Service | by Pastor David Parker

Oi Downtown Cornerstone!

I can’t believe we’re over halfway through our trip, and although it’s been a full week, we’re thankful for God’s grace to us in so many ways. 

We’ve had an emotionally intense couple of days ministering and serving in some of the most horrible and broken places we’ve seen, while at the same time seeing specific answers to prayer as we served. It’s been powerful watching Jesus move and work in and through us as a team, and those He’s put before us to love, serve, and share the gospel with. 

I wanted to share something Edward wrote today that helps put to words some of what we’ve experienced the last few days. Please keep praying for us, and that Jesus would continue to go before us in every way. If you want to check out more updates, and some of the images we’ve been able to capture, visit our Facebook Page and the Instagram feed.

Para a Glória de Deus!
– Pastor David

Never have I walked among such beautiful and broken people.

As we looked out over the city of Rio we could not see the end of the poverty. The favelas, or slum communities, sprawl for miles. In and around these homes there are relentless threats of power, privilege, hunger, disease, violence, sexual exploitation, fear, loneliness, and unyielding addiction. 

We prayed and claimed the power of Jesus’ name over everyone and everything in the city. We took a deep breath, and descended into the city to serve, because we have been so radically served by Christ.

It was a challenge to not be overwhelmed as we witnessed first hand the strongholds the enemy has in this place. We visited Crackoland, where hundreds of lost and lifeless souls, including boys as young as 8 or 9, subsisted on crack cocaine. Their faces were often disfigured by sores and crooked jaws permanently misaligned from the perpetual grinding of teeth. Their bodies wobbled in contorted ways towards us to line up as we offered food, drink, and prayer.

The night before we had circled a loop of highway where a dozen nearly naked transvestite sex workers walked the sidewalks, before pulling into an emergency shelter which offers services to many homeless men among the lowest of the low. 

Despite all this, there are sparks and whispers of Jesus everywhere.

Two men who we prayed for in Crackoland made the decision to access rehabilitation services just an hour after we left. At the men’s shelter, twelve men responded to a call to salvation after we humbly offered testimonies and a worship service.

An industry of oppression surrounds Rio, at the same time we can’t help but believe that the small things, the small people, are being mended. Through every triumphant smile that exploded from ancient and fresh faces alike, every tear that was shed by hurting people over whom we prayed the promises of Christ, there is no doubt another brick of His Kingdom is being cemented into place.

I can understand why people give their lives to places like this. Places where the least of these live and whom we have given our lives to for these past few days. Grace is like water and pools up at the low places, and we have been to the lowest here in Rio. And God is at work, and the Gospel is being preached, and the city is being transformed, one life, and one moment at a time.

-Edward Sumner

To follow more updates from the Brazil Team, check out the team’s Facebook page here or search the hashtag #dccbrazil2014 on Twitter or Instagram.

Community, Discipleship, Video | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Many of you know that we, as a church, are part of Acts 29 – a diverse, global network of church-planting churches characterized by (1) theological clarity, (2) cultural engagement and (3) missional innovation. About a month ago, Jen and I travelled to Miami to be part of a week-long annual conference with other lead pastors and their wives. I posted a brief follow-up immediately after the conference on the City, but I wanted to do a more thorough follow-up in this post – particularly for those who are unfamiliar Acts 29. It is also important to note, and this is new as of last year, that the Acts 29 designation not only belongs to me (as the initial “planter”) but to us as the church.  

Acts 29 is not a denomination, but a network of like-minded, Jesus-loving, theologically-strong, gospel-driven, missionally-engaged churches. That means that while all of the churches within Acts 29 have many of the same values, there is also incredible diversity – there  are presbyterians (PCA), baptists, and independent; some are paedo-baptists (those who baptize babies) and others are creedo-baptists (those who only baptize followers of Jesus); some are governed by a plurality of elders while others employ presbyteries and congregational elements; some focus on missional communities while others leverage more “attractional” methods; many are suburban but there are a growing number found in urban settings, like our own. What we all agree on, however, is the centrality of the gospel and the urgent need to take it to the ends of the earth. Therefore, Acts 29 specializes in assessing, training, coaching and networking church planters in order to make that a reality. 

