Fueling Our Mission, While Finishing the Building

Onward Building Campaign | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Downtown Cornerstone,

I hope this finds you on the cusp of a restful and life-giving Thanksgiving weekend. We have much to be thankful for, in Jesus. “I thank God…as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day” (2 Tim. 1:3).

The purpose of this brief pre-holiday note is to ensure we are all up-to-speed on the next phase of our plan to fuel the mission of our church, while simultaneously funding our future building, which we announced this past Sunday.

If you’re unfamiliar with our new building, you can learn more about it here.

Jesus has been incredibly faithful to us. Over the last eleven months, we have raised $2.5 million to prepare our future building as a gospel outpost for, Lord willing, generations to come. Thank you to all who have generously given to this work. Our progress is incredible, especially amidst a once-a-century pandemic marked by social distancing, lock-downs, inflation, and ample uncertainty.

Of course, at the same time, we need to fuel our ongoing mission through our general giving. The everyday work of making disciples, gathering for worship, spreading the gospel, developing leaders, meeting needs, equipping the saints, hosting training events, and counseling doesn’t stop for anything, let alone a building project.

This dual dynamic—holding a building campaign while keeping up general giving—is a challenge for every church that I know of, including our own. We’re currently behind on both accounts.

Therefore, as of December 1st, we’re going to simplify our strategy by directing all financial gifts to our main DCC giving channel. So, whether you wish to fuel our present mission (via our general fund) or help fulfill our future mission (via our building), we will direct you to a single “DCC Giving” fund.

The reason for this is to ensure our current everyday budgetary needs are met. Then, any giving over these needs will be put toward the building. For example, if we raise an additional $150,000 beyond our budgeted needs in December, that will be put toward our building. If we raise an additional $50,000 beyond our budgeted needs in January, that too will be put toward our building. And so on.

Put simply, this means ALL of our giving will now go towards supporting BOTH needs at the same time. So, we won’t have to decide where to direct our giving, because all of it will, in effect, now be going toward both. Again, this will take effect December 1st.

“What if I still want to designate a gift toward the building?”

You have until Tuesday, November 30th, to do so—which providentially happens to be Giving Tuesday! After that point, please reach out to us directly at . Again, our goal is to meet our everyday disciple-making needs, so our preference is for individuals to give via our main DCC giving channel, but we understand (and anticipate) exceptions to this.

“What if I still have a giving pledge to fulfill?”

No problem! You can continue to fulfill the remainder of your pledge via a separate giving link that will be emailed to you by December 1st.

“Why are we doing this?"

Per above, by God’s grace, we’ve raised $2.5 million to help cover constructions costs for our new building. This is tremendous, even though we’re short of our overall target. We can get the construction started with that in place. Therefore, it is a fitting time to shift into phase two to ensure our everyday mission is adequately fueled (i.e. general fund).

“How much do we have left to raise for construction?”

We are seeking to raise an additional $1 million (mainly due to inflated costs over the past year).

“Is this even possible?”

With God on our side, all things are possible (Mt. 19:26; Mk. 9:23).

“When do we hope to get into our building?”

Our hope is to get in by next Christmas ‘22, perhaps earlier. Let’s pray!

“Is it rare for a center city church to have its own building?”

Extremely rare, especially in Seattle, and a sure sign of Jesus’ kindness toward us.

“How can I give?”

You can learn more here.

May the God of heaven continue to give us hope, peace, and joy, especially amidst these divided times, and allow the kingdom of his Son to be powerfully advanced in our hearts, and for his unsearchable riches to not be hidden from our eyes. Yes, Lord! He is able.

Warmly yours, in Christ alone.
Adam

Eight Encouragements To College Students

Discipleship, Uncategorized | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

College is a life-defining season. It was for me. I met Jesus and my wife at the UW and my life has not been the same since. So, maybe you're a student who is on your way into another school year and you’re wondering how to keep Jesus at the center of your studies. How might you navigate those crucial years so that you graduate as a Jesus-exalting, Bible-saturated, missions-minded, people-lover? If that’s your aim—and I hope it is—I offer the following eight encouragements to you as the school year begins:

#1 Put God first, in all things.

