March 12, 2026

This note is a snapshot of our Care & Counseling Ministries in DCC, where we work to foster a gospel culture of mutually encouraging relationships in our life together.

GOSPEL FRAMEWORK

Our Creator designed us for unbounded delight in him. Yet, in our fallen world, we often perceive a distressing gap between our felt satisfaction and our desired contentment. What are we to do with this? In sin, covetousness comes alive within our hearts. Our souls rebel against God’s sovereign allotment. And we reason that the only way to close that gap is to add more. A single person may covet the addition of a partner, expecting a spouse to satisfy. Or we may covet additional income, believing that greater financial security answers our need.

But we know from experience that the logic of covetousness is like a hamster wheel—adding more never truly satisfies and simply propels us further along the cycle of dissatisfaction. The Gospel tells us a different story. Instead of addition, subtraction is the answer to our ache for delight. God made us to find our satisfaction in Him alone, regardless of our circumstances. Mary of Bethany chose the “one thing” necessary: Jesus.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:40-42

Friends, are you on the hamster wheel of covetousness? Repent and turn from the emptiness of what God forbids in the 10th commandment (Exod 20:17). Turn and entrust yourself entirely to the King who made a way back to Himself through the cross.

NEED HELP?

If you are in need of care, whether you recently had a baby, need help with a move, or have another tangible need, please let us know! You can submit a Care Request here.

WANT TO HELP?

Want to be involved, with no expectation of commitment, when members reach out for tangible help? Please let us know what skills, experience, and resources you have that might help the needs that arise among our body. Tell us how you can help.

Send any questions about Care Ministry to care@downtowncornerstone.org.

COUNSELING REQUEST

Our Counseling Ministry serves and counsels through one-on-one meetings. We have a team of trained counselors who are ready to get together over 4-6 sessions, or longer, to carefully listen, aid, and point to the teachings of Christ our Cornerstone. For example, our team of peer counselors would love to help you endure grief, take steps to put a persistent sin to death, come out from under the domination of anxiety, and much more by allowing God’s word to shape how we face challenges. To learn more about meeting with a Counseling Team member or to request counseling, click here.

RECOMMENDED BOOK ON ANXIETY

We carry loads of terrific titles in our bookstore. Check out Anxiety: Knowing God’s Peace by Paul Tautges. This approachable 31-day devotional invites the reader to bring their nagging worry and panic to the Lord of hope. I have shared it with several DCCers and heard solid feedback.

MINI-BOOKS

Our ministry stocks around 100 booklets that offer biblical wisdom for everyday challenges. Titles range from Bitterness to Grieving with Hope to Miscarriage and more. These accessible titles are available at the lobby desk just outside the auditorium for a $3 donation or as a gift. We also have about a dozen titles related to parenting in the CKids lobby downstairs.

Send any questions about Counseling Ministry to counseling@downtowncornerstone.org.

For the Kingdom,
Luke

Downtown Cornerstone,

On Sunday, we presented Joey Piotrowski to the church as an elder candidate.

Therefore, we are taking the next month to give you time to meet with him, ask questions, and/or express any encouragements or concerns you may have. One of the over-arching qualifications for a pastor is that he must be “above reproach” (1 Tim. 3:1). While we have done our homework, this period of assessment is an additional step to ensure all bases are covered and to ensure you have an opportunity to speak into the process.

The office of pastor (or elder) was created by God, for the leading, feeding, and protection of his flock, the local church. Therefore, we treat the testing, equipping, and installation of such men with great seriousness—and joy!

Joey is a man of integrity, love for Jesus, and for His church. As elders, we believe he is called, qualified, and ready to be appointed as a pastor. However, we are taking this time in case you know something that we do not.

That said, would you pray for the Piotrowski family in this season? Would you also pray for our church? It is a sign of God’s grace to us that we continue to have men, like Joey, being raised-up to serve Jesus’ people in this way.

Let’s ask Him for more.

Provided nothing arises that would cause us to pause, which we don’t foresee, we will vote on his installation during our February 1st Members Meeting. Please save the date and time. It will be a great celebration and a joyous moment.

What follows (below) is a short interview so that you can get to know him a bit better.

…………………………

Q: How did you meet Jesus? How has he changed you?

JP: I grew up in a Christian home and lived a relatively moral life, but I wouldn’t say I treasured Jesus early on. When I was 12 years old, my family switched churches, and I understood the gospel clearly for the first time. I trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior and began to feel a deep love for him and a desire to pursue him. I experienced seasons of growth through various high school and college youth groups but struggled to keep my heart on fire for the Lord after college. For several years, my affections fluctuated between hot and cold as busyness crept in.

In 2016, we found DCC, which began a season of significant growth in my life, especially in the past 5 years. I am extremely grateful for God’s work in my life through the ministry of DCC and have found my affections for Christ continuing to grow through the various means of grace. I now find my heart treasuring Jesus and desire for others to joyfully experience the same.

Q: Tell us a little about your family.

JP: My lovely wife, Chelsey, and I met through our campus ministry in college, and we have been married for 11 years. We have four kids: Calvin (7), Wyatt (5), Hannah (3), and Chloe (1). We enjoy spending time with our community, reading together, family movie nights, and playing outside. Chelsey and I both grew up here—she’s from Kent, and I’m from Gig Harbor. Our extended family is largely in the area, which is a blessing we don’t take for granted.

Q: What are you most passionate about?

JP: I’m passionate about clearly proclaiming the gospel in word, in deed, in the unity of believers, in our love for one another, and in marriage as a picture of Christ’s love for his Bride, the church. I love God’s Word and am eager for people to see the wondrous riches it reveals about who he is. I’m zealous for hearts, including mine, to find their ultimate treasure in Christ and to steward everything for his glory and our joy, now and forever.

Q: How did you get involved with DCC?

JP: I heard about DCC from an old college roommate, who heard about DCC from the Maxwells. At the time, I was working downtown, and though we lived in Kent, we knew we wanted to plant roots in Seattle. We tried several churches but ultimately landed with DCC because of the sound Biblical teaching we heard.

Q: What are your current areas of oversight?

JP: I’m currently leading a community and have served on staff over our Facilities and Operations for the past 3.5 years. I get to work with many of our Sunday volunteer teams to help with the details behind the scenes. At the beginning of this year, I also started taking on responsibilities related to Finance, HR, and Tech. I’m looking forward to co-teaching an equipping hour class this winter.

