Mercy Ministries, Mercy Update | by Pastor Justin Keogh

The Mercy Ministry Updates are a regular snapshot of our Mercy Ministries in DCC, where we are working to serve and uphold the value and dignity of God’s most vulnerable image-bearers in our city.

GOSPEL FRAMEWORK
As God’s inspired Word, the Bible displays God’s good design and our radical need for a savior, found only in Jesus, and calls us to live out our new identity in Christ as we engage the world around us.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

Psalm 146:5-9

In Psalm 146, and throughout Scripture, we see God’s care for his people on the margins of society – the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoners, the blind, the sojourners, the widows, and the fatherless. While neglected and cast aside by society, God affirms their dignity and value by attending to their needs. This is a picture of our own condition: we are blind, slaves to our sinful nature, alienated from God, without help or hope, and spiritually dead apart from God’s gracious intervention in Christ (John 9; Rom 5:6-11, 6:15-23; Eph. 2:1-12). God’s caring heart is meant to be the example we follow, as we “go and do likewise” for others in their physical and spiritual needs (Luke 10:25-37).

It is this love and grace bestowed on us in Christ that animates our service toward others through our Mercy Ministries. These ministries serve those on the margins of our city, seeking to declare and demonstrate this good news. We do this through various partnerships, events, and Mercy Focus Areas – which provide a multitude of opportunities to do good to our neighbors in need. Read more below about our current focus areas and upcoming events to find out how you can join us in serving this season.

REFUGEES
Through our partnership with World Relief of Western Washington, we’re hoping to launch a “Good Neighbor Team” to care for a newly arriving family in the new year. Join us for an info session on Sunday, November 24 at 9am to learn more! Register here.

BLOOD DONATION DRIVE
We’re hosting our next blood donation drive with Bloodworks Northwest on Wednesday, December 4, between 9am-3pm. Blood donations are a simple, safe, and life-saving way to tangibly bless our neighbors. Donations are used for treating patients with trauma, cancer, or other serious conditions. Sign up to donate here.

HOMELESSNESS
As a church downtown with many homeless neighbors, we’ve partnered with Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission to address the great need in our city. It can be overwhelming at times to know how we can help, so we’re hosting UGM for a training on engaging homelessness on Sunday, December 8, at 12p following the gathering (lunch will be provided). Register here.

FAMILY ADVOCACY MINISTRY
We’ve combined our Life and Foster Care and Adoption focus areas into one Family Advocacy Ministry. We are working with youth in foster care this season by helping with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families’ (DCYF) Christmas gift giveaway. We’ll be sorting gifts on Saturday afternoon, December 14. Register here.

STAY CONNECTED
These events are just a snapshot of the ways in which we serve throughout the year. You can learn more through our Mercy Ministries webpage, and consider joining our ongoing focus area groups in Church Center to hear more regular updates, events, and opportunities to serve:

• Mercy Focus: Family Advocacy
• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Justin

Missions | by Pastor Justin Keogh

Downtown Cornerstone,

As part of Jesus’ church, we are a family of disciples on mission here in Seattle and to the ends of the earth. Jesus instructed his disciples (and us!) about their mission in Acts 1:8:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

We meet quarterly to discuss our mission opportunities, pray, and encourage one another in sharing the gospel both locally and globally, especially among the thousands of unreached people groups.

Last Sunday, Pastor Marco led our Global Missions meetup where we watched a missions video from Radius International, a partner organization that equips cross-cultural missionaries to establish healthy, indigenous, reproducing churches among unreached language groups.

Pastor Marco followed the video of Mark Dever and Brooks Buser from Radius with a discussion of the importance of planting healthy churches as the primary vehicle for spreading the gospel. That time followed with prayer for our current mission partners.

If you are curious about how our church engages in the great commission, if you’re considering whether the Lord is calling you to global missions, or you just want to learn more, we invite you to join us for future Global Missions Meetups.

Let’s be encouraged by the Lord’s work in us and through the mission field, and let’s continue proclaiming His greatness in our neighborhoods and to the nations. Read more below about our ongoing partnerships.

For the King and His Kingdom,
Pastor Justin

ACTS 29
Our church is a part of the Acts 29 church planting network, which provides a great structure and vetting to help us support a variety of church planting and pastoral training efforts around the world.

In addition to our Acts 29 partnership, we are also supporting the following individual churches/planters:

• Radiant Church Matsu Valley | Palmer, AK | Caleb Richardson
• Sufficient Grace Church | Puyallup, WA | Noah Winningham
• Soma Fuchu | Tokyo, Japan | Yoshito Noguchi
• Antalya Protestant Church / Reach Turkey | Antalya, Turkey | Kerem Koç
• Restore Brazil | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Jay Bauman

ACME
Our church also partners with ACME, a fellowship of like-minded churches that pools finances and provides grants to plant and revitalize churches, support international missionaries, and carry out other gospel ministry. See the list of ACME Member Churches across the country and the grants that have been provided through these churches this year.

DCC GLOBAL PARTNERS
We also equip and support our own members as our Global Partners in taking the gospel to the nations. Due to security reasons, we are unable to publicly list them here. However, if you are interested in learning more about our current Global Partners serving in Southeast Asia, or another currently in training at Radius International, email us at .

LEARN MORE AND GET INVOLVED
Have you considered how you can work towards the advance of the gospel, for the glory of God and the joy of all people? Here are a few ways to get involved:

• Pray: Start here. Pray for our individual and corporate mission, as well as our partners. Pray for the Lord to lead us in going and sending. Pray for eyes to see those in need around you now, and ask the Lord to empower your evangelism.
• Join our regular Global Missions Meetups: Our next meetup will be this Sunday, October 20, at 12 pm. Register here.
• Bring the Gospel to the Nations: We’ve developed a Global Missions Development Pipeline to help provide practical pathways and training for engagement in missions. Either by going or by sending, you can begin taking the next steps here.