Regularly remind yourself that you are not first a student, but Jesus’ own. You belong to God. You will not always be a student, but you will always be His. So, pursue Him with vigor. Prioritize daily plundering of His Word for wonders and pouring out your heart in prayer. Prioritize embedding your life with His people (more on this below), even if they are not fellow students. Build your schedule around Him, rather than fitting Him into your schedule. Offer your studies to Him as an act of worship. Don’t push pause on Jesus. Seek Him first and everything else will fall into place (Matt. 6:33).

#2 Love others well.

Love others as you love yourself (Mk. 12:31). There is not a season of life that makes other-centeredness easy, but the college years are a unique challenge. After all, you’re preparing for your future vocation, you’re on the lookout for your future spouse, and there is a healthy concern for the trajectory of your life. While all those are natural, they can make us unduly focused on ourselves. So, be on the lookout for how you might be able to help, encourage, and build up others. Look for opportunities to serve.

#3 Love the Word.

Don’t neglect God’s Word, instead prioritize it. That’s not easy because there will be many other books vying for your attention, but the voice you need to hear most on a daily basis is God’s and that happens through His Word. Remember the Bible is not something you merely look at, but something you look through to true truth and real reality. This book, unlike any other, will be with you for your entire life. So, when you sit down to do your homework, along with your stack of class books, put your Bible on top and start there.

#4 Beware of worldliness.

Worldliness is an over-desire for the things of the world that is rooted in the subtle, but spiritually dangerous lie, that true life, satisfaction, and joy are found in the world and not in God (1 Jn. 2:15-17). This is a particularly strong lie in college. The world is before you. You’re young and on your own. Opportunities abound. A career is around the corner and financial independence along with it. These are all great gifts! However, they make terrible gods and often choke our spiritual life when left untended (Mk. 4:18-19). Enjoy the gifts of the world while remembering they come from the lavish Giver (James 1:17).

#5 Read the best books.

I know you’ll be reading a lot and the idea of reading more may be unattractive. But, not all reading is equal. Supplement your studies with life-giving reading. Find out who the best authors are and read them. Discover the time-tested classics. Read J.I. Packer’s Knowing God or Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, D. A. Carson’s Praying with Paul, and Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. Read Elisabeth Elliott’s Suffering is Never for Nothing, Rebekah McLaughlin’s Confronting Christianity, or R.C. Sproul’s Holiness of God. More recently, read Surviving Religion 101 by Michael Kruger written to students navigating secular campus life. Above all (my favorite) read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (especially part I, the story of Christian). Weave 15-minute reading sessions into your daily devotions or marathon homework sessions. Your heart will thank you.

#6 Find a solid local church and campus ministry.

If I could do college over again I would make one change. I would become intentionally involved in a specific local church. I did the college thing, floating around from church to church but making nowhere home. I didn’t understand the importance of the local church in my life or in God’s unfolding purposes. You need a church home where you can be a member, get involved, be fed the Scriptures, and be in relationship with others who are in different life stages. Just be sure that the church preaches the gospel, teaches the Bible, and keeps Jesus central. I also recommend finding a good campus ministry. This won’t replace the local church, but supplement it. If you do these two things, they will be a huge means of grace in your life, and you will be miles ahead in maturity by the time you graduate.

#7 Beware of unbelief disguised as plausible excuses.

There are legitimate reasons we won’t be able to make it to every church gathering or campus ministry event. But, there are also illegitimate reasons. Beware of putting Jesus—and your soul—on the shelf, thinking, “I’ll come back to Jesus, the church, my faith, when ________.” (insert: “I have more time”, “this season dies down”, “this project gets done”, “this internship is over”, etc.) In 25 years of following Jesus, rarely have I seen people who say such things do so. In many ways, the convictions and priorities you set in your college years, will become the convictions and priorities of the rest of your life. So, beware of unbelief disguised as plausible excuses.

#8 Trust Him in all things.

You have one life to live. There is a sense in college that you’re not quite living yet, after all, you haven’t graduated. But, when you do graduate, then you’ll be living. That’s not true. How you live your life today, and amidst your college years, is how you live your life. Trust Him with it. You will face many questions in college: “Will I get into that program? Will I meet my spouse? What will happen if it all goes wrong? If I prioritize Jesus, will he really come through?” Yes, he will—always—though often not as we would anticipate. Take Him at His Word, even when it doesn’t make sense in the moment. One day it will, and you will thank Him for it. Trust Him in all things.

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam