Discipleship, City Life, Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Over the last two Sundays (1/15 & 1/22) we spent time considering Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13-16, where he uses the images of salt and light to describe how his people are to influence the world together. Jesus’ point is that genuine faith in him is never purely private, but shapes and informs every part of our lives, from the inside out, in ways big and small. We all have a role in this. Together we are meant to serve as a living, dynamic, salty city, within our city, as a beacon of hope and help. This post is intended to follow-up on some of the themes that emerged over the last two weeks. This is particularly aimed at those of you who are new to DCC or have not yet connected to the life of our church.

How do we serve as a salty city set on a hill?

There are five main means by which we aim to be salt and light in our city. If you have additional questions, be sure to check our Fifth Year Prospectus in which we lay out who we are, what we believe, what we want to be known for, and more. I also recommend taking a moment to watch our Five Year Birthday video. Lastly, if you want to learn on-the-go you can download our app in which you can access sermons, blog posts, event information, and more.

#1 Making disciples

The biggest need for every person in our city is to be forgiven and brought into a vital relationship with the living God, in Jesus. That happens as the good news of Jesus is shared by us with not-yet-believers whom God has sovereignly placed around us. Practically, this means that we must continue to grow as a grace-saturated evangelistic people. However, the goal is not merely to know Jesus but to grow in him. (See Colossians 1:28-29) Taking these together, we define discipleship as the process of knowing and growing in Jesus. You might ask, “So, how do I grow with DCC?”

Sunday gatherings
Membership. (Learn more about our next class on 2/10-11)
Community
Discipleship Groups
Special Trainings

#2 Multiplying communities

We gather as a church on Sunday and then scatter throughout the week into smaller communities, which we call Cornerstone Communities. The best way to meet people and build real friendships in Downtown Cornerstone is to join a Cornerstone Community. Regular, life-on-life, relationships with other followers of Jesus around the Bible and prayer is crucial to our ongoing growth. Forming smaller communities around the city helps us to learn how to be family together, how to love others who are different than us, and how to mentor others and be mentored by others. It is a tremendous gift to live life with others who are seeking to follow Jesus with you. We know that not everyone will be able to participate in every season, as each life-stage is filled with its own unique challenges, but we encourage you to give it a shot. We currently have 19 communities with a great need for more. To request more information about our communities, email us at .

#3 Engaging culture

There is no sacred-secular divide. This is God’s world – all of it. As Abraham Kuyper once famously noted, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” We agree. This means that Jesus’ people need to prayerfully and thoughtfully consider how to engage the culture in ways that highlight this reality. We need to ask, “How does the unchanging gospel speak to the ever-changing culture?” An important aspect to this is equipping Jesus’ people in the integration of faith at work, within the creative arts, and the civic realm. This is an area that we still have quite a bit of work to do. Let us know if you’re interested.

#4 Sacrificially serving

We want to build a great city, not just a great church, through justice, mercy, and relevant partnerships. We aim to be a people who faithfully declare the gospel and display its implications in our context. Jesus said that he “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) In other words, we serve because we have been served by him. His perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross, for us, should increasingly shape us as a sacrificial, servant-hearted people. As such, Jesus is both our model and motivation for service. This service can happen informally as we serve a neighbor changing a flat tire, or serving with the church, or serving through city-partnerships. You can learn more about opportunities to serve within DCC here. We’ll be rolling out more information about city-level involvement in the year ahead.

#5 Planting churches

We believe one of primary ways that the gospel spreads, and God’s kingdom advances, is through the planting of gospel-centered, Jesus-loving, Bible-teaching churches. We want everyone in our city, and the cities of the world, to know the incomparable news of Jesus. So, from beginning our goal was not just to plant this church, but through this church, plant many churches. To that end, we invest 10% of all giving received into church planting efforts. Together we have given literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to the planting of churches around the world. Second, we just hired our first, of what we hope is many, church planting resident whom we aim to invest in over a period of time and then send out to plant. Lastly, we also view ourselves as a teaching hospital. I previously wrote more about this here. If we’re going to be intentional about raising up pastors and church planters, we must be intentional about giving qualified men opportunities to preach.

We are just getting started

All that said we are on the verge of turning six years old in April. We are literally just getting started. There is so much left to be done. There are so many opportunities to serve. There are so many people that have never heard, let alone understood, the gospel. There are so many people in need of personal discipleship, counseling, and community. There are classes to be taught, ministries to be built, and leaders to be developed. The great news is that this is our work. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:7 that each one of Jesus’ people are gifted by the Spirit “for the common good”. That means God intends for us to do this together. None of us can (or should) do everything, but all of us can do something.

Will you join us?

Is Jesus calling you to get involved? Whether you’re an empty-nester, or a stay-at-home mom, or a college student, or a CEO, or a temporary Seattlite I want to invite you to get meaningfully connected to the life of DCC. Friends, there is something at stake in our lives. Who knows what God may do in and through us, as we partner together in this city, in our generation. Let’s pray that he makes us a salty city on a hill, for his glory, and the good of as many people as possible.

Until the world knows,
Pastor Adam

Advent Drive, City Life, Foster Care, Service | by Deacon Jen Keogh

“But you, God see the trouble of the afflicted. You consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.” – Psalm 10:14

God sees our troubles and meets our needs. The Foster Care Drive provided tangible evidence of this simple yet profound truth. With over 375 items donated, including a cornucopia of T-rex hoodies, sparkly shirts, and cozy pjs, God’s love and provision for those in need was majestically on display.

As a potential mother of a foster care child who may one day enter my home, I was reminded that the many donations do not serve abstract children, but actual image-bearers. I praise God for the ways He’s used our church body to support and bless DSHS and the children in foster care!

