ministries page.

Find out more about the Discipleship Training Program HERE, and watch this space as the series continues, introducing you to more DTP participants.

MHC|WS Campus Biblical Living Pastor James Noriega and his wife Gina are sponsoring and mentoring four men and three women who have committed to the year-long program described above. The Biblical Living ministry includes Volunteer Biblical Counseling and Redemption Group leaders, and are concerned with the soul care of the body of MHC|West Seattle.

The DTP participants sponsored by Pastor James and Gina are Rob Fix, Neil Huck, Ashley Malcom, Kalen Peters, Kristen Peters, Maria Reigner, and Justin Williams. All have joined the DTP this fall to help build the capacity of soul care as we continue to center ourselves on the Gospel.

Rob Fix was born and raised here in the White Center plateau area, and now lives with his new bride, Meilee. Rob has been part of the Mars Hill family since 1999. Rob was raised in a Catholic home and was an active member of Holy Family Parish as a student and altar boy. After high school, Robert was called to Mars Hill by the Spirit through his niece, and after taking care of a 20+ year addiction he has a strong passion to be used by Jesus to bring others out of the bondage of personal addiction.

Neil Huck has lived in the Seattle area all his life and has been a part of Mars Hill Church for over five years. In the past year he has felt a clear calling toward church leadership and has been involved with the Proxy ministry, as well as Redemption Groups here at the West Seattle campus. Neil desires to step into the leadership that the Lord leads him into, whatever that may be.

Ashley Malcom came to Seattle three years ago from Colorado. In the midst of calling her to Mars Hill Church about a year and a half ago, God called her out of a passive relationship with Jesus. After years spent studying and living in the world of secular psychology Ashley feels a call to Biblical Counseling. She is currently serving in Redemption Group Ministry and as a Volunteer Biblical Counselor.

Kalen Peters is a native of West Seattle and has lived here all his life. He began attending Mars Hill during the spring of 2003 in High School before embarking on several life changing journeys. After several years of searching and “rebelling,” Kalen eventually settled back into his community and shortly thereafter made Mars Hill West Seattle his home. Some unearthed distortions and sins led him to Redemption Groups where he received truth in a clear uncompromising way. After experiencing much healing and revelation of what Jesus’ death on the cross truly did for him, Kalen began serving in the ministry to offer the same freedom and truth he himself received. Kalen serves with his wife Kristen.

Kristen Peters has grown up in the Seattle area and has been a part of Mars Hill for about four years. God has called her to participate in the soul care of His people. The passion she has for counseling has grown as she watches God transform lives. Kristen serves as a Redemption Group Leader and works for Mars Hill’s Central Operations department.

Maria Reigner was raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin and moved to Seattle one year ago. She has been attending Mars Hill since her move and is passionately pursuing the DTP at the West Seattle Campus. God has called her to soul care, which is playing out now in her co-leading Redemption Groups and supporting the Biblical Living Department.

Justin Williams is a Seattle area native who was saved by Jesus when he was 20 years old. Justin has been serving at Mars Hill West Seattle for the past year, growing as a disciple of Jesus, and trying to discern God’s calling on his life. Justin is currently serving in Biblical Living and Redemption Group Ministry with the hopes of playing a part in what Jesus is building at Mars Hill West Seattle.

Please join us in prayer for these men and women and their families, for sponsors James and Gina Noriega, and for the Biblical Living ministry. If you are interested in serving in the Biblical Living ministry or are in need of soul care, check out the Redemption Night / Counseling page. You can also check out Pastor James’ weekly video blog HERE.

Find out more about the Discipleship Training Program HERE, and watch this space as the series continues, introducing you to more DTP participants.

MHC|WS Community Groups Pastor Cliff Low is sponsoring and mentoring three men who have committed to the year-long program described above. They will be helping to build the community group department as well as leading groups. John Lindow, Paul Parker, and Craig Sturm have joined the DTP this fall to help build the capacity of the community as we continue to center ourselves on the Gospel.

John Lindow is a student at Fuller Seminary who will be working on a 9 month internship with Pastor Cliff. He and his family currently live in West Seattle in Arbor Heights. He will be starting up a group in Arbor Heights where he already is on mission in his neighborhood. He will also be involved in starting up another group that will likely start in November meeting on Sunday nights and targeting families that can’t meet on weeknights. John is gifted relationally and has an incredibly friendly disposition. Pastor Cliff looks forward to working with him, as John always brings a positive attitude to meetings.

Paul Parker has been serving in Productions and has transferred his internship to Community Groups. He is heading up Assimilation and will be revamping things to be more integrated with other groups. He is praying about starting up a new group in an area where there is no community group. He will also be helping to find ways to support the women’s groups as they solve problems such as finding host homes and child care. Lastly, he will be helping Pastor Cliff as he leads and administrates all the community groups. Pastor Cliff looks forward to working with him, noting that Paul brings energy and passion to the team.