Q: How did you determine you were called to be a pastor?

JP: I first felt a desire to be in ministry when I started managing the bookstore back in 2021. I was simultaneously getting a taste for church operations while also reading a lot of theologically rich books. Shortly after that, an opportunity opened up on staff, and I started in my Operations role in 2022.

I spent the next several years exploring my desire to be an elder through various opportunities—leading community, counseling cohort, pastoral residency, Simeon Trust workshops, etc. Throughout this process, I found my heart for our church and my desire to help shepherd the flock continuing to grow. I am still growing in ability and grace and am praying that God would help me steward what he’s given me to serve the church and build up his body.

Q: How can we be praying for you and your family in this season?

JP: We would love prayer as we continue to shepherd our children in all their various stages and needs. We are excited for the season ahead and would appreciate prayers for grace and faithfulness amidst all the changes in work and ministry.

*Last Updated 8/10/25

NORTHBOUND I-5 CONSTRUCTION

There will be a full closure northbound on I-5 from I-90 to NE 45th Street, August 15-18. This planned construction may affect commutes to our Sunday Gathering on August 17. See the map below for details and alternate routes. Let’s look for ways to help each other’s commuting needs so we can meet as a body despite the traffic.

HOW TO NAVIGATE TO DCC COMING FROM THE NORTH

• Your route should not be impacted on the way to church, as the construction only affects northbound lanes.

HOW TO NAVIGATE TO DCC COMING FROM THE SOUTH

• Coming from I-5: Take exit 164A toward James St. Turn left on James. Then turn right on Yesler and right onto 1st Ave and go all the way to our building.

RECOMMENDED

• As many members have suggested, public transportation via the Link Light Rail or biking may help your commute on August 17.
  • Westlake Station is the closest lightrail stop to DCC, and there are bus/monorail routes from Westlake Station.
  • If you decide to bike, stop by the parking garage behind our building on Clay Street, where the attendant can direct you to bike racks or another secure location to store your bike during the gathering.

HOW TO NAVIGATE HOME FROM DCC

• If you are going south, your route should not be impacted.
• If you are going north, see the map below for viable northbound routes.

March 28, 2025

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.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:13-14

In Galatians, the Apostle Paul writes adamantly to articulate salvation by faith alone, and not by works. But what is the believers’ response to God’s free grace? It is a life of loving devotion to God and service to others (aka “good works”), or as he puts it here in chapter 5, “serving one another through love.” The order is essential so that we don’t miss the free grace of God as our center and source of life, but the connection is also essential as the response to God’s grace as demonstrated in our lives is the evidence that our faith is genuine (cf. James 2:14-17, 1 John 3:14). And who are we to serve in love? Those in our spiritual family (the “one another”) and those in need around us (the “neighbor”), each as we have opportunity (Gal 6:9-10).

Our Mercy Ministries help us put this call to love our neighbor as ourselves into action, through tangible acts of service where we can both declare the good news and demonstrate the impact of that good news to the most vulnerable image-bearers in our city. Learn more about our current Mercy Ministry efforts below, and join us in loving service to others in one of our upcoming events.

NEW! BELLTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP

As a church, we’ve long served our city in tangible ways through cleaning and beautification projects, often joining with our neighbors for the good of our city. As we continue to settle into our new permanent home on 1st & Broad, we’re launching a new Mercy Focus Group to help us stay informed of the needs and opportunities to serve locally (join here). Our next event will be serving alongside Together Washington and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce for a clean-up in Denny Park on Saturday, April 26 (register here).

HOMELESSNESS

We continue to serve in various ways through our partnership with Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. DCC has begun to serve a meal monthly – on the 4th Saturday of the month – at Hope Place, UGM’s women’s shelter in Rainier Valley. Register here to join for the Saturday, April 26 meal (or a future meal).

REFUGEES

We partner with World Relief Western Washington to serve refugees and asylees here in the greater Seattle area. Though the recent administration changes have drastically impacted the resettlement of new refugees, there is still much that can be done for those already here as sojourners and neighbors. We’re hoping to get DCC players (or even a full team!) to join the “World Relief Cup,” a fundraising soccer tournament on Saturday, June 28. Learn more and sign up here.

FAMILY ADVOCACY MINISTRY

Our FAM focus area partners with CareNet of Puget Sound (pro-life medical services), OliveCrest (Christian adoption & foster care), and the Foster Support Faith Alliance (network of local churches serving foster youth + families). This year, we’ve been working to build wrap-around “care communities” for foster families, and we’re prayerfully considering restarting a Foster Support Group (something we did pre-COVID). Learn more in our FAM Group.

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: Belltown Neighborhood Group
• Mercy Focus: Family Advocacy
• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Justin

March 20, 2025

This note is a snapshot of our Care Ministry in DCC, where we work to foster a discipleship culture of mutually encouraging relationships in our life together.

GOSPEL FRAMEWORK

Our Lord designed the local church to be a body that seeks the well-being of its various members:

Brothers and sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:1-2

These two verses capture the scope of our troubles in this life – sin and suffering. Our fallen nature permeates our thinking, emotions, and behavior. Every part of who we are has been marred by sin. And our fallen world is rife with sufferings of every kind, from unexpected tragedy to the slow wearing out of our bodies. How are we to find life, much less abundant life, in this sin-sick world?

The gospel tells us that in our union with Christ, we have likewise been united to a body of believers. These brothers and sisters, invested with Christ’s Spirit and guided by his word, are deployed to be watchful caregivers. In other words, we, the church, are sent with Christ’s riches to be caregivers to one another – correcting sinners with gentleness and love, comforting sufferers with hope and resilient grace. The Care ministry is here to help you in this God-given endeavor.

BIBLICAL CARE
Our approach to care is shaped by a Christ-centered view of human life as found in the Scriptures, an approach which takes seriously the spiritual, physical, social, psychological, and developmental nature of our difficulties. We believe that people can change, grow, and find restoration as they come to understand their lives in light of the transforming gospel of Christ. Learn more about our foundations in our Guiding Theology for Biblical Care.

REQUEST CARE
Primarily, our Care Ministry serves and counsels through individual meetings. We have a team of trained counselors who are ready to get together over 4–6 sessions, or longer, to carefully listen, aid, and point to the teachings of Christ our Cornerstone. For example, our team of peer counselors would love to help you endure grief, take steps to put a persistent sin to death, come out from under the domination of anxiety, and much more, by allowing God’s word to shape how we face challenges. To learn more about meeting with a Care Team member or to request care, click here.

