I posted last week a statement Mars Hill Church spokesman Justin Dean made to the Ballard News-Tribune about Mars Hill Ballard. He told the paper that the church was growing and I wondered how that could be based on reports from those who attend there.
Some of those comments were posted at the Ballard News-Tribune. Go read those at this link. Now in an update to the article, Dean explains:
Dean contacted the BNT today to clarify what he meant in his statement he emailed to the BNT on September 10.
“As there has been some confusion around my statement I’d like to provide some clarification. … While our Ballard church has seen recent growth, particularly as families return to church while being absent over summer months, the reality is the Ballard church is currently much smaller than it was a year ago. We do believe Mars Hill Ballard is in a solid financial position and has a great leadership team in place to effectively care for the additional people they will take in from U-District and Downtown Seattle,” wrote Dean.
Readers can assess that one. Is a church growing if attendance picks up for one Sunday or people start doing what they stopped doing due to vacation? At least he acknowledges the declines.
A little later in the statement above, there is another head scratcher. Ballard is in a solid financial position? Ballard is a location, not a separate church. If Mars Hill is facing the worst budget crisis in church history how can Ballard be solid?