HILLSIDE HIGHLIGHTSask . live . grow . give

Y E A R - E N D N E W S L E T T E R

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c o m e a s y o u a r ePLANTING SEEDS

e can hardly wait to tell you about all God has been up to in our lives! God is affirming us over and over

again in our calling to plant here in the lovely Northwest. His provision for us comes in His perfect time. It has been a wonderful, faith-filled year!

We believe we need to be where His people are. We don’t expect them to come and find us. We go and find them! We are very involved with the parks and recreation department, healthy communities groups, and have been instrumental in starting an “online” community center that assists people in finding resources in our faith communities, such as grief recovery,

food and clothing assistance, and the like.

Jordan & Jeffrey

They continue to grow up and have helped us plant hillside church all along the way. Jordan is now a freshman in high school and enjoys drama, choir and make-up! She helps in the kids’ areas often and is known as the baby-whisperer. Jeff is a 7th grader in Marysville Middle School! He is involved with a Robotics club, basketball, and his school leadership team. He is also in three bands, drumming his sticks off!

Emily RoseEmily Rose is a sweet, nurturing 5th grader! This girl loves everyone! She is

wide-eyed and full of wonder and “what-if’s,” lightens up our days and nights. From the time she wakes, until the moment she crashes, this girl has things to say! :)

Braden Braden is just plain

awesome! He brings a laugh just being present. He is a bey blade “ripper” - and loves cars and math. Braden is now a 2nd grader & doing great! Hard to believe our baby is growing up!

we’ve been a busy crew

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How we’ve grown!

Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw & understood God in the face of Christ, all bright & beautiful.

2 Corinthians 4:5-6

Washington remains one of the states’ highest number of unchurched people in the U.S. and Snohomish County (where we are in Marysville) is the highest unchurched county in the whole state!

hillside storieshillside storiesthe stories continue to happen, week after week. where God and His people work together for His good. Check out some of the many stories that we’ve captured in video online @ www.thehillsidechurch.com .

miracles and milestonessince planting hillside, we have been gifted countless needed supplies, food, 5 different vehicles, a trailer for the church

belongings, 1000 lbs of potatoes, and just this week that the newsletter was written, another miracle gift was given.

future planscontinued growth and ability to reach the neighborhood nearbySubsidized housing is just across the street from the boys & girls club where the church meets. We feel called to be servants to the great needs across the street.

online hillsideIn January, we hope to launch an on-line community website for our friends and family who are unable to attend hillside in person. More info will be coming soon.

fun factscommunity involvement

City of Marysville, Parks and Recreation Department

We’ve made great relationships with the parks and recreation department, helping with community events like Healthy Challenge Day, Movies and Concerts in the Park,

Merrysville Lights Parade, Junk in the Trunk Sales, Craft Fairs, Concerts on the Green and many more. We’ve become, as the church, their “go-to” for reliable volunteers, quality work, and providing music, fun, and food. We’ve made such a reputation for ourselves, that many of come to check out what we are doing and joining us! February of this year, we were asked by the City if we’d like to be a caretaker at one of their parks in exchange for a discount in rent. It was a no-brainer, saving us $1200 a month!! It was certainly an answer to prayer! We moved the whole family in May into a 2300 square foot, 1950’s home with a 77 acre “back yard,” perfect for church BBQ’S and frisbee golf!

Mike continues to challenge us with relevant messages and teachings. Even though he is bi-vocational, he always makes time to study and share inspirational teachings every week!

Marysville Area Pastors Association (MAPA)We’ve been an active member of this group, soon after arriving to Marysville. Kim has been instrumental on the leadership team of this group. Local churches partner together to make a greater impact. This winter, we are heading up a “Cold Weather Shelter” for homeless in Marysville. Here they can get a warm dinner and breakfast and a dry place to sleep overnight when the weather gets below freezing. Each church commits to an overnight, so there’s not a burden to supply all the resources on any one church. It’s a wonderful partnership helping many! Follow our ongoing work on facebook: Search for Marysville Emergency Cold Weather Shelter

Boys & Girls ClubHillside rents the facilities at the local Boys & Girls Club. We have partnered with them in numerous ways. Together we provide meals to families in need and presents at Christmas time. Hillside hosts BBQ’s inviting the adjacent neighborhoods to find a safe, family friendly church to attend. It has been a great symbiotic relationship in one of the poorest areas in town!

