missio

Here’s a fun post: the churches I really enjoyed tracking and following their progress over the past year. Again, I show no favorites (;)), so there’s no particular order here.

• Mars Hill Church (Seattle, WA) - Pastored by Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill is the epitome of a missional church in a city where Christianity is not only unwelcome, it is very nearly abhorred. However, over the past year, they have grown vastly, launching new campuses everywhere in the Puget Sound area and raising tons of money for strategic real estate, just recently in October. They have a spankin’ new website, and Driscoll taught at the Desiring God conference. Mars Hill is doing all it can to reach Seattle, and it’s fascinating to peek in from the outside.
• NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC) - Almost a hometown favorite for me (I’ve family in Columbia), NewSpring is at the cutting edge of traditional-contemporary (yes, I said it) ministry. They do nothing ‘fancy’, nothing ‘emergent’, they are conservative in beliefs, liberal in practice, and seemingly free of their personal agendas, instead focusing on the will of a sovereign Jesus. That combination produces fruit for the Kingdom, which is evident in Perry Noble’s blog.
• Pine Ridge Church (Burlington, NC) - Even closer to a hometown favorite, Pine Ridge Church is really providing a lesson in learning for me. I love reading about how God’s blessing Tadd and Becky in Burlington. I love reading about the mistakes he makes; I love reading about the things he nails. I love seeing how they’re taking over 20 people to GA and SC to really solidify how they want to do ministry in the Piedmont. It’s great to follow a church that is the phase of ministry that you yourself will be in just 2 years.
• Church! at Bethany (Beaverton, OR) - One of the most exciting stories of the year for me was when Church!’s portable ministry trailer was stolen, and subsequently returned with all of the belongings in tow. It gave them coverage and a testimony, and a great foothold in their community. Persecution is a blessing. Matt Payne seems to be a great leader, and Barry Tallis, their digital pastor, is a great guy (he helped edit The Coming Harmony). I’ve really enjoyed following their ministry over the past year as they’ve launched. Keep it up out there in Oregon, guys!

That pretty much sums it up for this year. Just to throw out an early favorite to follow next year: History Church (soon to be renamed) in Reston, VA. Ben Arment is setting them up for a great year of ministry to the area that I myself love: NoVA/DC. Next post to wrap up 2006? My favorite digg posts from the year.