Category: Mars Hill Church

Vision Nationals: Another Part of Mars Hill Global Which May Lose Funding

Last week, I posted an update on Mars Hill Church’s Ethiopian connection, New Covenant Foundation. Even though Mars Hill Church raised millions by featuring their work, church leaders still have not pledged to give some of the seed money from the church dissolution to these pastors.
The other main international outreach was in India via Vision Nationals. Arjuna Chiguluri is the director of the mission and responded to my request for clarification of the current situation at Mars Hill.

Let me just start by saying that we are heartbroken over all that’s transpired, and we pray for all those affected.
As you know, Mars Hill Church has been a faithful supporter of our ministry for more than 15 years, and we are grateful for all they’ve done to help us plant churches in India. It’s been a truly generative partnership. Many have come to know Jesus as a result.
Anytime an organization loses a significant source of funding, it hurts, but we are very optimistic that God will provide. He has done so for more than 22 years, and we have no reason to believe that He will stop now.
As you think of it, Warren, please pray for India. We have more human need and more unreached people groups than any other nation on earth. Believing that Christ is the key to human flourishing, our passion is to proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel for as long as we have breath.
God bless you, brother, and thank you for reaching out to me.
In the ministry that counts,
Arjuna

As far as I can tell, these two mission groups believe in “human flourishing” as they spread the gospel and seek to improve the quality of life in the communities where they plant churches.
The latest information I have is that the seed money is designed to cover the expenses of the spin-off churches for three months. Surely, the church should donate a share of money from dissolution to these pastors and their families, many of whom live in poverty. With the wealth remaining at Mars Hill, there should be enough in a share to support these pastors for years.
Additional information: I should have added to this post the statement made by Mars Hill about Ethiopia and India:

Additionally, in 2015 we expect to make a final donation to Vision Nationals in India, and New Covenant Foundation in Ethiopia, prior to distributing net assets to the new independent churches, and some of the new local churches hope to continue the legacy of supporting these missions.

While this sounds like the missionaries will get funds, it is not clear that this pledge is for anything more than was planned if the church had remained open. However, neither group seemed to be aware of anything beyond the 2015 money already committed for the fiscal year. Mars Hill is closing in the middle of the fiscal year and it appears that they “expect” to complete their donation for until June 2015.
What I am talking about (and I believe  I wasn’t as clear as I needed to be) is a substantial distribution more akin with what came in through the Global Fund. I hope Mars Hill leaders surprise the world and publicize where the distribution is going. From the current statements of the church and the missionaries, I don’t expect anything more to be given than what was planned for the remainder of the FY.
 

Frustrated About the Mars Hill Global Fund? Help Ethiopian Pastors Directly Through New Covenant Foundation

Yesterday, Mars Hill Church posted a request for members to give money through the end of the year. The request raised the possibility that the eleven independent churches might not get off the ground if members didn’t keep giving to Mars Hill.

Without generous people like you continuing to give through the end of the year, many of these churches may not have the necessary funds to continue as new churches.

As I said yesterday, I don’t understand this threat. If the churches are so fragile that survival depends on Mars Hill giving now, I don’t understand how they will make it when the Mars Hill money runs out.
In any case, one casualty of Mars Hill’s demise may be the Ethiopian pastors supported by the church through partnership with New Covenant Foundation. New Covenant provides several ways for donors to support Ethiopian pastors. Current funding for those pastors will run out at the end of the fiscal year.
One may donate to New Covenant Foundation here. Watch:
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/113747611[/vimeo]
Mars Hill used videos of Ethiopian and Indian pastors living in poverty to raise money for the Global Fund. However, as the church admitted, most of the money went to expanding Mars Hill locations in the United States. Millions were raised with only a tiny fraction being spent on international efforts. We all learned later that this was the plan all along.
I believe that the money raised for the Global Fund should now be given to the charities which manage the resources for the Indian and Ethiopian pastors. If the actual donations are not given to them, then the dissolution pot should be divided 12 ways instead of 11 with a share given to the international pastors. This commitment was not mentioned in yesterday’s end of the year fund raising appeal.
To help address Mars Hill’s lack of clarity on this matter, I am today featuring the Ethiopian charity. In a future post, I will provide information about Vision Nationals, the charity which operates in India. Mars Hill folks have been voting with their nickels for months, they can do it again one last time.
 

Only Two Weeks Until the End, Mars Hill Church Still Wants Donations

Even though Mars Hill Church dissolves at the end of the year, someone in charge of the website is still seeking donations. It isn’t clear just who is making decisions. Is it Dave Bruskas? He is telling Albuquerque that the new church will be marked by transparency. However, since nobody signed this communication, it is not clear who is asking for money.
The initial paragraph doesn’t seem reasonable. No explanation is given for why giving to Mars Hill and having that donation split eleven ways is going to help the local churches more than a direct donation to that local church. If they can’t raise the necessary funds on their own now, then how will they ever do it?
I have heard no explanation for this; readers, have you?

Thank you for continuing to faithfully serve and give to your church. As we close out the year and say good-bye to Mars Hill, your gifts continue to be very important as they will determine how much will be distributed to help fund the eleven independent churches launching in January. Without generous people like you continuing to give through the end of the year, many of these churches may not have the necessary funds to continue as new churches.

We wanted to provide the following information for our donors and supporters, to keep you informed as you prepare to make your final year-end gifts to Mars Hill Church.

Giving at Local Churches – Each of our local churches will continue to accept gifts made during Sunday services through December 28th, 2014. Should you desire to give this way, simply drop your gift in a giving basket or GIVE box after service.

Gifts via Mail – If you’d like to mail in your final gifts to Mars Hill Church, please make sure they are postmarked by December 31st, 2014 and sent to the following address:

Mars Hill Church
c/o Giving
1401 NW Leary Way
Seattle, Washington 98107

Feel free to use a GIVE envelope which are available at all Mars Hill Church locations to send your gift in postage free.

One Time Gifts via ACH or Debit/Credit Card – Donors may give online at marshill.com/give via debit card, credit card or ACH up until 9:00 PM PDT on December 31st, 2014.

Recurring Gifts via ACH or Debit/Credit Card – Recurring gifts setup online at marshill.com/give are drafted on the 5th and 20th of each month. If you have setup a recurring gift, we will automatically stop your gift after the final scheduled gift on Monday, December 22nd (next business day after the 20th) has cleared.

If you wish to stop your recurring gift manually, you may do so at anytime by sigining in at marshill.com/give with your Mars Hill account.

Text to Give – Donors will be able to text gifts to Mars Hill Church up until 9:00 PM PDT on December 31st, 2014. Simply text “Mars Hill” and the amount to 45777.

Stock Gifts – Mars Hill Church will continue to accept gifts of publicly traded securities or bonds through December 31st, 2014. Please contactgiving@ marshill.com if you need broker information.

DONOR STATEMENTS & UPDATED CONTACT INFO

In July 2014, Mars Hill Church sent mid-year statements to our donors to the address we had on file. Year-end donor statements will be mailed out on or around January 20th, 2015 to assist with your tax return preparation. In order to ensure your statement is received, please check your mailing address by completing one of the two options:

  • Log into the Give page and check to see if your giving account is linked (Once logged in, you should be able to see your giving history on the “View giving history” tab. If your account is linked, you can update your address under your account settings.)

  • Contact [email protected] or call our giving line at 206.816.3649. Please include your donor and family number from your mid-year statement and include your complete mailing address. We’d also appreciate your updated phone number and email address should we need to get a hold of you.

THANK YOU!

Thank you again for your generosity and faithfulness in helping us finish well. We wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and blessings in the new year.

Should you have any questions about giving, please contact [email protected] which will remain active at least through April 2015.

 

Mars Hill Church Executive Elder Dave Bruskas on the Future of Mars Hill Albuquerque, Bible Teaching and Communication

This is the next several minutes of Dave Bruskas’ talk to the members’ meeting at Mars Hill Albuquerque (soon to be North Church). In this clip, Bruskas reminisces about opening the church building as a Mars Hill replant, and then describes his hope for the church going forward.
In doing so, he makes some hard-to-miss references to problems at Mars Hill. First he says one sermon per week and a discussion of that sermon (I assume he meant in community groups) isn’t enough. I always thought Mars Hill had lots of content online and elsewhere, but Bruskas wants to provide more. Also, he is going to improve communication and governance. The church will be elder led (in contrast to Mars Hill) and there will be better communication. He lamented that the pastors, including himself, often learned about the church online (you’re welcome).
Listen in (mostly audio with some quotes pulled out, be patient, they will come).

While this all sounds like an improvement, I still want to learn why it took the scandals and revelations of the last year to bring these changes about. I would like to hear more about why Rev. Bruskas did not activate these changes while the #2 man at Mars Hill Church. Perhaps, he feared for his job, but it would be good to know if he felt the same thing the other elders did who put their jobs and ministries on the line to make the changes now evident.