Meeting Coming up in January

Sunday, January 10th at 6pm, we will be having our first Launch Team Informational Meeting.  We want everyone to know that they are invited to show up and hang out with us.  We’ll eat dinner together and then have a short, NO PRESSURE presentation on the values and vision of Hillside Church.  It will be fun, informal, and hopefully extremely informational.

We will have child care for the kiddos and will feed the whole family.

The meeting is at 6529 36th St NE in  Marysville. If you’d like to be there, RSVP by emailing mike@thehillsidechurch.com or call us at 425-835-3523

If This is Your First Time Checking Out TheHillsideChurch.Com

If this is your first time checkino out our site, here is some quick info:

We will soon have a fully functional site up and running where you can view our progress and find more ways to get involved and stay informed.  

For the short term however, this site will be the place to look for updates on what we are doing and how things are coming with HillSide Church here in Snohomish County. 

If you would like more information on Joining Our Launch Team, or Contributing Financially, please click on the links at the top of the page.

Thanks for checking in.  If you have any questions please shoot an email to mike@thehillsidechurch.com

Why “Hillside Church?”

A lot of people have asked us why we like the name “Hillside Church.”  A great question with a fun answer…

 

When Jesus gave the sermon that ended up being possibly the most important and revolutionary teaching in history called “The Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew Chapters 5-7, He went up on the hillside and taught His disciples and the crowd.  Because Jesus had already been healing and teaching He was getting a reputation.  Due to what people were already hearing about him, the crowd that was following were not only His disciples, there were:

People who were sick who heard that Jesus was a healer.

People who had been dismissed by religious teachers in the past.

People who, because of their past, were told they would never find favor with God.

People who had big moral, religious and philosophical questions.

People who were skeptical of Jesus.

People who were dying to prove Him wrong.

Perhaps the words “sermon on the mount” sound too serene, and perhaps because some of these teachings have been repeated in ways in which we forget their original context, we fail too often to remember that these words of Jesus were a revolution that gave hope to people who had been told that God would never have interest in them.  This ragamuffin group on this hillside were hearing for the first time that God loved and wanted to bless them as much as those religious people, who Jesus pointed out, weren’t so perfect anyway.  They were told that even though the religious elite were judgmental, that they were called to love even their enemies!  They were told that even though they had imperfections that they were allowed to have a conversation with God through prayer.  They were told that though they were poor on earth, they might have riches in heaven.

This teaching was groundbreaking, revolutionary, it was bold and stood in the face of authority.  These were the same teachings that made people so angry at Him that they would eventually kill Him. 

When Jesus gave these teachings, it was a gift, and the people sitting on the Hillside that day were surprised by the gift and surprised by God. 

I am very confident that was have much in common with those people who sat on that hillside that day.  Some of us need the healing, physically, emotionally, mentally, in our lives, relationships, marriages, families.  Some of us have been convinced that because of something in our background, we are not good enough to have anything to do with God.  Some of us have some pretty big questions that keep us from believing that these teachings can be real, questions about the state of the world or the truth of scripture or the existence of God.  Some of us have been made to feel like second class citizens because of our race, gender, sexuality, disability, or religious past. 

I truly believe that if we put ourselves on that Hillside, God will surprise us too. 

That’s why we will be Hillside Church.  So that we can experience the Surprise; and so that Every Person in Marysville/Lake Stevens will experience that surprise  communicated to them through our Actions and not just words.

On Purpose: What Kind of Church Will We Be? Part 1

I’ve been neglecting writing this blog post for a while because I feel like it is going to be a sixty page document, both because of the gravity of the subject and because I can’t write anything without being somewhat unnecessarily wordy. So I am just going to take it one chunk at a time. 

Here is a disclaimer… These posts are not here to limit us and put us in a box.  These thoughts on our future, these are not the final doctrinal statements of our church.  These are glimpses into what we are doing and why we are doing it.

I am going to start a bit by looking at our Purpose. 

From John Chapter 17

1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
    "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

If you have time, go check out this scripture in context.  In these chapters of John, Jesus is pouring out His passion for His disciples and the people that they will minister to.  I consider much of what He says to be prophecy for these friends and followers, and much of what He is saying is giving them a focus and a feel, a purpose and reason for what they are to do after He is gone; and a bit of prophecy about how He will continue to be present with them through the Holy Spirit. 

