Member - Ballard, Bellevue, U-District 2007-14

Gender

Male

Which describes your role at Mars Hill?

Member, Group Leader (any leadership role)

What Mars Hill location(s) did you attend?

Ballard, Bellevue, U-District

What years were you involved / attending?

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

How did you first hear about Mars Hill?

From a friend who began attending in high school

What was the circumstance of your first time attending Mars HIll?

I came with that friend in the evening after attending my home church in the morning

What were your first impressions?

The music was excellent, and the preaching was engaging

Why was Mars Hill your church home?

The people at the U-District campus where I attended were hugely important in my life

What about your time at Mars Hill has had a positive impact on you?

The people I met are still huge parts of my life, including my wife and some of my best friends.
Mars Hill did a pretty good job of shaping me as young man and teaching me to take on responsibility and get my act together. I think my life would have looked quite a bit different otherwise.

What about your time at Mars Hill has had a negative impact on you?

I've become cynical and distrustful of church leadership.
My faith has gone through a bit of a dry spell in the year since leaving.

What would you like to have changed about Mars Hill?

I would have liked to see the church and its leadership walk in the light, admit wrongdoing, and experience the grace and healing of God

Which describes you?

I stayed at Mars Hill through closure.

Please describe why you stayed at Mars Hill and what that experience was like.

We left when the U-District campus closed, so a few months prior to complete closure. We stayed because we felt an obligation to the campus pastor and our friends there, all of whom were really great. We had gone through a lot of churn and change in our life that year and didn't want to uproot another thing, even though we really wanted to leave.

How would you describe the reason for Mars Hill's closure to an outsider.

To a Christian, I would just say that the leadership was caught in a variety of sin - some minor and some major. As they refused to repent, God chose to close its doors.

What's changed for you since your time at Mars Hill came to an end?

We're at a new church now.
I don't feel the need to defend the controversial or hyper-masculine teachings anymore.