Here are some of the most recent data points: 

• Total number of Acts 29 churches globally: 503
• Total attendance of Acts 29 churches: 171,769
• Median attendance per church: 165
• Number of applicants in process of applying to Acts 29: 578
• Total number of church planters sent out from Acts 29 congregations in 2013: 174
• Number of church planters in training to be sent out within two years: 605
• Total money given to church planting by Acs 29 churches in 2013: $20.1M

I hope you can see that we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves – we’re part of a global church planting movement. As I’ve previously mentioned, I have never been more thankful and excited about where Acts 29 is at in terms of overall health and leadership with Matt Chandler as president (The Village Church, Dallas) and Steve Timmis as the Executive Director (Crowded House, Sheffield, England). The men within Acts 29 are among the finest, most respectable, Jesus-loving, risk-taking men I’ve ever been among. They love Jesus, His church and His mission and are laying their lives down to make it happen. There couldn’t be a better organization of churches for us to be a part of – and that is why we are Acts 29.

Here is a brief vision video put together for the Acts 29 conference that we should all watch – maybe a couple times.

Acts 29 Global ACTION Video from Acts 29 Network on Vimeo.

Jesus is building His church, from the neighborhoods of Seattle to the nations of the world, and the gates of hell won’t prevail against it (Mt 16:18).

Until the world knows,

Pastor Adam

Discipleship, News, Service | by Pastor David Parker

This Saturday 11 of us will leave for Brazil for 9 days of ministry (Aug 9th-18th) alongside Restore Brazil and church planting efforts in the flavelas (slums) of Rio. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited for this trip and for the team Jesus has brought together. We’re looking forward to serving and ministering alongside our fellow brothers and sisters in Rio!

(Top Left) Pastor David Parker, Tyler Johnson, Linnell Pitt, Edward Sumner, (Middle Left) Catie Rizzo, Peter Isaza, Katie Collins, (Bottom Left) Anne Johnson, Shelley Pierson, Chelsey Scheffe, Peter Duong.

As we get ready to go, I wanted to send out a brief update so you know how you can be thanking Jesus with us, and praying for us over the next few weeks.

Thank You!

First, Thank You! This past Sunday evening, we packed over 17 suitcases (with a few more to go!), filled with hundreds of toiletry kits, mercy outreach supplies, kids activities, toys, games, shoes, a/v equipment, and more! Not only has Jesus provided for our whole team to go, but I’m so thankful to see God’s provision above and beyond our goal, and that we’re able to bring so many needed things down to Brazil to bless the churches we’ll be partnering with. Thank you to those who gave above and beyond to see the Gospel take a deeper root in Rio!

Will you commit to praying for us these next two weeks?

Second, As we’ve been preparing for this trip, I was reminded of Ps 127:1 the other day which says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” We could spend tons of time preparing and taking lots of stuff down, and yet if Jesus doesn’t go before us in every way, scripture says that our labors are in vain. With that in mind, we’ve been praying boldly, and would covet your prayers that Jesus would go before us in the following ways:

• Pray for safety in travel, and that all our suitcases would make it there safety and get through customs.
• Pray for continued unity on our team and that we would be rooted and grounded in all that God is for us in Christ, regardless of what might happen on the trip.
• Pray that we would be a blessing to the churches in Rio, and that through our outreach and partnerships, some would trust in Jesus for the first time.
• Pray for me as I preach in one of the churches we’ll be partnering with, that Jesus would break down any social and language barriers, so that others would get to taste and see how good our Savior is.
• Pray for energy for all of us. We have a full week of ministry with kids, the homeless, the addicted, and the orphaned as well as lots of other ministry and details (music, video, training, repairing equipment, etc.).
• Pray that above all else, through this trip Jesus and His glory would be made known to everyone; from those we’ll share a seat with on the plane, to the most needy and broken in Rio.

Join us to pray this Friday at 6:30pm

This Friday, August 8th, at 6:30 we’re going to meet as a team in the ImPark parking lot at 5th and Bell Street to handoff suitcases, do some last minute shuffling of gear, and pray together. We’d love to have anyone that can and wants to join us in praying for this trip to come out!

Stay Connected

Lastly, many of you have asked how you can stay up to date with us while we’re in Brazil? Great question! We created a public FaceBook page, that we’ll be posting trip updates to as we’re able.  It’s a public page, so you can still view it, even if you don’t have a FaceBook account. As well, we’ll be using the hashtag #DCCbrazil2014 on Twitter and Instagram if you want to follow updates there as well.

Thank you for partnering with us!

