State of Downtown Seattle and the Gospel
City Life, News | by
Pastor Adam Sinnett
Last week I had an opportunity to attend the Downtown Seattle Associations’ (DSA) State of Downtown Forum with 1,000 other business, art and civic leaders at the Westin Hotel. Both DCC and my family are members of the DSA. If you are a downtown resident, you should consider it yourself. It was a great event, filled with helpful insights on life (living, working, shopping, playing) downtown.
You might ask, “Why would a church be involved in something like that?”
First, we love Jesus Christ. We are a church with a deep love for Jesus, a thirst for His Word, and a passion for the spread of His Gospel. All things were created by Him, for Him and through Him – including Seattle. He is the Cornerstone of the church, this city, and reality itself. He is not distant and detached. Rather, he made this city and fashioned every person here in his image. Our city’s love for beauty, art, creativity, outdoors, and technology all point to the One who made and sustains them all. Therefore, it goes without saying, Jesus loves Seattle and wants “all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:4)
Second, we love Seattle too. If we love Jesus, we also love what he loves, including Seattle. Therefore, we embrace our city, learn from our city and are for our city. We are not in Seattle to stand above it (in judgment) or hide under it (in fear) or to mirror it (in surrender), but to serve it (in love). We love Seattle. We are Seattlites and are here for fellow Seattlites who dislike, hate or are skeptical of the church – as well as those who love Jesus’ church. We want as many people as possible to meet Jesus and experience life as it was intended to be – now and forever.
Third, this is why we exist to build a great city through the gospel of Jesus for the glory of God. God created all things good, whole and perfect. Sin shattered that perfection. But, God sent His son, Jesus the Christ, to live, die and rise again for the forgiveness of sin and to begin the restoration process of the entire universe – through His redeemed people. To be truly Christian is to be truly human; living as we were always intended to live, in loving relationship with God and others. God offers us this life-as-it-should-be through the Gospel, and sends us to be “salt” and “light” (Mat 5:13-14) in our city; to be agents of preservation, renewal and light in our homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods. As this happens, the city changes. Personal Gospel renewal inevitably leads to city renewal as the very social, cultural and spiritual fabric of the city is redeemed. The result? A great city, where Jesus is loved, sin is forgiven, lives are transformed, relationships are reconciled, mercy is extended, integrity is restored, families are rebuilt. That kind of city is a foretaste of forever with Jesus.
“But, how do we do that?”
To do that well, our aim is to cultivate a faithful presence in our city and continually work to understand what makes our city tick. Or, in other words, as the Apostle Paul said:
“I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all
for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” 1 Cor 9:22-23
If we genuinely love our city, we should strive to understand it so that we can faithfully and effectively articulate the unchanging gospel into our ever-changing culture. That’s where the DSA event comes in. To become “all things to all people” is to understand where others are coming from (likes, fears, passions, hopes, dreams, etc.) in order to more effectively extend the gospel of Jesus. Here are some things I learned about our city last week:
50% of the jobs in Seattle are located downtown, which means that over half the city spends most of its life downtown. This is clearly an opportunity for the gospel that is largely untapped.
Seattle welcomes over 20 million visitors every year. How can we connect with them, though briefly, for the advancement of the gospel around the globe?
There are currently 17 apartment projects underway downtown, right now. The density and population of downtown is only expected to grow, presenting additional opportunities for the gospel.
Seattle is one of the best cities for young professionals (Forbes, May ’10) and is the #1 post-recession mecca for young skilled workers (Wall Street Journal, Oct ’09). This is our primary demographic.
Fast Company named Seattle “City of the Year” (’09) based on creativity and innovation, which is one reason why we emphasize design, creativity, and tech.
Downtown Seattle has seen more residential growth since 1990 than Boston, Denver, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego and San Francisco.
You can view the entire DSA report online here.
Let’s love our city – and the people of our city – well, for Jesus’ sake. Let’s work to cultivate a significant faithful presence for Jesus, being intentional about spreading his mercy and message. That doesn’t happen overnight, but over decades. Let’s continue to ask Him to do what only He can, in our lifetime and in generations to come. God’s story truly is the greatest show on earth. “Behold I am laying in [Seattle] a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:6)
-Pastor Adam Sinnett