In Jesus’ prayer here and through the entire chapter 17 His words clearly are passionate about people “knowing” God.  It’s clear that this knowing is not just a knowledge but a relationship.  It’s also clear that this relationship is God’s purpose for us.  This is truly the start toward the fulfillment of what God wants us to be, of the purpose for which we are created. 

As a church, we can not be God.  We can not be the relationship.  So what can we do?  What are we called to be?

Later in John 17, Jesus is praying for His disciples, He prays: ^{17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.}

^{I believe that Jesus wants His disciples to be carriers of the truth.  There are many interpretations for what this means.  Does it mean that we will find everything that is untrue and refute it?  Does it mean that we will shout our truth louder than the lies are being broadcast?  Does it mean that we will make truth look more appealing than the lies by packaging it and marketing it better?  Does it mean that our church will be a shelter away from the rest of the world where no lies can break in?} 

^{I’m not sure that any of those answers encapsule what I believe what we should be and what God is calling us to be.  I believe that God is calling us to live by His truth, the truth found in scripture, in the middle of this world which is full of many lies.  One of my favorite songs about this is by Ken Medema who calls it: “a call to live like fools, by another set of rules.”  Certainly we will look as fools to some, but we will be living by the way that God says is true.  Like Jesus says earlier in chapter 17: 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.}

^{This is not to say that our goal is to be hated, and I don’t believe that Jesus is saying that everyone in the world will hate His followers.  What I believe that He is saying is that with the way the world is set up, if we live by “the word” we will not have the rewards of “the world.”  The world is not limited to just people, but also to the systems of the world.  Living by the “way of the world” will get us the rewards of “the world” and living by the “way of the word” will forsake those rewards.  There will be another reward for those who live by this way.  We don’t know all of what it will be, we won’t experience all of it in this life.  However, I do believe that we will experience the reward of purpose, passion, meaning and mission.  Which are all HUGE missing pieces in the lives of those who live by the “way of the world.”  They are the missing pieces that cause so many to feel that they never have enough pleasure, possessions or popularity to be satisfied.} 

^{It will be our purpose and passion as a church to bring people from our community into this relationship with our creator, with our savior.  It will be our hunger and mission to share this truth with people.} 

^{Simply put the truth that we will be desperate for people to hear is a truth that most are unaware of:  God created You.  God knows You better than you know yourself.  God loves you anyway.  God loves you so much and desires a relationship with you so desperately that He became one of us and allowed Himself to be murdered in the most gruesome way by us.  He did this not only to show His power over death, but to communicate love to us, through the ultimate sacrifice.  If we believe that God is an all powerful God, we believe that He could have created a universe where we don’t have free choice, or a universe where He could have forgiven us and called us to be in a relationship by a snap of His fingers.  But the truth is that God loves us so much that He gave us free will to choose Him or to choose not to.  He desperately wants us to choose a relationship with Him and He shows this to us through the way that communicated the highest level of love and sacrifice from Him.}

^{That’s the Truth that we will be passionate about communicating.  Our Passion to communicate this needs to be the hallmark of our church.  It is my desire that the Ethos of Hillside Church forms from our desire to welcome as many as we can into this relationship.}

Why Start a New Church?

Many church planters tell me that they hear this question a lot.  They have people telling them: There are plenty of churches, why don’t you work with them instead of starting your new church?  I remember having a conversation with a guy who was kind and helpful.  I thought that he would be excited that I was a pastor planting a new church.  His first comment after I told him that I was a church planter was:  “Aren’t there plenty of churches around there anyway?”

A couple of answers to these types of queries:  First, simply, No, there are not nearly enough churches.  and Second, there is a drought and desperate need for the kind of church that we are going to plant.

The truth that far too many people are not aware of is that new churches bring a disproportionately larger number of people to a new relationship with Christ.  When it comes down to it, this is my desire, goal and purpose.  Established churches are busy placating the people who pay their bills, and keeping the attenders happy by offering the right kind of classes for them.  A new church offers what they offer on behalf of the people who are not even in the door yet.  A new church looks and the community and culture as they are now and presents a format and strategy to minister to people as they are now.

This is what we will be about.  We will be all about responding to this place around us with a real purpose and a real passion for real people. 