Event | by Pastor Luke Davis

Greetings DCC Family,

It was soul-nourishing to gather with you on Sunday to exalt our risen Lord and receive ongoing renewal through worship. During the gathering, I shared a spotlight about a new class we are offering, “What Should We Do?” Helping Parents and Kids Assess Living Faith. This note will further describe what the class is, why some of you should attend, and why I am asking all of you to pray with me.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

The proclamation of the gospel demands a response. What should we do with the news that God’s Son has become the way to find forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with our Creator? Peter and the rest of the apostles began answering that question in Jerusalem and throughout the New Testament.

On the first Pentecost following Jesus’ ascent to the right hand of his Father, the Spirit descended upon a gathering in Jerusalem and the apostle Peter stood up to deliver a sermon for the ages. He declared the surprising good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As the people heard this,

“they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins'” (Acts 2:37-38).

THE QUESTIONS CONTINUE

With each generation, parents and children continue to ask questions similar to those listening to Peter at that first Pentecost.

Parents have wondered:

• “How do I share the gospel with my child?”
• “How do I know if my child is saved?”
• “What would it look like for my child’s faith to become his/her own?”
• “How do I respond to my child when they say they’d like to be baptized?”

And kids have asked:

• “What’s the difference between knowing what the gospel is and trusting Jesus?”
• “I’ve seen baptisms, but what would it take for me to get from this seat to that water?”
• “Should I take the Lord’s Supper when I see just about everyone else taking it?”

CLASS DETAILS

This class is designed to help parents, teenagers, and older kids answer these questions and more. We will show how the gospel, baptism, the Lord’s supper, and membership in the local church all hang together. Participants will be equipped with scriptural teaching and practical steps for moving forward from wherever they’re at.

When: Sundays @ 9:00-9:45 AM | October 13th – 27th
Instructor: Pastor Luke Davis
Location: MPR
Who Should Attend: The class is primarily designed for parents of children of any age and teenagers or older kids eager to learn more about following Jesus. Secondarily, this class would also be beneficial for people who influence parents or students (community leaders, youth leaders, grandparents, etc).

Register Here

PRAY

91 children gathered with DCC last Sunday. Some of those children are Christians, but many are lost in their sin. Some have parents who are well-equipped to share Christ with them. Others have parents with more questions than answers. We need more than just a class. We need the Holy Spirit to work.

Therefore, please pray with me for:

• Repentance of sin and faith in Jesus among our children.
• Parental growth in love, wisdom, and discernment as it pertains to the spiritual welfare of their children.
• Generational resilience in carrying out our disciple-making mission as a local church until Jesus’ return.

May our rescuing and renewing Lord bless you with persevering faith in his rock-steady promises this week.

In Christ,
Pastor Luke

Uncategorized | by Pastor Justin Keogh

Downtown Cornerstone,

As we head into the fall, it can be easy for us to get caught up in the excitement and busyness of the season and miss out on the mega-realities we’re living in as ambassadors of Christ’s kingdom here on earth, commissioned to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Discipleship – doing spiritual good to others, that they might grow more in Christ’s image – is at the heart of the Christian life, and grounds all that we do as a church.

Our prayer is that everyone in DCC would be relationally connected and intentionally growing, and there are many ways to do that this fall!

BIBLE STUDY

Our Midweek Bible Study takes place on Wednesdays, 7–8 pm, in the MPR downstairs. We’ll begin our study of 1 Peter on 10/16. This inductive Bible study is led by DCC pastors, who help us look at a passage of Scripture and learn what it says, what it means, and apply it to our personal lives together. Whether you’re still getting acquainted with the Bible or you’ve been reading it for years, this is a great way to grow in the application of God’s Word and is a great way to meet and connect with others in our body.
Learn More

FOUNDATIONS

If you’ve not yet taken our Foundations class, start here to learn the essentials of who we are as a local church, discuss what we believe, and talk about church membership, while building relationships and community together. This class is the primary relational on-ramp into the life of our body and perfect for those looking to join community and/or be baptized. Our next session starts on October 27th, running 5 weeks on Sundays at 12pm after the gathering.
Register Here

CORNERSTONE COMMUNITIES

Our Cornerstone Communities meet in the neighborhoods around Seattle throughout the week to open the Word, pray, and share life together. If you’ve already taken Foundations but have yet to get connected to a community, we’d invite you to do so now in this season! Find our current communities and get connected here:
Join a Community

MEN’S DISCIPLESHIP NIGHTS

Our quarterly Men’s Discipleship Nights (Fridays – Oct 25, Jan 24th, June 20th) are times to pull together as God’s men to hear from God’s Word and connect with each other. Our first event is just around the corner, in three weeks, on Friday, October 25th, at 6:30pm (dinner provided). We’re planning to share testimonies from men in our body and have an extended elder Q&A (submit and vote on questions when you register).
Men’s Registration

WOMEN’S DISCIPLESHIP BRUNCHES

Our Quarterly Women’s Discipleship Brunches this year (Saturdays – Nov 16th, Mar 15th, May 31st) will be studying the minor prophets, our first brunch focusing on Joel. You’ll hear from gifted women in our body through Scriptural exposition, testimony, and table discussion. We invite you to read the minor prophets ahead of our events, individually or in discipleship groups, with this minor prophets reading plan to help your study (printed copies are available at the connect desk). Registration is open for November 16:
Women’s Registration

Lastly, I encourage you to stay connected with us by installing the Church Center App, where we post important church-wide updates and notifications.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out at . I am praying that this season will be one of growth in your knowledge, love, and trust of the Lord!

Blessings,
Justin