Craig Sturm and his wife Kathy moved to Seattle to be part of Mars Hill. He has chosen West Seattle as his campus and community groups as ministry of focus. He is part of Re:Train and DTP. Craig brings 20+ years experience as a pastor lastly serving at John Piper’s church. Craig will be helping us solve some of our strategic issues with those who are not in community, those who are experiencing barriers to community and those who are not remaining in community. He will also be starting up a group that will be the first in Tukwila/Renton. Pastor Cliff is humbled to be working with Craig as he will be helping expand our ability to love people in our existing communities as well as developing new areas.

Please join us in prayer for these men and their families, for sponsor Cliff Low, and for the Community Groups ministry. If you are interested in getting plugged into a community, check out the Community Groups page.

Find out more about the Discipleship Training Program HERE, and watch this space as the series continues, introducing you to more DTP participants.

MHC|WS Campus Production/Communications Director David Parker is sponsoring and mentoring two men who have committed to the year-long program described above. David’s responsibilities include production and music for Sunday services as well as special events. He is also responsible for all communication avenues at the campus, including our website, blog, and most printed materials.

Because the West Seattle Campus runs on such a small staff, what we do on Sundays and throughout the week could not be accomplished without the help of our body serving. Having Men and Women who are willing to serve, who are humble and teachable are vital to the growth and health of our body. David is excited to be serving alongside Michael Baker and Javier Luna this year, and thanks Jesus that He has provided these men to help carry the load, and raise up leaders of leaders.

Michael Baker will primarily be serving in communication, handling the blog, website, and printed material that go out to our campus. A little bit about Michael in his own words – “I have played ‘Christian’ most my life. I’ve tried hard, fought sin and failed, never overcoming sin on my own. Praise Jesus that period of my life has come to an end. I have seen Jesus in the eyes of Godly men here at Mars Hill, who have loved me enough to call me out on my sin and show me that Christ did it all, I need not fight this battle by myself anymore. Praise Jesus Christ. Amen”.

Please pray for Michael in this season of transition, as he recently moved and is searching for employment. Pray that Jesus would continue to be his source of strength as he learns new roles and serves this year.

Javier Luna was raised in Northern California and became a Christian at the age of 14. He has been married for 7 years to his beautiful wife Molly, and has three beautiful kids (Autumn, Eliana, and Ezekial). He is also a full time graduate student in the clinical psychology program at Seattle Pacific University. Javier will be serving primarily in productions. He will be working into my role as he learns to lead the production team this year and expound some of the ministries inside of productions.

Please pray for Javier this year as he finishes up his schooling, serves in the DTP, and follows Jesus’ leading, wherever that may take him.

David has appreciated getting to know both these men, their heart to follow Jesus, and looks forward to the things Jesus will do this year in and through them. Please join us in prayer for these men and their families, for sponsor David Parker, and for the Productions and Communications ministries. If you are interested in serving in these areas, email David Parker.

Find out more about the Discipleship Training Program HERE, and watch this space as the series continues, introducing you to more DTP participants.

MHC|WS Campus Operations Director Tim Van Liew is sponsoring and mentoring three men who have committed to the year-long program described above. Their focus will be on campus operations, which includes Facilities, Breakfast Club, Welcome Team, Office and Administrative management, and Event planning and execution. Sal Marino, Joshua McCook, and Ian Petersen have joined the DTP this fall to serve the campus as we continue to center ourselves on the Gospel.

Sal Marino and his wife Cassie live in Burien and have been involved with the West Seattle Campus for a while now. Sal has been serving on the Security Team and was approached by several leaders within a short period of time about considering the DTP this year. Sal is looking forward to the personal growth he will gain this year through Biblical studies, accountability, and close interaction with church leaders. His desire is to learn what it means to be a leader, and have the opportunity to move in that direction.

Joshua McCook comes to us from Beaumont, Texas, and was involved in a youth ministry bible study in southern California that grew large enough to form its own church, which it did. While on a trip to Ireland, Josh discovered a personal passion to lead a missional revival there. Though serving mainly in Facilities, Josh desires to learn as much as possible from all the ministries here in West Seattle.

Ian Petersen and his wife Deanna, along with their daughter Grace, recently moved to West Seattle from Minnesota. Ian has joined the Operations/Welcome Team because he desires to learn about all the background work that goes into operating a church rather than just the theology of ministry. He wants to someday teach others and doesn’t know exactly what that looks like yet.

Please join us in prayer for these men and their families, for sponsor Tim Van Liew, and for the Campus Operations ministry. If you are interested in serving in these areas, check out the Serving page.

Find out more about the Discipleship Training Program HERE, and watch this space as the series continues, introducing you to more DTP participants.

This past week Mars Hill Church was devastated to hear that we lost one of our own serving in Afghanistan. Sgt. Andrew H. McConnell was a new husband, a soon-to-be father, a son, a brother to 5 sisters, and a member at Mars Hill Church in Olympia. His life was taken on Monday, September 14 by an IED while he was on patrol.