I want to be a part of what God is doing through Hillside Church!

Here’s how you can help...

“Come and follow me,” Jesus said,“and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Matthew 4:19

How you can be a part of his work

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PLANTING SEEDS

c o m e a s y o u a r e

pray, pray, pray!

offer up a one time year-end gift of $ .00

partner with us by offering up an on-going monthly gift of $ .00

Please write checks to “Hillside Church”

You can also give online through:

Our website thehillsidechurch.com under “give”

PayPal at “giving@thehillsidechurch”

Online “bill pay” programs for an automatic mailing are available through individual banks, as well, and they mail it for you for free!

Please send all gifts to: The Hillside Church, 6302 152nd Street NE, Marysville, WA 98271

All gifts and offerings are 100% tax deductible. Thanks so much for supporting us!

We have found a wonderful niche in the Marysville community. Even other churches in our area have applauded us for the work we are doing here. Our niche is that Hillside has become a home for many individuals and families that have been hesitant to return to church after their childhood or adult experiences. We are re-teaching people that church can be safe, non-judgmental and even FUN! And that a relationship with a loving God is possible and can be life-giving. Our demographic is varied from 20 somethings to retirees. It is a wonderful picture of the family of God. We have loving and generous people. We are slowly teaching the concept of tithing and what it looks like to be a self-supporting church. We are getting closer each day. Many individuals and families are giving sacrificially. But we still need outside support to carry us from a young church to a thriving, self-supporting church.

Our leadership.Having first felt called to ministry in my junior year in high school, I have been taken under the wing of some great mentors in

ministry through the rest of high school, college and through my twelve years as a youth pastor. I was blessed to marry Kim, who not only supports ministry but makes

it her priority, as well. We have four awesome kids (now aged 14, 12, 10 and almost 8) who add a lot of action to our

lives. All four of them have been a part of our ministry lives since birth, and all of them are excited to be in the Northwest,

close to Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and Cousins.

WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER

Through my career so far, my favorite part of youth ministry was talking with people

who were learning and growing and asking all of the tough questions. Though I thought I would be a youth pastor my whole life,

God called us in the surprising direction of Church Planting. The desire to create a new kind of church for growing and questioning

people in the NorthWest started as a spark and turned into a flame that we could not ignore. In 2009, Kim and I left secure jobs in the Phoenix area to follow

this call and move back to the Northwest where we knew we needed to be. We look back and realize that all of these years of

youth ministry have prepared us to be around people and families who want to ask the big questions about faith in light of

difficult circumstances and grow deeper together.

The church that we are planting is a church full of fun and excitement; a place where

people don't have to be fake or pretend to be something that they aren't. Join us and you will quickly find that the people we are

when we stand in front of the church are the same people we are when we hang out in our living room in the evening.

MIKE

MIKE CERTAINLY LEADS US SPIRITUALLY. HE BRINGS

RELEVANT MESSAGES EACH WEEK THAT ARE EASY TO RELATE TO AS A NEW OR YOUNG BELIEVER, BUT

OFFERS DEPTH TO CHALLENGE EVEN THE MOST SEASONED

BELIEVER. LISTEN IN ONLINE TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON CURRENT

MESSAGES.

KIM

KIM IS OUR CONNECTIONS PASTOR AND SHE DOES JUST

THAT - CONNECTS PEOPLE AND THINGS TO EACH OTHER.

WHETHER IT’S FINDING A FAMILY A HOME, A MEAL, OR A FRIEND, KIM MAKES THE CONNECTION.

NEWCOMERS SENSE HER WARMTH IMMEDIATELY AND HER

COUNSELING PRACTICE HAS ASSISTED MANY, AS WELL.

BRANDON

BRANDON BRINGS OUR WORSHIP TO LIFE. IT IS ALWAYS RELEVANT

AND INSPIRED. HE HAS A GIFT CONNECTING OUR CHURCH FAMILY TO THE MESSAGE

THROUGH MUSIC. HE HAS ALSO BECOME OUR “WEB GUY” OUR “YOUTH GUY” AND THE ALL

AROUND “WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NEXT? GUY.”