Here are some of the responses we received from the coordinators we partnered with:

“I would like to thank you for all that you did for children in care, foster families, and social workers in 2016. I am so amazed at all the labor and love you have poured into the community. You have provided hope in the lives of those who may feel there is no hope left.”
– Jessica Hatch, Social and Heath Program Consultant at DSHS: Children’s Administration

“Thank you so much for your FAITHFUL, GENEROUS giving this Christmas season, [and for] your church’s involvement and dedication to these marginalized children and their hard-working foster parents and social workers!”
– Mandy Nell, Foster Care Specialist with Church Engagement at Seattle Union Gospel Mission

Clothing donations were dropped off at King West DSHS office and will be distributed to other DSHS offices in King County including DSHS – Delridge and DSHS – MLK. Adult clothing donations were provided to Parents for Parents, an organization that assists parents whose children have entered the system by providing training and resources. You can see the generosity of our church-wide collection evidenced in photos above (and that was just the second trip!).

GET INVOLVED

If you are interested in learning more about foster and adoptive care in the State of Washington, or want to get involved through donating or volunteering, please feel free to contact me. I love sharing about these wonderful kiddos! Thank you on behalf all of the kids who will sleep, run, and thrive in the clothing you’ve donated.

“He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing.” – Deuteronomy 10:18

To God be the glory,

Jen Keogh

You can get connected to Jen to learn more about foster and adoptive care in the State of Washington by emailing .

Event | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

When Christmas falls on a Sunday

This year Christmas falls on a Sunday. The next year that will happen is 2022, then 2033. For many churches, the question becomes, “What will we do?” Should we cancel our Sunday gatherings or keep them? Or, should we hold Christmas Eve gatherings on Saturday in addition to Sunday? Or, should we just have Christmas Eve in lieu of Sunday? Or, maybe we should compromise and have a Christmas Eve midnight gathering? There are a lot of options.

Christmas complexities

The factors underlying this discussion are many. First, is the issue of volunteers. It takes volunteers to brew coffee, put out signs, greet and usher, play in the band, run productions, and disciple the youngest kids. Without sufficient volunteers it is impossible to host. Second, and relatedly, is the issue of attendance. Who will actually be in town? For those who are around, when will they be available amidst the many holiday happenings? After all, it doesn’t help to gather if there is no one to gather with. Third, is the issue of family traditions. Most families, have treasured Christmas traditions that involve delicious foods, gifts, and more. This is, perhaps, the hardest element to consider sacrificing or making changes to. Fourth, most importantly, is the issue of what moving Sunday gatherings communicates about our convictions regarding Christ and his purposes in the world. Needlesstosay, it can be complicated. 

“Are we free to move our Sunday gathering?”

Churches are free to choose when and where they gather to worship. Churches are not required to gather on a particular day. (Romans 14:5f; Galatians 4:8-11) Churches that cancel Sunday gatherings in lieu of Christmas Eve gatherings are not sinning nor violating a command of the Lord. In some cases, depending on their specific context or resources, that may be the best thing to do. Ultimately, it is up to the elders of each local church to prayerfully consider what is best for the church entrusted to their care and the cause of Christ in their community. 

The significance of Sunday

However, the practice of Jesus’ church for the last 2,000 years has been to gather on Sunday, the first day of the week, due to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on that first Easter Sunday. (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2) Gathering on Sunday, week-after-week, millennium-after-millennium, is meant to be a joy-filled, conviction-driven, emphatic declaration to the world that He has risen, death is defeated, sin is forgiven, and we are His. Or, to put it more succinctly, that God has come for us. (Matthew 1:23) 

The significance of Christmas

Now, think about what Christmas is. Christmas is not merely an irrelevant celebration; a hold-over from ancient antiquity. Christmas marks one of the most pivotal moments in God’s redemptive story. Outside Easter, Christmas marks the most important day in human history. The truth celebrated on Christmas was announced by angels (Luke 2:13-14), supernatural cosmic events in the starry host (Matthew 2:10), and long foretold by prophetic witnesses (2 Corinthians 1:20). Christmas marks the day God invaded the story he wrote to save those he loves. (Phil 2:5-11; Luke 19:10) In other words, the truth celebrated on Christmas is infinitely more important, and precious, than what we celebrate on our birthdays, or anniversaries, or civic holidays or, yes, even our beloved family traditions.

The unique gift of Christmas on a Sunday

Christmas falling on a Sunday should be viewed as a unique gift, rather than a scheduling nuisance or family tradition breaker. When you put the significance of Christmas alongside the significance of gathering on Sunday, we get a special day to be welcomed, embraced and enjoyed because it simultaneously points us to Jesus’ birth (Christmas) and his resurrection (Sunday). That’s a lot of meaning packed into a single day. Why would we not want to gather on such a Sunday? Does all of this meaning unravel if we happen to cancel Christmas gatherings? Of course not. Do we lose a unique gift if we do? I believe so. We won’t have another opportunity to do so until 2022. Rather than seeing Christmas falling on Sunday as something that gets in the way of our plans, what if we saw it as a beautiful gift around which we organized our plans? 

An invitation

Let’s embrace the unique gift of Christmas on a Sunday. I invite you to join us on Sunday, December 25th, at 9:00am and 11:15am. We’ll sing, pray, enjoy the DCC kids “choir”, and learn from the Scriptures. Cornerstone Kids will be provided for kids up to 4 years old. Parking, as always, will be validated and the lots next to the building available for families and visitors. We hope you can make it as we celebrate the living God, in Jesus, and all that He is for us. Our Saving-King has come – and is coming again.

Because the manger is full (Christmas) and the tomb is empty (Sunday),

Pastor Adam