Here is the funeral information released by the family:

Tuesday, September 22nd at 1:00pm
Kent Covenant Church in Kent, WA

Please wear red, white, and/or blue. We want to celebrate Andrew’s life and his service to our country. The burial will be at Tahoma National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Andrew had requested donations to the Wounded Warrior Project. (You may also call Edline-Yahn and Covington Funeral Home for information: 253-630-2736)

We continue to ask that, as a community, Mars Hill Church honor Andrew by rallying around his wife and unborn child. We can do that through prayer, service, and generosity. You can share communication and coordinate service or generosity on The City or Facebook.

There is also a memorial fund to help Sarah and their baby through this very difficult time. If you would like to contribute, you can stop by any Key Bank branch. If you do not live near a Key Bank, you can send a donation to:

Key Bank
505 West Meeker Street
Kent, WA 98032

As a glimpse into the legacy that this man has left, one of his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan posted this comment on the Facebook memorial page:

Mac was one of my best friends out here in this company and still is. He will be missed so much. He was an inspiration to everyone that came in contact with him. No matter what kind of day you were having, he always brought a better light to things. There is no one that I would rather have by my side out here. You will be missed by so many here and at home. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the family and the many of us that are hurting here without him.

Happening This Week:

• WED 9/23 – Redemption Night | 7pm – 9:30pm
• SAT 9/26 – Breakfast Club | 9am
• SUN 9/27 – Luke’s Gospel | 9am • 11:15am • 5pm

Upcoming Events:

• Member Night | September 28th, 7pm – 9pm
• Become A Member Day | October 17th, 8:30am – 12:30pm

Recent Blog Posts:

• We reposted an article from the Mars Hill Blog about an Olympia Member Killed Serving In Afghanistan.

The only details we have at the moment are from Sarah’s brother below. You can share communication and coordinate service or generosity through The City, or on a Facebook page set up by a friend of Andrew’s.

As soon as we have more information we’ll post it here.

–

Sarah Marie McConnell – Andrew McConnell Info Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Most of you have already been notified, but for some of you, this will be news.

On Monday, the 14th of September 2009, Sarah awoke to the door bell ringing and a visit from the “men in green” (as she refers to them). Sarah was informed that Andrew had been killed by an IED while serving our country in Afghanistan. Today, Tuesday, we found out one other member of his squad was also killed and 6 other members were wounded.

Currently, Sarah is flying with our father to the east coast. There they will meet up with Andrew’s father, and together, they will receive Andrew’s casket from the military plane.

At this time, information for funeral times and memorials is unknown. As soon as we know more we will keep you all informed.

All of your kind words and prayers are a blessing to Sarah, her little one on the way, and our family. Many of you have offered to make food or allow family to stay in your homes when they come for the funeral. I cannot thank you enough for the tremendous outpouring of support!

We know all of you are here to offer assistance however possible. At this time, it is unclear of where exactly we could use your help, but we will definitely let you know as soon as we can.

If you would like to send flowers or cards please direct them to

Ski’s Painting
Attn: Sarah McConnell
7235 S 227th PL STE 103
Kent WA 98032

You might consider waiting until more information is known about the time and place of the funeral and we will direct all of the flowers there.

If you wish to express your sympathy in ways other than flowers, you may do so by making a contribution to the “Sarah & Baby McConnell, In Memory of Andrew McConnell” memorial fund at any Key Bank branch. The memorial fund will be in place by the end of this week. We will use any funds collected to help celebrate Andrew’s life, as well as assist his family while they make the long journey from Germany and Virginia to his final resting place.

Thank you again for all of your support. Words cannot express the gratitude we have felt from everyone. It was amazing to be a part of Andrew’s life, even if it was only for a short time. I knew the man; he loved my sister, and we loved him.

Happening This Week:

• WED 9/16 – Redemption Night | 7pm – 9:30pm
• SAT 9/19 – Breakfast Club | 9am
• SUN 9/20 – Luke’s Gospel | 9am • 11:15am • 5pm

Upcoming Events:

• Redemption Night | Wednesdays 7pm
• Pre-Marriage Class | Starts Sept. 20th, 1:30pm-3:30pm

Recent Blog Posts:

• Pastor Adam’s sermon from It’s All About Jesus: Mission (Part 5) was posted.
• We reposted an article from The Resurgence of an Interview with Pastor Bill Clem.

Happening This Week:

• FRI 9/11 – Redemption Night (Weekend Intensive) begins | 7pm (Continues Saturday)
• SAT 9/12 – Breakfast Club | 9am
• SUN 9/13 – It’s All About Jesus | 9am • 11:15am • 5pm

Upcoming Events:

• Redemption Night | Wednesdays 7pm
• Pre-Marriage Class | Starts Sept. 20th, 1:30pm-3:30pm

Recent Blog Posts:

• Deacon Alan Anderson shared how God was glorified at VBS 2009.
• Pastor Adam wrote about the sending of core members to the Federal Way Campus.
• Pastor Adam’s sermon from It’s All About Jesus: Community (Part 4) was posted.
• DTP participant Zack Migioia recapped the Alki Baptisms Event.