Join Our Team

As we get started with planning HillSide Church, we are well aware that we can not do this alone nor do we want to.  This church is here to reach people in the Marysville/Lake Stevens area with the Gospel of Jesus. 

We want your help!  Regardless of your age, church background, race, gender, geographic location, financial situation, sexual orientation or any other factor that someone else might use to limit or define you; you are welcome with us!  We need your help.

There are ways that any one who wants to be involved can be, here is a brief list, feel free to add to it:

 

Launch Team

By the time we Launch into our weekly meetings, we need 50 people to be a part of our Launch  Team.  (We’d love 100, or 500 or however many we can get.)  The Launch Team consists of people and teams who will accomplish the following:  Set-up and Tear Down, Children’s Ministry during every service, food preparation, food presentation, food service, band members, sound and technical team members, greeters, ushers, people who are willing to share stories and testimonies in the service, people to help hang door hangers, people who will help us put out signs on a weekly basis, people that can store and haul our church trailer, artists, graphic designers, promoters and inviters, bloggers, writers, facebookers, tweeters, people who will help us work in the community, and many many more.

 

Financial Supporters

God is going to meet our needs financially, no question about it.  In fact, at a later time, I will write some stories about how He has already met so many of our needs up to this point.  I know that the economy is rough, and that is the reason that churches are closing their doors at a faster rate than at any time in history.  The time is right for new churches to open their doors and to have a new way of doing things.  We are going to not only be financially accountable and open, we will also be awesome stewards of the money that is given to us.  With that in mind, if God has blessed you to be able to give at this time whether a one time gift or a recurring gift, your money will be put to work in getting this church and its ministry started.  If you would like more information on how you can give financially at this early stage, please send an email to mike@thehillsidechurch.com and I will send detailed instructions.  As soon as our new website is up, we will have many easy ways to give through an online service

 

Prayer Team

To be totally honest.  We can use your prayers and moral support as friends.  Moving to a new place and not knowing anyone is not only lonely, but also stressful on a lot of levels.  We need friends to pray for us and encourage us.  The words of encouragement that we have received from friends have meant more to us than you can even know.  A card or email or facebook message can often change the whole day for us and give us energy.  Please let us know if you plan to keep us in your prayers.  

 

Tell Us…

Tell us any other way that you can think of that you might be able to join our team.

Our Call to Church Planting

I want to start this blog by talking about our calling to plant a church. There is no way that I can keep this super short, so I am just going to try my hardest not to get too crazy with words.

I will start by saying that, in my mind and my experience, there is a huge difference between a calling and a decision. Anyone can make a good decision by weighing the facts and situations around them and moving in the direction that they feel is appropriate. But a calling is different. I truly believe that a calling is something that God works out with us. It is a decision that He has made and that He is cluing us in on by guiding our circumstance and working with our desires as well as the advice and input from the people around us.

In a calling, I expect that not only will a person feel that a choice is correct, but this will be confirmed by their gifts, by their friends and mentors, and by the situations around them moving them in the right direction. I believe that some people are called to do things that don't necessarily "feel" is perfect or is their "first choice" but I also believe that God will work with them through subtle and not so subtle ways of moving them in the right direction.

I want to make clear that there have only been a few times in my life that I have felt "Called" to do anything. I was called to be in full time ministry, I was also called to marry Kim. I truly believe that there were forces stronger than me that were at work in both of those situations that made those things happen. They weren't the easiest circumstances and neither were the most obvious choices, but they were more than coincidence, and all I can believe is that there was something supernatural happening there.

All of that being said...

Our call to church planting started with seeds that were planted when I was a teenager. I grew in faith and knowledge of Christ in a church plant. In this place, I became very used to the feel and ethos of a church that lived and existed for the purpose of people. Loving them. Bringing them in. Sending them out to change the community around them.

I truly have only experienced this feeling in a few places and with a few people. When I am around this feeling, I truly come alive and understand another dimension to faith and life.

The more recent seeds were planted in conversation between Kim and I and friends. These were conversations where we talked about new ways to be involved in a Christian community where people would experience the Passion, Purpose, Meaning and Mission that Christ talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. These conversations started as dreams and ideals, but without knowing when or why, these conversations became not just fun diversions, but very necessary fuel. I started needing these conversations. I started needing to talk about what was really important. These conversations have been going on for more than 5 years. Some of these conversations were with friends around a glass of wine, some were had in my office (sans wine) in Port Orchard. Some were in my kitchen in Phoenix. There was no indication that I or any of you who were involved in these conversations knew that it would lead to a new church one day.

Of course, it wasn't just the pioneering conversations, it was also the people. Maybe it is my own density, but it has taken a long time to realize that the people that I have shared the most kinship with in ministry are the ones who have grand visions for changing the community around us, and the ones who are discontented with how things are today. It has been the people who do far more than talk, but back it up with an honest walk that have changed the way that I see the world around me and my call in it.

It took me months to decipher the feelings, but being at the Church Planting Conference in '08 (I was there not because I thought I could or would necessarily plant a church) sparked this true feeling of friendship and comfort around a bunch of other people who were called to plant churches. These were the pioneers and adventurers of faith, and it became clear that I actually felt the most at home around these kinds of people.

It wasn't for a few months after that conference, but I remember being asked: "are you ready to to this?" and asking Kim the questions: "are we ready to do this?" within the same day. It started to become clear, that though no one is "ready" we were being called.

We went to talk with friends and mentors in ministry. Everyone of them confirmed that they felt that this was the adventure that we were supposed to be on. In fact, adventure is a pretty perfect word. It became very clear around February of this year that we were being called to make a monumental decision in our lives. Should we stay with the "safe thing" and continue to do ministry the way that we were, continuing with a good salary and a steady job; or should we start to risk it all and go for the adventure.

If I listed the number of crazy things that came together that caused us to decide that this was the right direction, it would probably be more details than you are prepared to read in one post. But we had to decide if we were called to Arizona or Washington, and when put to the test, there is no doubt that we wanted to be here in Washington.

In fact, we were ready to move up here to be bi-vocational church planters on our own with no financial support before we got the call from the PNA that let us know that they wanted to help us with funding. It was waaaay more difficult and waaaaay more risky, but we pursued the situation with the PNA. In fact, we were asked to attend a Church Planters assessment in Baltimore Md, two weeks before we were scheduled to move. If we passed the assessment, we would have a salary and some funds to help us move up. If not, we would have to search for jobs and move ourselves up.

All of these circumstances were prayed over by our friends and family as well as by our desperate pleas to ask God to direct us. In fact, I don't know if my prayers have ever been so urgent and honest as they have been over the last few months.

All of this has come together to have us know beyond any doubt that not only are we called to do this, but we have been supported by God through friends, new friends, family and even strangers. More than any other time in my life, I have seen not only God's movement, but God's prolonged provision of this direction. He shaped it, there is no question. And we couldn't be happier, more excited and more ready to jump into adventure than we are right now.

Support Us

God is going to meet our needs financially, no question about it.  In fact, at a later time, I will write some stories about how He has already met so many of our needs up to this point.  I know that the economy is rough, and that is the reason that churches are closing their doors at a faster rate than at any time in history.  The time is right for new churches to open their doors and to have a new way of doing things.  We are going to not only be financially accountable and open, we will also be awesome stewards of the money that is given to us.  With that in mind, if God has blessed you to be able to give at this time whether a one time gift or a recurring gift, your money will be put to work in getting this church and its ministry started.  If you would like more information on how you can give financially at this early stage, please send an email to mike@thehillsidechurch.com and I will send detailed instructions.  As soon as our new website is up, we will have many easy ways to give through an online service

About Our Team

Here is a little bit about each of us:

 

Mike and Kim and Brandon met while working together at Hot Church, a large ministry for teenagers in Phoenix.  Kim and I had already had been married and in ministry together since 1997, and Brandon had been leading worship in churches since childhood.  Brandon has basically joined the Reynolds family and none of us could envision not working together.  When Kim and I told Brandon about our call to plant a church, he was immediately on board. 

 

After the three of us had already decided without a question that we would move to the Seattle area to plant a church, we received a call from a new friend in the Northwest who is associated with the Pacific Northwest Association of the Church of God who has helped us find funding to make starting Hillside Church our job at this time. 

 

Here’s a little bit of info on each of us…

 

Mike Reynolds

Contact Mike at mike@thehillsidechurch.com  

Having first felt called to ministry in my junior year in high school, I have been taken under the wing of some great mentors in ministry through the rest of high school, college and through my twelve years as a youth pastor. I was blessed to marry Kim, who not only supports ministry but makes it her priority as well. We have four awesome kids (now aged 10, 8, 6, and almost 4) who add a lot of action to our lives. All four of them have been a part of our ministry lives since birth, and all of them are excited to be in the Northwest, close to Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and Cousins.

