News | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Dear our next potential music leader,

Nine years ago, as we set out to plant Downtown Cornerstone (DCC), we did not have a music leader. In fact, we didn’t have anything. So, I wrote an open letter in hopes of discovering someone gifted, and gutsy, enough to be part of planting a new gospel-preaching, Jesus-treasuring, bible-teaching, people-loving church in the heart of downtown Seattle. By God’s grace, we found him. He and his family have been faithfully at the plow ever since, but he is now in a season of healthy transition.

That’s where you come in.

DCC is now eight and a half years old and we need a music leader/pastor yesterday. The Lord has been kind to us over these years. We are now a thriving, diverse, dynamic, church planting church located in the Belltown neighborhood. Upwards of 700 people, from every corner of the city, gather with us each Sunday in a former nightclub. The Lord is forging us into a joy-filled, mission-minded, disciple-making, prayer-dependent, truth-seeking people. But, there is still much work to be done.

I know you’re probably looking for a church in a city that sees the sun periodically and has a winning baseball team. Why would you want that? I don’t know.

Seattle has the great outdoors in our backyard. We have the Puget Sound, Olympic National Park, and Mt. Rainier. We have Vivace coffee and Top Pot Donuts. When it rains, it pours. When the sun is out (both days) there are few places that are more beautiful. We have Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing, Facebook, Google and the University of Washington. We have the Seahawks, Sounders, and Huskies. We’re among the most educated, literate, and over-priced cities in the U.S. We have great homegrown music. We recycle. We like baby seals. The people of Seattle are very tolerant—provided you agree with them.

We also have a tremendous amount of brokenness. We have prostitutes who were once little girls with the wrong kind of men in their lives. We have immature grown men who were once little boys with the right kind of men absent from their lives. We have a large gay population that have made Seattle home because they’re running from the Church. We have proud and self-righteous business people who make a living downtown and then safely retreat to the comfort and security of suburbia. We have proud and self-righteous homeless people who attempt to make a living downtown and then safely retreat to the comfort and security of their tents. Seattleites tend to think progressive politics will usher in the new heavens and new earth. This is probably why we’re among the least-church, and most post-Christian, cities in the country.

We are also one of the few churches in the downtown corridor that remain orthodox. The last great decade for church planting in Seattle was in the 1880’s, though we currently seem to be experiencing a bit of a resurgence.

Fact: California has nicer weather, winning sports teams, and surfing.
Fact: People will actually sing along with you if you plant in Texas.
Fact: The cost of living will be lower anywhere other than Seattle.
Fact: Life and ministry is difficult in an urban context.
Fact: You will be called to do hard things.

You must know what it means to lead worship through song, plan gospel-rich gatherings, develop bands, and lead teams for the glory of God. In other words, we are not merely looking for a guitar player or talented musician. We are looking for a man who can lead an urban congregation in worshipful song to their God week after week. We’re looking for a man who knows how to use music as a gospel witness to non-Christians who join us on any given week. We’re looking for a man who gets Seattle music. We’re looking for a godly, responsible, masculine, gifted leader who understands the gospel, enjoys God, and loves people.

We will pay you enough to live in Seattle, though not enough to rob you of your treasure in heaven. I commit to personally taking an interest in you and discipling you. We will leverage whatever resources we have at our disposal to get you out here and settled. I will pray for you regularly. I will seek to develop your current strengths and cultivate new ones. I will spend time with you, welcome you into our community, and support you.

We are looking to get you out here soon. If you are looking for something hard, but fulfilling, consider joining us in downtown Seattle.

Call me,
Pastor Adam

P.S. You can find the job description here.

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. Each update highlights one of our focus areas and current prayer requests across all of our focus areas.

Gospel Framework

The Bible, as God’s inspired word, 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. 

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be bless in his doing.” (James 1:22-25)

God’s Word instructs every aspect of our lives so that we may more fully glorify him and enjoy him forever. Here, in his letter to the early Christians, James is calling us beyond mental assent or cultural acceptance, inviting us to a life that displays the truths of God’s Word. He goes on to connect this with the call to “visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27b). Here, we see that the call to be doers of the Word envelopes our whole lives, both in our hearts and minds, and in how we love and serve others. We do not have to prove ourselves or earn our salvation through works because we have been made his children through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. And because of Christ’s work on our behalf, we can live and serve others joyously and generously for their good and God’s glory.

Mercy Focus Highlight: Mercy Ministry Training

Scripture is full of imperatives for us to serve others – not to earn God’s love, but in response to God’s lavish and gracious love for us. But how exactly are we to go about serving those around us in our city?

This year we are hosting a Mercy Ministry Training on various topics every quarter. We had our first one last Sunday with a great turnout of folks who were eager to learn more about engaging with our city in terms of mercy. Please save the date for the next one–Sunday, February 9th at 11 am. More details will be posted on our Mercy Ministries website.

Partner Prayer Requests

Please join us in praying for the people impacted and involved in each of these focus areas.

Homelessness and UGM

• Pray for the homeless that they will be kept from physical and emotional harm and that they might find hope in Christ through UGM’s outreach and recovery programs.
• Pray for us to be welcoming and loving people to all of our neighbors as God’s image-bearers.

Foster Care & Adoption

• November is National Adoption Awareness Month. Pray that God would continue to draw families to foster care and adoption, that the church would live out God’s concern for vulnerable children.
• Pray for families to be equipped to care for the children they’ve adopted long term with all the various issues and trials that will come.

Refugees

• Pray that as the nations come to us, that we as the local church would make the most of every opportunity to make Jesus’s name known and great among them, so that they may be glad and rejoice in the good news of the Kingdom (Psalm 67:3-4).
• Pray for our brothers and sisters that are being persecuted around the world for their faith in Christ. Pray specifically for countries such as North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan.

Juvenile Detention

• Pray for the youth currently in detention, that they would not be defined by their incarceration status but find their identity as a child of God.
• Pray for godly volunteers willing to serve as mentors, pointing youth to Christ.

Life Project

• Pray for a full-time nurse for the CareNet mobile unit, so they can expand into downtown Seattle. Ultimately, Care Net is in need of more staff nurses, ministry wide.
• Pray for those who have chosen abortion(s) and are now understanding their ongoing trauma and feelings of shame. Pray specifically for those seeking care/recovery from Care Net and that the staff/volunteers can help these women process through their choice of abortion, hopefully leading them to Christ. Praise that some of these women seeking care are also now choosing life for their current pregnancies.

Stay Connected

Join the focus area city groups in order to hear more regular updates, events, and opportunities to serve.

• Mercy Focus: Foster Care & Adoption
• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Juvenile Detention
• Mercy Focus: The LIFE project
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

Discipleship, Event | by Pastor Justin Keogh

Men of DCC,

In just over two weeks, on Saturday, October 19th will be our 2019 Men’s Training Day, from 9a-3p at DCC’s building. Think of this single-day event as a “mini-man-camp,” but without the drive! We’ll be gathering for instruction from God’s Word on what it means to cultivate a fruitful life in Christ. We’ll also be hearing testimonies of God’s work among us, with space for personal reflection and group discussion.

Over the years, I’ve found these events to be deeply encouraging – and I know many others have as well. I’d encourage you to make it a priority to attend, as an investment in your relationship with Jesus as well as an opportunity to build relationships within our body. It is our prayerful aim to gather with 200 men!

What will we be doing?

Anchored in Jesus’ parable of the soils (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23), we’ll consider what it means to bear fruit through receiving the Word. We’ll look at those things, internally and externally, that threaten to choke out our faith, and how to combat them. The goals of the day are to instruct and equip through the Word and to build relationships across our church body.

What if I have plans?

Consider changing them and making this an intentional investment in your faith. We only host these training events every nine months, so there are limited opportunities to grow in this unique way. You can bring others too! You don’t have to be a member to attend; you’ve just got to be a dude. (Don’t worry, ladies, there will be a Women’s Training Day in February!)

What if I don’t know anyone?

Don’t worry – you won’t be the only one! This event is a great way to meet other men in our body. Events like these are like relational Insta-pots: you can grow in your relationships more through a single day like this together than over many months of short meet-and-greet conversations.

Why a single day event?

Our goal is to remove many of the barriers that exist with a full weekend retreat – a much shorter drive (and no ferries!), easier family logistics, lower cost – while keeping much of the same rich biblical content, time with brothers in worship and discussion, and practical equipping.

What does the $25 cost include?

We’ll provide a light breakfast, coffee throughout the day, a box lunch, the materials for the day, parking, and a book. If the cost is a financial hardship – just let us know in the registration, as there are scholarships available!

With all of that, here are the event details:

WHEN: Saturday, October 19th
WHERE: DCC’s Building – 2333 Western Ave, 98121
TIME: Doors open for registration and light refreshments at 8a, the event starts at 9a and will go until 3p.
PARKING: Free parking is available in both lots next to the building for this event. Validation will be available at the Bell Harbor Garage (located at 2323 Elliott Avenue) if both parking lots are full.
LUNCH: Box lunch included with registration.

Click here to register.

I am looking forward to gathering with you on the 19th!

Pastor Justin