1. What is the vision for your church and ministry?
We are a community where grace and love are for all people. We embrace diversity and believe every person is of sacred worth and a beloved child of God. We commit ourselves to the hospitality Jesus taught, by creating a place of safety and spiritual sanctuary for all people. We welcome into full participation in the life of this church people of every race, ethnicity, age, ability, physical or mental condition, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, and family structure. We invite all people into the way of Jesus Christ, to grow together in Christian maturity, and go forth into the world to serve.
2. What specific needs are you addressing in this community?
We love partnering with a number of projects around the community since we know it will take all of us working together to create safe and health environments. We clothe kids from all over Snohomish County through Kloz 4 Kidz. Families can choose free clothes for their kids several times each year. We provide a Miracle House on our property for three people from the Everett Gospel Mission who benefit from reduced rent for a transition season while they work toward independent living.
We’re dreaming big and birthing ten new expressions of faith in the next thirty years. The first one is underway as one of our leaders meets with all kinds of people who might never step foot in a church building as we know it but they may be interested in gathering around a bonfire or going on a hike or meeting with young parents and connecting with God in new ways.
3. What does your church offer that is unique from other churches?
Our faith community prayerfully chose to become a reconciling faith community in 2015. It means a lot to us that there’s a rainbow on our church sign out front. We know not every Jesus follower feels the same on this, but it’s becoming more and more important to us every day that we welcome all of God’s children, no matter who they love. We welcome our LGBTQ brothers and sisters as full participants in the life of our church. Our LGBTQ family is not just tolerated, they are celebrated!
We also take seriously our call to welcome all, regardless of political affiliation. This has been a touchy subject in the last several years. We remain committed to being in conversation and relationship with people who don’t see the world the same way and we trust grace and love will continue to bind us together as we serve this world.
We are routinely surprised at how many people enter our doors and say, “I didn’t know a place like this existed.” We’re having the time of our lives building this kind of community!
Learn more about us at www.marysvilleumc.org.