Through my career so far, my favorite part of youth ministry was dealing with people who were learning and growing and asking all of the tough questions. Though I thought I would be a youth pastor my whole life, God called us in the surprising direction of Church Planting. The desire to create a new kind of church for growing and questioning people in the NorthWest started as a spark and turned into a flame that we could not ignore. In 2009, Kim and I left secure jobs in the Phoenix area to follow this call and move back to the Northwest where we knew we needed to be. We have decided that all of these years of youth ministry have prepared us to be around people and families who want to ask the big questions and grow together.

The church that we are planting is going to be a church full of fun and excitement, a place where people don't have to be fake or pretend to be something that they aren't. You will quickly find that the people we are when we stand in front of the church is the same people we are when we are hanging out in our living room in the evening.

My Favorite Things

On any given day, you might find me spending time with my family at home, we love watching football together and have a ritual of watching AFV and laughing together a lot.

My favorite hobby is golf. I love to play it, watch it, practice it, putt around the house, I even fit and build golf clubs myself in my garage.

I love to read and learn on my own. Blogging has been an important tool for me to talk through ideas and issues.

What I Read.

My favorite books include: Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli. Orthodoxy by GK. Chesterton. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. The New Kind of Christian Series by Brian McLaren. Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell.

Blogs like:

Out of Ur at www.outofur.com

www.Peterrollins.net

Will Mancini at clarityevangelist.typepad.com/

Brian McLaren at www.brianmclaren.com

What I Watch:

My favorite movies include Anchorman, Star Wars (original trilogy), Forrest Gump, The Dark Knight.

My favorite TV: The Colbert Report, Arrested Development, Scrubs, NFL, Golf, The Office, Psych, House, Always Sunny.

What I Listen to:

My all time favorite band is King's X. I love everything from Classical to Metal. If the 80's arena rock would come back into style I would be really happy about it. My most recent favorites are Cloud Cult, Sevendust, The Beatles, Damien Rice, Dave Matthews, and the Flight of the Conchords.

 

 

Kim Reynolds

Contact Kim at kim@thehillsidechurch.com

I'm an energetic, bubbly friend, wife and mom.  I'm loyal. I'm playful. I'm fun. I'm likely drinking a Mt. Dew or coffee and leaving a trail of cups behind. I love creating with my hands: with food, paper, decor, or crafts.

If I sit still long enough, I like to read magazines like Relevant, Better Homes & Gardens or maybe Oprah. I loved the book "Do you think I'm beautiful" by Angela Thomas And think every woman should read it. I love reading stories of inspiration, some novels like Jodi Piccoult's style and scripture/devotionals like Solo: Remix, The Message.

In the car, I'm listening to Switchfoot, Paramore, or Coldplay (or I sometimes sneak some country in). I love to sing, dance, and celebrate. 

I love to hear people's stories and to share life's joys and tragedies with them. I am usually laughing or talking/texting or on my computer. I love a great concert, hanging in a coffee shop, or finding a good deal at a second hand shop or antique store. I enjoy seeing life through the eyes of my four kids and their various perspectives. 

I'm grateful for a God who made me and knows me and loves me anyway. I'm in awe of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. I stand with arms high and heart abandoned for the Him who gave it all in hopes of sharing this amazing grace with others.

 

 

Brandon Wilson

Contact Brandon at brandon@thehillsidechurch.com

I am from Phoenix, AZ. and music makes me happy. My main instrument is the piano, I also play the guitar and I don't think life should be lived without an iPhone. 

I consider myself a man interested what's next in music, technology, fashion and art.  Books like Wild at heart make me want to live in the forest, and hunt for my dinner. 

I saw Anchorman 3 times the first weekend it was in theaters. 

There is some strange food and drink disease in me that wants to consume things that taste superb, i.e. expensive. 

Artists like Jamie Cullum, Gavin Degraw, Jon Foreman, Elbow, and Phoenix got it goin on.  sharing life, love, hope, and story with people over a good cold pint is pretty much as good as it gets for me. I am so excited about the adventure we are on, and the people and places that are to come.