Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else–not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal processes–will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting. This is an eyebrow raising statement. But to those who have done any study at all, it is not even controversial.
– Tim Keller, “Why Plant New Churches?” (article)

“Church planting? What exactly is that?”

Any way you slice it the idea of church planting is often either misunderstood or, literally, unheard of. The questions are many, including:

• Why plant (i.e. start) a new church in a city already filled with many other churches, some even growing?
  
• Why not focus instead on helping existing churches grow?
  
• Won’t starting a new church merely take people away from other churches?
  
• Shouldn’t we focus on cultivating better churches, rather than adding churches?

These are valid concerns that stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of the complexities of revitalization, organizational life-cycles, demographic diversity, theological distinctions, leadership styles, evangelism, and general philosophies of ministry within existing churches. To put it simply, it’s more complicated than we may at first realize.

Therefore, to simplify it a bit, the following are seven guiding principles driving us to plant a new church in the heart of the city of Seattle.

#1. Jesus’ fundamental call was to plant Gospel-centered churches.

Matthew 28:18-20 is known as the “Great Commission” from Jesus to the Church. It is a commission to “make disciples”, “of all nations”, to “baptize”, and to “teach”. In other words, Jesus commissions his followers as a sent people; sent to all peoples, to invite them to become one of God’s people, that results in a changed people. It’s a commission to plant churches not merely isolated acts of sharing our faith. Even the act of baptism itself signifies “incorporation into a worshipping community with accountability and boundaries.” (1) (cf Acts 2:42-47) It is apparent the apostles interpreted Jesus’ words in this way as they immediately began to plant churches after Pentecost. (cf Acts 13f)

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Community, News | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

The 4th of July is tomorrow! If you’re still looking for a party, we invite you to join us for an evening of great company and BBQ on a roof top deck in the middle of our beautiful city (in lieu of our normal Sunday gathering). After dinner we’ll make our way to the 33rd floor of the Westin building to watch the Family 4th of July firework show over Lake Union. RSVP HERE.

News | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

We are excited to announce that Acts 29 Coffee has chosen Downtown Cornerstone Church as one of the first two church plants they will be supporting in the Northwest. “Help plant churches one cup at a time.” They offer high-quality, premium roasts at discounted rates on a subscription basis. Every pound of coffee purchased supports the planting of this new gospel work in the heart of Seattle. You can do what you’re already doing (i.e. drinking coffee) and now plant churches at the same time.

Community, City Life | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Join us this Thursday (July 1st) for our “First Thursday Meet-Up” in Pioneer Square as we participate in the monthly First Thursday Art Walk. We’ll meet at Starbucks on the corner of Yesler and 1st at 6:00pm. Our God is a creative God, who created all things. He created us to be creative and art is one expression of that. Let’s enjoy it and Him together.

“The arts and the sciences do have a place in the Christian life – they are not peripheral. For a Christian, redeemed by the work of Christ and living within the norms of Scripture and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the Lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts. A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God – not just as tracts, but as things of beauty to the praise of God. An art work can be a doxology in itself.”

– Francis Schaeffer, Art and the Bible (Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, Volue 2, p377)

City Life

Seattle is a beautiful, diverse, strategic and paradoxical city.

Surrounded by vast bodies of water, paralleled by the towering snow-capped peaks of the Cascades and Olympics, and shrouded under cloud cover over 200 days per year Seattle is a natural anomaly. It’s been called “Rain City”, “Jet City”, and more recently “Emerald City”. It’s the birth place of Jimi Hendrix, Windows OS, “grunge” music, Amazon.com, the 747, and the ubiquitous Starbucks Mermaid. Seattle is a city of polarities: corporate yet raw, smart yet simple, hopeful yet deeply skeptical, professional yet authentic, established yet funky, independent yet communal, traffic-filled yet “green”. On any given day you will see corporate executives, tourists, exchange students, men wearing kilts, college hipsters, veteran cyclists, soccer moms, tattooed baristas, and guitar-toting musicians rubbing shoulders in a single city block.

This is Seattle. This is the city to which we have been called to serve, love and challenge in and through the world-shattering, history-altering, life-transforming news of the gospel.

Thanks for joining us on this journey. We hope you’ll stick around.