For the entire Brazil team,

Pastor David

City Life, Event, Photos, Serve the City, Service | by Pastor David Parker

I wanted to briefly follow-up with a big “Thanks” to all who came out to serve the city with us! When it was all said and done, we had over 100 folks show up to come alongside Seattle Schools and Gatewood Elementary in helping prepare their playground and school for this next year!

Over 30 cubic yards of weeds, ivy, and branches were removed. Lots of boxes were packed and moved. Things were dusted and cleaned, and gallons of paint were applied to spruce up the playground and provide additional activities for the students this fall.

Not only did God bless us with great weather, but it was an awesome opportunity to tangibly display His grace and love in how we’ve been eternally served by Him in Christ. Thank you for giving freely of what you’ve been given! (Matthew 10:8)

Praying that we would continue to be a people marked by a deep love for the Gospel and the people He’s places around us to love and serve in this city.

-Pastor David

Below is a note from the principal at Gatewood that I wanted to pass along, as well as some pictures that were captured from that day.

Downtown Cornerstone,

Thank you so much for the generous donation of paint, mulch, supplies and church participants, who worked tirelessly to help improve the school grounds and interior organization at Gatewood last Saturday. It’s difficult to find the right words to help express the magnitude of my gratitude. Because of Cornerstone Church, when staff and students return to school in September, they will have a new feeling of respect. When the environment in which teaching and learning occurs is cherished, kept clean, and organized, students and teachers feel valued. When teachers feel respected by their community, they teach better. When students feel respected by their community, they learn better. What your church community did for Gatewood will be appreciated for a long time and in many ways. Early in August, I will meet with the Gatewood PTA Board and I will share the work done by the Cornerstone Church. I believe they will be inspired to finish the job and continue the school improvements!

Feeling blessed,
Connie Aleman, Principal
Gatewood Elementary

Click on the image below to check out some of the pictures that were captured that day!

Event, Serve the City | by Pastor David Parker

We’re just 2 days away from our summer Serve the City event(!) and I wanted to post a few last minute details and answer some FAQs so we’re all on the same page.

Click Here for all the event details including driving/bus directions, and more!

1. It’s not too late to register!

If you haven’t registered it’s not too late! Pre-registration isn’t required, but if you’re able to give us a heads up that you’re coming, or you want to help lead a team, sign up HERE!

2. Hashtag

For those of you who love to Tweet, FB, Instragram, etc. lets use hashtag #DCCservethecity for this year.

3. FAQ’s

What time does it start, and where do we meet?
We will meet in the school playground area off of SW Frontenac Ave at 9:30am to break into teams and be assigned tasks.

What if I can’t stay the whole time, should I still come?
Yes! Whether you can come for 1 hour or all 4 hours, we’d love to have you.

Are kids welcome?
Absolutely! Bring the whole family, and if the kids get tired of “helping”, there’s a playground for lots of little “breaks” right next to where we’ll be working.

Do I need to bring anything?
If you’d like to bring your own work gloves, water bottle, or special snack, you’re welcome too, otherwise, we’ll have plenty of cloth work gloves, ice water, and snacks available (trail mix, granola bars, etc.) to munch on.

When will we be done?
We’ll be done working at1:30pm to clean-up, with everything done and wrapped up by no later than 2:00pm.

If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to reply to this email, post them on the city, or email .

See you all Saturday morning!

– Pastor David

Serve the City, Service, Video

“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:7 

We’re just over 1 week away from our Serve the City event! If you haven’t registered yet, or have yet to reach out and invite others, do so today!

As a church, we not only want to be about proclaiming the Gospel in word, but demonstrating it in deed.

The Seattle School District has only 5 groundskeepers to maintain 34 schools in the South Seattle school district. This leaves many of the schools without adequate funding and manpower to maintain the properties. As such, these schools heavily rely on volunteer efforts to come alongside and help maintain their properties and facilities. We asked Seattle Schools where their greatest need is this year, and they told us Gatewood Elementary.

Romans 5:8 says that even while we were enemies of God, Christ died for us. As a church, we believe that we’ve been infinitely loved and served by God, through the person and work of Jesus. Because of that, we believe that the good news of the Gospel is not only shared in word, but demonstrated in deed. Serving is not just “giving back” but a tangible expression of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – serving as we’ve been served, in Christ.

We hope to see you there! If you are on the fence about joining, watch this video from last year’s event: