Jeff Vanderstelt – Warren Throckmorton

Mars Hill Church Final Distribution – Where Did the Money Go?

When Mars Hill Church closed, the by-laws required a final distribution of assets. Although the plan omitted some details, a dissolution plan was filed with the state of Washington and I assumed had been carried out by last June. Today current pastor of Doxa Church (once the Bellevue campus of MHC) Jeff Vanderstelt said the following about funds distributed from MHC. His comments were posted in the comment section of a Gospel Coalition article on Mars Hill Church. I wrote a reaction to that article yesterday. In response to a claim from another commenter about money paid to the MHC churches, Vanderstelt said:

Variegate Jim S. • 19 hours ago

The churches were given money to continue on if they signed a binding legal agreement not to talk about Mark Driscoll in a negative way. Do you see how that could be dangerous?

Jeff Vanderstelt Variegate • 14 hours ago

That is actually not the truth. Churches were not given money if they signed a binding legal agreement. Where did you get that information from?

Jeff Vanderstelt • 14 hours ago

There was no “hush money”. I stepped in to restart a church from the Bellevue campus and we did not receive the money you are referring to. Neither did any of the other churches. What are you basing your conclusion on Roger? And what revisionist history are you referring to?

I wrote Vanderstelt to ask if his church received money as set forth in the MHC distribution plan. He answered by saying he had made comments on the Gospel Coalition article and that I should read those. I wrote back to ask if his church received the 22.18% which was designated as part of the plan.
As he said, Vanderstelt clarified his earlier statements on the Gospel Coalition website:

Jeff Vanderstelt Roger Jones • 3 hours ago

Roger – Each church did receive some “start-up/seed” money because MH had money in their accounts that had to be distributed as directed by their 501 c3 guidelines. It was not hush money however. I was not required to sign anything or agree to silence in order to receive those funds. Also, they weren’t that substantial (as some seem to believe) when you take into account the lease payment we assumed in stepping into the Bellevue campus. For us, it amounted to about 2-3 months of operating expenses. You are correct in that I can’t speak for the other pastors so I will not. I’m only representing what I know and what I’ve experienced.

According to the dissolution plan, Doxa was to get 22.18% of what MHC had to distribute after debts and liabilities were paid. I hope Vanderstelt will clarify if this “seed money” was all they received. Mars Hill owned lots of equipment and property and sold it all off. Did Doxa and the other churches receive those funds according to the plan filed with the state? I hope Vanderstelt will address this point. If the churches didn’t get anything else, then significant questions may be raised about how the rest of the assets were distributed.
The plan states:

Distribution of Assets.
The Corporation hereby resolves that after payment of the Corporation’s debts and liabilities, or provision made therefore, including without limitation the establishment of reserves as set forth in paragraph 4 herein, Kerry Dodd or Caleb Walters (either, the “Authorized Officer”) shall distribute all of the remaining property of the Corporation as follows: (a) first, any assets held by the Corporation upon condition requiring return, transfer, or conveyance, which condition occurs by reason of the dissolution, shall be returned, transferred, or conveyed in accordance with such requirements; and (b) second, any remaining assets of the Corporation shall be transferred or conveyed to specific churches (each a “Church”, and collectively, the “Churches”) identified in Exhibit A that provide ministry services and have a similar lawful purpose as the Corporation in the percentages indicated in the attached Exhibit A.

One of the liabilities could have been Mark Driscoll’s severance pay. The church never addressed this matter. If all concerned really want to move on, they should come clean on the distribution of assets at the end of the church. As Vanderstelt said, the churches got seed money, but it sounds like from his comment that Doxa Church didn’t get anything else, or in other words, 22.18% of nothing. Is that possible? If that is the case, a final public accounting is all the more necessary for MHC to cease being a stumbling block in Seattle and surrounding area. As a non-profit, MHC has a responsibility to donors and the public to account for those funds. One of the factors that led to the downfall of MHC was a lack of transparency with donor funds. It would be tragic if the legacy churches continue that trend.
Read the Mars Hill Dissolution Plan
Exhibit A:

Mars Hill Bellevue Becomes Doxa Church

After incorporating as Bellevue Church, and using Eastside church for awhile, the Mars Hill Bellevue leaders seem to have settled on Doxa Church as the new name for the Jeff Vanderstelt led church. From Jason Skelton late yesterday:

If you were at any of our gatherings on Sunday, you had the opportunity to join with us in the exciting news that we have welcomed Jeff Vanderstelt as the Lead Teaching Pastor of our new church. He will begin in this new role on January 1st, 2015.

As a part of our series, Jeff preached on Sunday and also shared the new name of the church: Doxa Church. Doxa is the Greek word for Glory, and foundational to the choice of the name Doxa is Colossians 1:27 which reads: “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Jeff’s sermon was a part of the series “Jesus: Gift of God” and the focus of this sermon was on the name “Immanuel,” which means “God with us”, showing how Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. We encourage you to watch the entirety of the sermon to understand the deep meaning of our church name.

We look forward to seeing you this Sunday, December 28th, as we celebrate the work that God has done through Mars Hill Church. We will have one special service together at 10am. Rick Warren of Saddleback Church has prepared a special message that will be shared.

On behalf of the elders, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas. See you on Sunday!

In Christ,

Jason

Jeff Vanderstelt Selected as Lead Teaching Pastor at (Mars Hill) Bellevue Church

This was announced earlier today via The City:

From Pastor Jason Skelton:

On behalf of the elders of Soma Tacoma and Bellevue Church, it is our privilege to share with you today the news that Jeff Vanderstelt has been selected as the Lead Teaching Pastor of Bellevue Church in Bellevue, WA.

Over the last six weeks, the elders of Bellevue Church and Soma Tacoma have been praying together to seek the Lord and know His will in this important decision. It has been our desire to create as many opportunities as possible to allow the congregation to speak into the process. This has included multiple public gatherings from Q&A in Bellevue, Sammamish, and Soma Tacoma, as well as Jeff preaching at Bellevue Church on November 23rd and December 7th. With a remarkable spirit of unity from both congregations, that we take as a sign of confirmation from the Holy Spirit, we now move forward with confidence in presenting this decision to you.

Today at the Soma Tacoma gathering, Jeff has resigned his eldership, and formally accepted the role as Lead Teaching Pastor of Bellevue Church. He will be publicly welcomed on December 21st when he will be present to preach that day as well in Bellevue. His first official day will be January 1st, 2015, which signifies the beginning of planting a new church.

From Jeff:

“Jayne and I are blessed to be clearly led by the Spirit in conjunction with the affirmation of Soma Tacoma and Bellevue Church to step into this new adventure. We are confident that Jesus is leading us into this and eager to serve Him as he continues to build his body on the Eastside. We can not do this without Him nor without the prayers of his people. In light of that, we earnestly ask that you lift us up in your prayers as we make this difficult transition from a church family that we dearly love to one that we are already growing in love for and anticipate loving in ever increasing ways over the coming months and years. We are eager to see the glory of Jesus fill the Eastside through his body the church as the waters cover the sea!”

With this decision, Bellevue Church will seek to become a member of the Soma Family of Churches, though the timeline for this has not been determined.

Our prayer, and our vision, is that the good news of Jesus would saturate the Eastside so that every man, woman, and child would have a daily encounter with Jesus in word and deed.

In Christ,

Soma Tacoma Elders

Don Crook

Justin Kuravackal

Abe Meysenburg

Mark Tilden

Jeff Wall

Randy Sheets

Bellevue Church Elders

Dave Cox

Alex Ghioni

Roger Molvar

Tim Patton

Matt Rogers

Jason Skelton

After the news from Bellevue recently about new staff, it was unclear that Soma was still involved.

Barring any legal complications, Bellevue Church is in line to receive what could be a substantial amount of money from the dissolution of Mars Hill Church. Initially, there were high hopes that the involvement of Vanderstelt and Soma would bring in a new era of transparency. However, up to now, those representing Soma Church have ignored questions from the public and from Soma members about the transition of Bellevue from Mars Hill Church to Soma.

Eastside Church (Was Mars Hill Bellevue) Chooses New Staff; Is Soma Still Involved?

This came out earlier today.
Sounds like business as usual with no mention of Soma or Jeff Vanderstelt.

Some Good News Heading Into 2015
Pastor Jason Skelton
Eastside Family,
As we soon close out 2014 and head into the New Year as a new church, we wanted you to be aware of some good news for 2015.
Staff Selection
We have been prayerfully considering a number of hires for the new church staff. By God’s grace and your generosity, we are able to support a great team to serve and equip you for ministry in 2015. There are a number of conversations still in process, but we wanted you to be aware of a few of the team members:

Jim Franks will serve as the Director of Operations equipping and supporting our volunteer teams, Sunday services and daily operations of the church

Tim Patton will serve as the Director of Administration stewarding the finances and business obligations of the new church. Tim will also serve as one of the elders.

Alex Ghioni will serve as the Pastor of Biblical Counseling leading our Redemption Group ministries, marriage counseling, etc. Alex will also serve as one of the elders.

Adrian Kilgore will serve as the Director of Media and Production equipping our production volunteers and overseeing technology as well as communications

We are in ongoing conversations regarding the hire of a Director of Youth Ministry to lead Kids and Student Ministry. We have much more to share with you about these ministries soon, as well as determination of our Director of Community Groups. We’ll share more information with you in the coming weeks.
New Service Times
The elders have been prayerfully considering what service time schedule would be serve the Eastside. After talking with many members of the congregation, we have made the decision that we will change our service times to 9a and 11a, beginning in January 2015. This will allow us to focus our efforts on Sunday morning services, as well as utilizing the remainder of the day for additional training and equipping opportunities, particularly allowing those driving from a further distance to not be required to come into Downtown Bellevue on multiple days per week. It’s our prayer that this will also help our volunteer teams who have served sacrificially these past few months.
Student Ministry Date and Time
In 2015, we will also be changing the date and time of our Student Ministry. We have been meeting on Wednesday evenings, but in January 2015 will change to meet on Sunday evenings at 5pm. We believe this will better serve our families and will better steward our resources (when we already have paid for the parking in the church lot on Sundays). In making this change, it’s our goal that we will not only be able to accommodate Student Ministry on Sunday nights, but offer training opportunities for parents at the same time.
Supporting the New Church Plant
Many have asked about ACH giving and how to set this up for the new church. We would ask that you continue to give faithfully, generously, and sacrificially to Mars Hill Church through the remainder of 2014, and in 2015 we will share how you can set up giving to the new church. You have been incredibly generous, and we are grateful for the way that your giving will allow us to complete the plan that we outlined in October of launching many new independent churches out of our former church.
Location of the New Church
After prayerfully considering numerous options, we have determined that we will stay in our current facility in Downtown Bellevue, in the John Danz Building. We’re currently finalizing the lease with our landlords, with whom the relationship has remained very strong and we’re grateful for their partnership. The Lord opened numerous doors for us to stay in this building, allowing us to make a decision that we believe to be wise in regard to both location and finances. We will share more about this in the coming weeks, but wanted to share the good news that we will be able to continue to meet in the building that many have called home for the last several years. To our friends from the Sammamish Plateau, we understand that this location may require additional commute time, but look forward to sharing the vision of how the church building can become an equipping center in order that you are better prepared for ministry throughout the week.
We understand that change can be unsettling, and thus we share these things knowing that it’s important to communicate with you as clearly as possible moving into the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out directly to any of the staff members listed above, or any of the elders. It’s our goal and desire to communicate in a way that honors you as members of the church, and equips you for fruitful ministry by sharing opportunities to pray and serve.
Thanks for your continued partnership in the Gospel. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we continue our “Jesus: Gift of God” series at 8:30a, 10:30a, and 4:00p.
In Christ,
Pastor Jason

Some Questions for Soma Church from Soma Members About the Mars Hill Bellevue Replant

In recent days, several members of Soma churches have written me with questions they have posed to either their local pastors or to the leaders at Soma Tacoma. The questions relate to the relationship between Soma and Mars Hill now and after the transition to independent churches. I don’t know the answers to these questions and have posed them to my contacts at Soma with no answer as yet. The members who wrote have not gotten answers either.
I am posting them here because I think if several people are asking, then many more would like to know. I also think some readers might know the answers and might then step forward either on the blog or via email. I have combined some similar questions into one category. Here they are:

1. Mars Hill Global Fund: Do you believe Soma has an obligation to get clarity on where the money went, and making sure what’s left gets to the right people?

2. Is Soma going to have any role in funding any Mars Hill severance pay? Will tithes from local Soma churches have any part in fulfilling Bellevue’s obligations?

3. Do you think MHC/Bellevue Church as part of Soma should have the existing leadership removed of their authority as elders and leaders? (Jeff Vanderstelt said they’d step down, now not the case) Do you think these leaders, if they knew of abusive climate but did nothing, should be disqualified?

4. What is you policy on shunning? Is this practice condemned at Soma?

5. Will former MHC leadership assume leadership positions in Soma Tacoma with national governance roles once Bellevue Church is brought into the Soma network?

6. If any of the former leaders at Bellevue are brought into the RICO lawsuit, will Soma help pay for their legal defense?

7. Has Soma checked in with Acts 29 for spiritual counsel? Has anyone from Soma discussed the move with former Mars Hill elders or Paul Tripp?

8. Will Soma benefit from the Mars Hill seed money?