CHURCH CENTER GROUP
The DCC Care group on Church Center serves as a hub for Care Ministry communication and resources for those seeking to help others know and experience joy in God and obedience to Him amidst our struggles. Request to join the Care Group.

MINI-BOOKS 
Our ministry supplies over 50 booklets that offer biblical wisdom for everyday challenges. Titles range from I’m Exhausted: What to Do When You’re Always Tired to Domestic Abuse: Help for the Sufferer. These accessible titles are available at the lobby desk just outside the auditorium for a $3 donation or as a free gift. We also have about a dozen titles related to parenting in the CKids lobby downstairs.

If you have any questions about our Care Ministry, come find me or Ashley Garbelman, deacon of Care Administration.

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Luke

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together… And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Rom 8:22-23

The death of a beloved DCC member has rightly led to an outpouring of grief. We are groaning and lamenting with the family, ourselves as friends, and among our whole church body. As we eagerly await the final redemption of our bodies, we get to grow in our personal stewardship of grief and our relationships with others who are grieving. To that end, I would like to share a few helpful points about walking in grief.

• Affirm the impact – The way in which people process death can vary widely, but it is uniform in that it makes an impact. Whether a person feels shaky, angry, morose, or any other combination of emotions, we can validate the extreme feelings with which we meet death because it is alien to God’s original creation plan. Don’t try to deny or simply dismiss this grief as silly or unnecessary. Death is wrong. It shouldn’t feel right.

• Draw near – Facing the death of a dear one is startling. We can easily withdraw from others in our grief or from those who are grieving. But this is neither healthy nor in line with God’s design. He wants us to weep together (Rom 12:15). What can you do in these circumstances? Draw out a grieving person’s memories and connections to the person who is gone. Or, if you’re grieving, find someone to whom you can honestly talk out what you are feeling. Processing aloud will likely lead to tears, but it is good and healthy. It will also protect against grief “stagnating.” And in Christ, we are not ever really alone. Ps 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Turn to him in prayer. Grieve with God, not apart from him.

• Resist grief’s temptations – Each person grieves differently, but there are some temptations which are common to grief: doubt in God’s goodness or presence, anger over God’s providence that leads to distance from him, and self-pity as we allow pain to orient all of life around ourselves instead of God.
  The ministrations of the Spirit, fellowship of his people, and the passing of time help with these. Nonetheless, be on the lookout for these temptations in yourself and brothers and sisters around you.
  Grieve in the Gospel – Gently remind yourselves and others that Christians have an abiding hope beyond death (1 Thes 4:13). Our eternal life has already begun in Jesus. Death is a portal to access a new, richer phase of that everlasting life. Death should never be seen as right, but in Christ, it is the last trial to endure before faith becomes sight.

• Be patient – Grief is weird. Some aspects are predictable, others are not. A person can swing wildly from one intense state to another, or arrive at a place of stability out of the blue. Unfortunately, this can mean that friends pull away from someone in the throes of grief. But that’s not the way the church is to act. Grief is often an opportunity for us to “bear with one another in love” (Eph 4:2).

Dear ones, let’s look to and lean on Jesus, together, as we mourn our beloved member’s death. Allow this stanza from Katharina von Schlegel’s “Be Still My Soul” to give shape to your heart:

Be still, my soul! when dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shall you better know his love, his heart,
Who comes to soothe your sorrow and your fears.
Be still, my soul! your Jesus can repay
From his own fullness all he takes away.

PS. If you find yourself “stuck” or debilitated by grief, I encourage you to reach out for help to our Care Ministry. Members, you should also feel encouraged to reach out to your shepherding elder with any questions or needs.

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Luke

February 27, 2025

The Family Ministry Update is a snapshot of our Family Ministries in DCC, where we partner with you to joyfully teach, show, and model who God is and what He has done for us through the person and work of Christ in our households.

GOSPEL FRAMEWORK

Our Lord created the family to be a hub for encouraging vibrant faith:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
and when you walk by the way,
and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Here, and throughout Scripture, we see the progression of God’s authoritative Word. His truth is not simply to be heard. It is to be believed in our hearts. And then from our hearts his good truth should move out from our lips and actions so that those close by, especially our families, would follow him as well.

Regardless of your household composition at this moment, are you feeding upon the Word? Is love for the Lord shaping who you are? Does his Word define your interactions? Would it be odd for the gospel to come up in your home? Or is the good news of Jesus and the truths of God’s Word part of your daily discussion? We are here to support your growth in this vital call.

PARENTING CLASS

Explore the most important building blocks of biblical parenting in this five week class. Beginning on Wednesday, March 5 at 8pm, the class is held virtually in order to be most convenient to moms and dads who are just putting young children to bed.
Learn more and sign up here.

FAMILIES TOGETHER IN WORSHIP

As we begin to gather in the new building perhaps now is the time you want to begin including a new child in worship with the church. We encourage parents to bring kids along to gathered worship, and recognize it can be challenging. Our Kids Sunday Worship Guide (for Parents) is super helpful and contains links to a number of additional resources. Check it out!

DISABILITY MINISTRY MEETUP

A new ministry under Families is bringing focus on how we can further include those with disabilities into the life of the church for the glory of God and the joy of all people. Come learn more about our budding Disability Ministry on Sunday, March 30 following the gathering. We will open up the Word to see scripture’s teaching about disability, hear a member’s testimony, and share how you can get involved. Register here.

PRE-MARITAL CLASS 

The pre-marital class, Building a Strong Marriage, is a five-week study on biblical marriage designed to help you gain clarity on theology, your relationship, and relational skills. The course is open to engaged couples who want to build a solid gospel foundation for their marriage. The class is required if you wish to have a DCC pastor officiate your wedding. Our next offering of this class will begin on April 16.

STAY CONNECTED

You can learn more through our Family Ministries webpage. And, of course, feel free to find me any time at one of our Sunday gatherings.

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Luke

Beloved DCC,

We’re on the cusp of an exciting move. Such moves are a little bitter sweet, aren’t they?

We’ve seen God do amazing things over the last ten years in our little former night club on the corner of Western and Battery. We were just over four years old when we moved in. It was our first somewhat-permanent space after years of nomadic setting up and tearing down. Never mind its lack of curb appeal, its trash-ridden alleyway family entrance, or its HVAC that sounds like a car accident when it starts. That didn’t matter, it was ours.

Since then, over the last decade, we’ve seen extraordinary answers to prayer meeting prayers. We’ve welcomed and sent hundreds of members during member meetings. We’ve heard countless stories of the transforming power of Jesus from the portable baptismal. We’re reveled in over 500 expositional, Jesus-exalting sermons from the stage. Hundreds of kids have been discipled to know Jesus in the basement, many before they even walk. Hundreds more were counseled through sin, grief, and tragedy in the downstairs offices. We’ve sung 1000’s of God-glorifying songs in that long rectangle of a room. God uses spaces.

We’ve also endured significant hardship. When a local mega church imploded, we turned into a spiritual foster family. We’ve said goodbye to many loved friends; a sad, but understandable, consequence of gospel work in a transitional city. When one among us committed suicide, or was abandoned by their spouse, or needed help getting clean, or received a terminal diagnosis, sacrificial brothers and sisters rallied. We made multiple offers on other buildings, only to be repeatedly denied. We endured a once-a-century pandemic, political chaos, and social upheaval—all at once. Covid effectively cut our church in half. Yet, by God’s grace, here we are, stronger, more mature, and deeply rooted than ever. God uses spaces.

Yes, of course, God uses people. But, notice that He uses people in specific spaces: gardens, arks, prison cells, tents, deserts, whale bellies, castles, baskets, stables, islands, and more. Such spaces are unexpected miniature stages upon which his story continues to unfold in ways big and small.

Often, such stages are temporary. The Cherry Street Coffee on 1st Ave, which hosted the first DCC men’s discipleship group (DG), isn’t there any more. The Starbucks on 4th and Seneca, which served as my remote office for years, isn’t there any more. The Belltown Community Center on 5th and Bell, which hosted prayer meetings, membership classes, and discipleship training, isn’t there any more. I’m assuming 2333 Western won’t be there much longer either. Recognizing the temporary nature of God’s stages helps us to be thankful for them in every season, without growing too attached to them. After all, as in any play, the stage is merely a platform for the drama.

So, DCC, lets remember this as we move into our new building this weekend.

Let’s pray that the Lord will use this space as yet another stage for his unfolding drama of redemption in Seattle, and through Seattle to the nations. Let’s pray that He would use this space as a gospel outpost, and megaphone, for generations to come. Imagine how many people might come to know Jesus there. Imagine how many missionaries and church planters may be sent from there. Imagine how many hearts will be thrilled with the excellencies of Jesus, sins defeated, marriages reconciled, and legacies forever redeemed there. Let it be, Lord!

Let’s be profoundly thankful for this new amazing space, while remembering the stage is not the point, the drama is. What might He do next? Let’s find out together.

Christ is all,
-A

DCC Members,

Because the local church is God’s “plan A” in spreading the gospel, from the neighborhoods of Seattle to the nations, we work through various partners and networks to see healthy churches planted. We’ve got an exciting opportunity in two weeks, as we host Reaching and Teaching International Ministries on Friday, January 31 for Preview Day.

What is Preview Day?
Preview Day is designed for pastors and church members with a personal interest in global missions and/or a fervent desire to help send out missionaries. This event will deepen your understanding of biblical missions and help explore partnership opportunities with Reaching & Teaching. If you are currently in our missions process or are interested in mission sending agencies, this would be a particularly great event to attend. The day will include teaching sessions on:

• Reaching & Teaching’s mission and values
• How DCC and its members can further engage in global missions
• Connecting with like-minded Christians from around the PNW

The cost to attend is $50, and registration will close one week prior to the event (Friday, 1/24).

If you’d like to learn more about participating in global missions, whether as a potential missionary or as part of our sending church, join us on the 31st!

Blessings,
Pastor Justin

Learn More And Register Here

Downtown Cornerstone,

Heading into the new year is a great time to evaluate and intentionally plan for our spiritual growth. While God is the one who ultimately gives the growth in our spiritual lives (1 Cor 3:7), he uses the means of our planning (Pr 16:3, 9), His Word (1 Tim 4:6-16), and other believers in the local church (2 Tim 2:2, 1 Thes 5:11, Heb 10:24-25). There are many ways to grow in faith together with DCC this year:

BIBLE STUDY

Our Midweek Bible Study takes place on Wednesdays, 7–8 pm, in the MPR downstairs, and resumes THIS Wednesday, 1/15, continuing in our study of 1 Peter. 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 THIS Sunday, January 19th, running 5 weeks on Sundays at 12pm after the gathering. Lunch is provided – so please register!
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 next quarterly Men’s Discipleship Night is just a few weeks away, on Friday, Jan 24th, at 6:30p. These are valuable times to pull together as God’s men to share a meal, hear from God’s Word, ask questions, and connect with each other. Whether you’re brand new to DCC or a lifetime member, this will be an enriching time in the Word and relationships.
Men’s Registration

WOMEN’S DISCIPLESHIP BRUNCHES

Our next quarterly Women’s Discipleship Brunch will be on Saturday, March 15, and registration is open! This will be the second in the series studying the minor prophets, learning from Nahum. 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).
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 info@downtowncornerstone.org. I am praying that this season will be one of growth in your knowledge, love, and trust of the Lord!

Blessings,
Pastor Justin

Friends,

We continue to live in tumultuous times filled with rampant unbelief, soul-numbing worldliness, political dissension, natural disasters, and bitter wars. Surprisingly, Jesus told us to expect such times so that we would not be caught off guard (Mt. 24:6). That said, living in such times is not easy.

One vital means of grace he gave to his church amidst the turbulence of our homeward journey is fasting (Mt. 9:15).

Therefore, I am writing to invite you to participate in a 24-hour churchwide food fast (fasting from food, but not water) beginning this Wednesday (1/8) after dinner and lasting up till dinner on Thursday (1/9). In other words, skipping breakfast and lunch on the 9th.

We are making this a quarterly practice over this academic year in order to pray for the upcoming quarter.

Only the power of God can bring the change that is most deeply needed in our lives and city. That means, we must pray, and one way to bring focus to our prayer life is to fast.

The purpose of fasting is to express our absolute dependence on God. It is a way to say to Him, “This much, O God, we need you! We are not self-sufficient, but entirely dependent. We can’t sort this out on our own. You must act if anything is to change!”

Let’s be clear: fasting is not manipulating, arm-twisting, or blackmailing God. Instead, fasting is a means of grace to grow us closer to God because:

• Fasting reveals how much we often look to food, instead of Him.
• Fasting reminds us that He is our most fundamental need.
• Fasting makes us more sensitive, watchful, and contrite over sin.
• Fasting promotes prayer as we allow every hunger pang to lead us to pray.

Therefore, over these 24 hours:

1. Pray that God would be our chief joy, greatest good, and prized treasure.
2. Pray that we’d be a people who love the life-giving path of holiness.
3. Pray that our loving, diverse-unity in Jesus would draw the attention of the city.
4. Pray for our evangelistic efforts and conversions this winter.
5. Pray that we’d be able to get into our new building as soon as possible.
6. Pray for our supported church planting and missionary partners.
7. Pray for the world and its many ongoing conflicts (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

With you, in Christ, for the sake of the world,
Pastor Adam

P.S. If you are unable to participate in a food fast, we encourage you to adjust the type or length of fast and/or the dates.

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!

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.

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).

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.

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

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 missions@downtowncornerstone.org.

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.

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

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 info@downtowncornerstone.org. I am praying that this season will be one of growth in your knowledge, love, and trust of the Lord!

Blessings,
Justin

Downtown Cornerstone,

On Sunday, we presented Ruban Monu to the church as an elder candidate.

Therefore, we are taking the next month to give you time to meet with him, ask questions, and/or express any encouragements or concerns you may have. One of the over-arching qualifications for a pastor is that he must be “above reproach” (1 Tim. 3:1). While we have done our homework, this waiting period is an additional step to ensure all bases are covered and you have an opportunity to speak into the process.

The office of pastor (or elder) was created by God, for the leading, feeding, and protection of his flock, the local church. Therefore, we treat the testing, equipping and installation of such men with great seriousness—and joy!

Ruban will not be on DCC’s pastoral staff, but will serve as an elder in a volunteer capacity (i.e. non-staff pastor). Therefore, by necessity, the scope of his pastoral involvement will be limited when compared to a staff pastor. However, his service will be equally significant. As a non-staff pastor, Ruban will be involved with preaching, teaching, counseling, officiating weddings and funerals, elder meetings and practical leadership (which currently includes leading a Cornerstone Community).

Our aim is to raise up many non-staff pastors, like Ruban, as it helps diversify and strengthen the elder team and, therefore, the church. Ruban will be our third non-staff pastor.

Ruban is a good man with integrity, love for Jesus, and for Jesus’ church. As elders, we believe he is called, qualified, and ready to be appointed as a pastor. However, we are taking this time in case you know something that we do not.

That said, would you pray for the Ruban family in this season? Would you also pray for our church? It is a sign of God’s grace to us that we have men, like Ruban, being raised-up to lead, feed, and protect Jesus’ flock. Let’s ask Him for more.

Provided nothing arises that would cause us to pause the process, which we don’t foresee, we will vote in our Members’ Meeting to install Ruban as a pastor on Sunday, April 14th. It will be a great celebration and a joyous moment.

What follows (below) is a short interview with Ruban so that you can get to know him a bit better.

If you have any questions, comments, encouragements, or concerns, you can email me directly at adam@downtowncornerstone.org.

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam
On behalf of the elders of DCC

…………………………

Q: How did you meet Jesus? How has he changed you?

RM: I met Jesus when I was 19. Growing up, I innately knew that there is a God who created me and whom I’m accountable to, and that something is “not right” with us as human beings, evidenced by our sin and brokenness. Attending church as a kid with my parents, and seeing God’s saving work in their lives, the gospel became clear over the years: No one else offers what Jesus offers—redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Change and spiritual growth were gradual, and there was a long season of lackluster faith that followed after I moved from India to the US for school and for work.

Fast forward to 2016, I was a lukewarm Christian when I first came to DCC. I knew and accepted the truth of the gospel, but I was not living it out in any tangible way. I was doing well in my career but I was passive when it came to my spiritual walk, not heeding to the Spirit’s convicting. And so, in a twist of irony, it was theology (knowledge of God) that moved me from mere knowledge and mental assent to a fuller submission of my heart and hands. At DCC, coming alive to the wonders of God through expositional preaching, being part of a church that sees God as living and active, living in community with others—all led to a renewal of my faith. I also realized that when I accepted Jesus years ago, it wasn’t merely a decision that I made in light of facts and evidence. It was God sovereignly and lovingly pursuing me in Christ.

Q: Tell us a little about your family.

RM: I am blessed with a beautiful and kind wife, Jaime, and two boys, Jonah (4) and Ezra (2). We celebrated seven years of marriage last fall. We’re also getting ready to welcome another boy this summer. (Fun fact: Jaime and I met online through an Indian “matrimonial website”, at which time she was living in Florida where she grew up.) My parents and extended family live in India, and I have a younger sister.

Q: What are you most passionate about?

RM: I’m passionate about serving the local church—Jesus’ people and fellow sojourners that God has providentially placed me with. I’m passionate about community and discipleship, and God’s word being savored and seen in our lives, from the pressing trials to the seemingly trivial.

Q: How did you get involved with DCC?

RM: My wife found DCC in the 9Marks directory when we were looking for a church in 2016. We started attending regularly, joined a community, began serving in CKids and Sunday cleanup, and became members. A couple of years later, I started leading a community. I also came on staff at DCC, right before the Covid pandemic hit. Those were hard years for ministry but the time grew me in a deeper appreciation of all that our elders and leaders do to love and care for the flock.

Q: What are your current areas of oversight?

RM: I’ve been serving as a community lead for the past four years, and occasionally teaching classes and preaching. I also had the privilege of previously serving on DCC staff as a deacon of communications and technology for almost four years.

Q: How did you determine you were called to be a pastor?

RM: As I spent more time at DCC, I became curious and interested in eldership. Pastor Adam invited me to join an elder development cohort in the fall of 2019. It was a rich time and gave me a foundational understanding of what it means to be an elder.

Over the next few years, I intentionally pursued this desire and aspiration for eldership. God used this time to grow me in Christlikeness. He transformed a passive introvert, disinterested in the lives of others, to someone desiring and striving to make and mature disciples for Christ. Throughout this process, hearing positive affirmation and evidences of grace from others in the church has also served as a great encouragement to me.

I’m by no means perfect. I’m a work in progress. And I want to, in humility and dependence, continue to grow as the Lord shapes and molds me to faithfully shepherd his people.

Q: How can we be praying for you and your family in this season?

RM: We would love prayer for our family rhythms as we get ready to welcome our third child this summer. Also, our second child Ezra has a disability as many of you know. He has a few doctor appointments and tests coming up so we also ask for prayers that those would go well and that he would continue to grow healthy and strong.

More generally, I ask for prayer that I would “run with endurance the race that is set before me, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Heb. 12:1-2)

Ladies of DCC,

This Saturday, November 11th, is our first Women’s Brunch, where we’ll be looking at Jesus’ teaching on prayer from Luke 11:1-13. We’re excited to spend this time together in the Word, prayer, and fellowship. This time is designed to be spiritually and relationally refreshing – so whether you’re brand new to DCC, or have been around for years, we hope you’ll join us this Saturday.

WHAT IS HAPPENING ON SATURDAY?

We’ll hear from women in our body through an exposition of Luke 11 and a testimony, as well as have time to meet and pray with others, so we can immediately practice what we learn from Jesus’ instruction on prayer. This simple time is meant to be a great encouragement for your faith and deepen your relationships with other sisters in DCC.

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT THAN PRIOR EVENTS?

We’ve hosted various discipleship events over the years of different lengths and focus areas. We are hoping that a series of short, focused, and practical events like this over the course of the year will serve us well as we labor in faith together. Each of our Women’s Brunches this year will have a mixture of teaching, testimonies, discussion, and fellowship – but we’ll cover different topics in each one. Your participation will be a blessing to you and your sisters in the DCC body.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Women of DCC! Whether you’ve been a Christian for decades or for days, there will be something to stir your mind and faith. Whether you’re brand new to DCC, or have been around for 10 years – they’ll be good opportunities to connect and deepen your relationships.

WILL CORNERSTONE KIDS BE PROVIDED?

Unfortunately, no. While we understand that this can be a sacrifice for your family, we encourage you to consider this time as an investment in your spiritual health, which will itself be a benefit to your family.

DETAILS

When: THIS Saturday, November 11th
Where: DCC Building – 2333 Western Ave, 98121
Time: 9:30 – 11:30 am. Doors open at 9 am.
Breakfast: A light breakfast will be served.
Parking: Free parking is available in both lots next to the building.
Registration: There is no cost, but please RSVP so we can order enough food!

REGISTER HERE
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our planning team at women@downtowncornerstone.org

In Christ,
Women’s Discipleship Events Team

Men of DCC,

This Friday, October 27th, will be our first Men’s Pizza Night of the year, as an opportunity to grow in our faith together. We’ll be discussing Men as Theologians, as we consider how our knowledge of God – and our relationship with Him – impacts every aspect of our lives.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS EVENT?

Pastor Adam will lead the main session, and there will be a testimony, table discussion, and pastoral Q&A – all aimed at helping us connect our theology with our daily lives. This simple evening is meant to strengthen your faith and deepen your relationship with other brothers in DCC – you won’t regret spending this time together!

I’VE ATTENDED OTHER EVENTS BEFORE, WHY ATTEND THIS EVENT?

Chances are, you’ve probably already had pizza once in your life too… but that hasn’t stopped you from ever eating pizza again! Just like our physical bodies need food daily, so our souls need encouragement from the Scriptures and fellowship with other believers. Your participation will be a blessing to you and to your brothers in DCC. The Apostle Paul reminds us: “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Tim. 4:7-8)

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Men of DCC! Whether you’ve been a Christian for decades or for days, there will be something to stir your mind and faith. Whether you’re brand new to DCC, or have been around for 10 years – they’ll be good opportunities to connect and deepen your relationships.

WILL CORNERSTONE KIDS BE PROVIDED?

Unfortunately, no. While we understand that this can be a sacrifice for your family, we encourage you to consider this time as an investment in your spiritual health, which will undoubtedly pay dividends in your spiritual leadership and service to your family.

DETAILS:

When: THIS Friday, October 27th
Where: DCC Building – 2333 Western Ave, 98121
Time: 6:30 – 9 pm. Doors open at 6 pm.
Dinner: Pizza dinner is provided!
Parking: Free parking is available in both lots next to the building.
Registration: There is no cost, but please RSVP so we can order enough food!

REGISTER HERE

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at justin@downtowncornerstone.org.

In Christ,

Pastor Justin

PS – Ladies, our next Women’s Brunch is just around the corner too, on Saturday, November 11th. Details and registration here!

DCC,

As God’s people, we are called Christ’s body (1 Cor 12:12), a temple (1 Pet 2:5), citizens (Eph 2:19), and a family (Heb 3:6). All of these are relational realities, which involve being connected, interdependent, and growing together. Ephesians 4:15-16 gives us this picture of a body with many members working together for the health and growth of the body: Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 

Did you catch that? Every member of the body is a gift from God, given for the purpose of building up the body! Just like the different parts of our physical body, no two of us are exactly the same, yet we are all needed for the health and growth of the body. That is why it has been our prayer from the beginning that all who consider DCC their home church would be relationally connected, intentionally growing, meaningfully serving and giving, missionally engaged, willingly accountable, and known by a pastor.

As we head into the fall and re-establish regular rhythms of life, let’s do so with the beautiful calling to be part of the DCC family in mind. There are many ways to take steps further into the life of our body this fall, many of which start this week:

FOUNDATIONS | Sundays, 8:30 am

If you’ve not yet taken the Foundations class, now is a great time to do so! We have this 5-week class as the relational on-ramp into the life of the church so that you can learn what we believe, how we belong, who we are, why we’re here, and how we operate, and find your place in our body! This class is the first step towards joining a community, getting baptized, and becoming a member. Register here and join us this Sunday.

EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY | Sundays, 12 pm

If you’re new to Christianity and interested in exploring Jesus’ claims, or wanting to grow in how to articulate the Christian faith to others, join our Exploring Christianity class after the gathering. Lunch is provided, so please Register here.

MIDWEEK BIBLE STUDY | Wednesdays, 7 – 8 pm

We meet at DCC’s building in Belltown each week for an inductive study of Scripture, led by one of the elders of DCC. Jump in any time, no need to register. Read more here.

FAMILY RHYTHMS

For those who have already taken the Foundations class and have been participating with us for a while, we invite you to further embed in the life of our church through:

• Our Cornerstone Communities, which meet mid-week around the city, are launching next week: Check out the current list of communities and get connected Here.
• Joining a serving team: Check out the current list of teams, and then fill out this form.
• Financially supporting the work of the church: Visit downtowncornerstone.org/give to learn more.
• Take the next step in becoming a member, by submitting a membership application.

ALREADY, AND MORE TO COME!

Every week, we gather to worship God together as an essential means of grace to us. Come early and stay late. Perhaps make a goal to meet one new person each week, or to catch-up and pray with someone you didn’t see that week.

In the coming months, we’ll have additional opportunities to gather together in men’s and women’s discipleship events, as well as service, mission, and mercy events, so stay tuned for more!

If you have any questions on where to take your next step, please let us know. I hope to see you soon!

– Pastor Justin Keogh

DCC,

We serve our city, because we have been served beyond measure by Christ (Matt. 20:25-28). We are not saved by our works, we are saved by faith (Rom. 3:21-4:8), but saving faith is one that works from the grace we've received (Jas. 2:14-26)!

Last month, we completed our first of three Serve the City events this summer. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out! We had 85 participants at Myrtle Edwards for a wonderful early summer day with sunshine, and lots of great work accomplished. See below for some of our favorite snapshots from the day!

Part 2: Mariners' Day of Service on Friday, 6/23

Our second event this summer is in partnership with the Seattle Mariners and will take place next Friday, June 23rd, from 9 am – 12 pm. DCC will be leading the efforts focused on Pioneer Square by picking up trash, painting out graffiti, and landscaping projects. Like our prior event, this will be a great opportunity to get outside, make a positive impact on our city, and serve alongside our neighbors.

While the Mariners team will be traveling, some familiar faces from the franchise as well as many local business owners and city representatives are going to be joining us for the event too. We'll have projects for all ages—so bring the family, coworkers, and neighbors!

Friday?? Yes, Friday.

This event is happening on a Friday, which might be a challenge for folks working a Monday to Friday 9-to-5 schedule, so not everyone will be able to make it. But, did you know that many companies are offering volunteer days/credits for events just like this one? Ask your HR to see if you've got a volunteer option for the morning. Many of those in our church body work on other shifts, or have flexibility on Fridays, so we're still hoping for a fun turnout from DCC as we partner with many others from around the city next Friday, rain or shine! Register today:

Register

Stay Connected

Our Serve the City events are just one part of how we care for our city. You can learn more about our Mercy Ministries HERE, and also join our ongoing focus area groups to hear more regular updates, events, and opportunities to serve:

• DCC Blood Drive with Bloodworks NW on 7/27
• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Life Project
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Justin

One Seattle Day of Service, May 20th, 2023

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.

For more regular updates in each focus area, please request to join our Mercy Focus groups in Church Center (linked below) and join us in our upcoming service events (details below).

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.

"But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."
– Jeremiah 29:7

While Israel was in exile in Babylon (as a consequence of their failure to follow the Lord, no less!), God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to call them to be a faithful presence while they waited for God to bring about their return to Israel. For Israel in exile in Babylon, this was a call to trust God to fulfill his promises and seek the welfare of their city. For us now as Christians in Seattle 2023, this is a call to seek the welfare of our city, knowing that we are 'living as exiles' in the world, looking to the future return of Christ to complete the good work he started in us and the world.

We have already tasted the goodness of our King and begun to experience the new realities of his Kingdom, yet we still await the final fulfillment of all things! So, while we wait, the church is called to act as salt (a preserving force) and light (a guiding force) to our city. In short, we're called to be a faithful presence.

Serve The City

This summer, instead of a single Serve the City event, we're partnering with three different organizations over the next three months to give us various ways to serve alongside our neighbors for the good of our city. These partner events are a great way for us to serve others, and to build relationships with our neighbors as we serve! Our hope in creating multiple smaller events is that everyone can participate in some way over the summer, increasing our impact and building on our previous service events. Save the dates for our upcoming events:

• One Seattle Day of Service – Saturday, May 20th, 9 am to 12 pm | Myrtle Edwards Park
• Together WA Day of Service – Saturday, June 24th, 9 am to 12 pm | Downtown
• Bloodworks NW Drive – Thursday, July 27th, 9 am to 3 pm (30-min slots) | DCC Building

One Seattle Day of Service

The first of these events is only three weeks away, on Saturday, May 20th, from 9 am to 12 pm, at Myrtle Edwards Park. We're partnering with the Mayor's Office and the Seattle Parks Department to lead an effort to beautify the park through trash pickup and landscaping.

We'll have cleaning and landscaping projects around the park with options for all ages, so this is a great chance for families, friends, and communities to serve together. DCC will lead about eight teams working on various projects, so the registration form asks if you'd be willing to be a team lead, which involves coming an hour early. We'll have the projects mapped out and provide all the tools for the work, so you can show up the day ready to serve. Rain or shine, this will be a great day of working together in our neighborhood! Please register today:

Register Here

Stay Connected

Our Serve the City events are just one part of how we care for our city. You can learn more about our Mercy Ministries HERE, and also join our ongoing focus area groups to hear more regular updates, events, and opportunities to serve:

• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Life Project
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Justin

Dear DCC,

We recently completed our series, The Church: God’s New Humanity, in Jesus. I hope you found it helpful, clarifying, and surprisingly edifying. To further press these realities into our shared life, I thought it would be helpful to follow-up with a single list of additional resources on the topics addressed in this series. For example, if you heard the sermon on “baptism” and desire to learn more, I encourage you to read one (or more) of the resources below, organized from “basic” to “advanced”. Perhaps consider printing this out, tucking it in your bible, and integrating reading about the church into your regular reading diet. It is through the church the manifold wisdom of God is made known (Eph. 3:10)!

Many of these resources are already available in our bookstore and all of the Church Question booklets are available by the Connect Desk in the commons. You can find the entire series on our mobile app and on the series page. By way of reminder, the topics we covered were as follows:

#1 The Local Church as God’s New Humanity
#2 What is the Mission of the Church?
#3 Who Leads the Church?
#4 What are the Keys of the Kingdom?
#5 What is Baptism?
#6 What is the Lord’s Supper?
#7 What is Church Membership/Discipline?
#8 What is a Healthy Church Member?

Additional recommended resources:

The Church (general)

Understanding the Great Commission, Mark Dever (beginner)
What is a Healthy Church, Mark Dever (beginner)
The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, Ray Ortlund (beginner)
The Church: The Gospel Made Visible, Mark Dever (intermediate)
Baptist Foundations: Church Government for an Anti-Institutional Age, Eds. Dever & Leeman (advanced)

Mission of the Church

What is the Church’s Mission? (Church Questions), Jonathan Leeman (basic)
What If I’m Discouraged in My Evangelism? (Church Questions), Isaac Adams (basic)
Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus, Mark Dever (beginner)
Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus, Mack Stiles (beginner)
Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global, Andy Johnson (beginner)
What is the Mission of the Church?, Kevin DeYoung & Greg Gilbert (intermediate)

Church Leadership/Keys of the Kingdom

Who’s in Charge of the Church? (Church Questions), Sam Emadi (basic)
Understanding the Congregation’s Authority, Jonathan Leeman (beginner)
Understanding Church Leadership, Mark Dever (beginner)
Church Elders, Jeramie Rinne(beginner)
Don’t Fire Your Church Members: The Case for Congregationalism, Jonathan Leeman (intermediate)

Baptism

Why Should I Be Baptized? (Church Questions), Bobby Jamieson (basic)
Understanding Baptism, Bobby Jamieson (beginner)
Going Public, Bobby Jamieson (intermediate)
Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ, Eds. Schreiner & Wright (advanced)

Lord’s Supper

Why Is the Lord’s Supper So Important? (Church Questions), Aubrey Sequeira (basic)
Understanding the Lord’s Supper, Bobby Jamieson (beginner)
The Lord’s Supper: Remembering and Proclaiming Christ Until He Comes, eds. Schreiner & Crawford (advanced)

Church Membership

Why Should I Join a Church? (Church Questions), Mark Dever (basic)
Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus, Jonathan Leeman (beginner)
40 Questions About Church Membership and Discipline, Jeremy Kimble (intermediate)

Church Discipline

Is It Loving to Practice Church Discipline? (Church Questions), Jonathan Leeman (basic)
Understanding Church Discipline, Jonathan Leeman (beginner)
Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus, Jonathan Leeman (beginner)
See also Kimble under “Church Membership"

Healthy Members

What Should I Do Now That I’m a Christian? (Church Questions), Sam Emadi (basic)
How Can I Serve My Church? (Church Questions), Matthew Emadi (basic)
How Can I Find Someone to Disciple Me? (Church Questions), Garrett Kell (basic)
Why Should I Give to My Church? (Church Questions), Jamie Dunlop (basic)
What if I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church? (Church Questions), Gunner Gunderson (basic)
What is a Healthy Church Member?, Thabiti Anyabwile (beginner)

May the Lord use His Word—and these secondary resources that seek to unpack what is found therein about His church—to stir in us an even deeper love for Him, one another, and His mission in the world. Can you believe we get to be a part of this together?

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

Dear Ladies of DCC,

I invite you to join us on Saturday, March 11th, for our annual Women’s Discipleship Day! This year, we'll be in 2 John as we consider what it means to be Knowing and Walking in the Word. Learn how other women prioritize time in God’s Word and discipling relationships; gain tools to grow in your understanding and hungering for God’s Word. It is our prayer that all women who attend will leave with a greater desire for God’s Word and be propelled to discipling one another.

Why participate in Women’s Discipleship Day?

Women’s Discipleship Day is a time set apart for the women of our body to worship, learn and pray together. It’s a space to slow down from busyness of everyday life and focus on your walk with Jesus. It’s a unique time for women to learn from other women and to encourage and strengthen one another.

What can I expect from this day?

You will sit under the teaching of trained and experienced women from DCC who will share more about how they prioritize time in God’s Word and discipleship in their lives. We’ll praise our God together in musical worship and prayer, as well as spend time in personal reflection and table discussions. You'll be able to text in your questions during our Q&A session.

What if I have plans?

We only gather like this once a year, so consider rescheduling to prioritize Women’s Discipleship Day. This rich time spent in scripture, prayer, and fellowship with one another is of great worth to your soul.

What if I don’t know anyone?

Don’t worry – you’re not the only one! This event is a great opportunity to meet other women in DCC and build or strengthen relationships here. Consider inviting a friend; you don’t have to be a member to participate. One of our prayers for this day is that each woman will find the beginnings of a deep, discipling relationship with others in our body.

What does the $25 registration fee include?

The cost includes a light breakfast, coffee throughout the day, lunch, materials for the day, parking, and a book giveaway. If this presents a financial hardship – just let us know in the registration form, as there are scholarships available!

Will Cornerstone Kids be provided?

Cornerstone Kids will not be provided as we’d love for this time to be focused and fruitful for the ladies. We encourage husbands, family, or friends to help care for children during this time.

Event Details

When: Saturday, March 11th
Where: DCC Building – 2333 Western Ave, 98121
Time: 9 am to 4 pm. Doors open at 8 am for registration and light breakfast.
Lunch: Lunch included with registration.
Parking: Free parking is available in both lots next to the building.

Click here to register
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to email women@downtowncornerstone.org.

In Christ,
Jen Keogh
Deacon of Women’s Discipleship

Men of DCC,

Saturday, February 11th, will be our next Men's Training Day in just over two weeks! As Pastor David reminded us on Sunday, this will be our 7th Men's Training event, and there aren't many good excuses to miss out!

This year, we're looking at God's good design for men as his image-bearers, from Genesis 1-3—what it looks like for us to become godly men who strive after Him, growing in Christlikeness. While growth in godly manhood is a perennial need, we live in a moment where confusion abounds about what it means to be a godly man. This training day will help us in our daily discipleship as we live as brothers, friends, fathers, husbands, and sons of God.

Our training day will include two main sessions covering Godly Masculinity and Godly Sexuality, we'll have breakouts on Discipleship and Relationships, and we'll have opportunities to make and deepen relationships with others in our body. There will also be times of worship, prayer, and pastoral Q&A. These six hours on Saturday, February 11th, will encourage, challenge, and strengthen your walk with the Lord. You won't regret spending this time together with brothers pursuing our King and His everlasting kingdom!

Who should attend? 

Men of DCC! Whether you've been a Christian for decades or for days, there'll be something to stir your mind and faith. Whether you're brand new to DCC or have been around for 10 years, there'll be good opportunities to connect and deepen your relationships.

What is unique about this event? 

A training day is a cross between a retreat and a boot camp. There is an aspect of refreshment as you are reminded of what is true of you in Christ and encouraged by the friendship of brothers in the gospel. And there is an aspect of training and equipping for our fight of faith.  

Why should I attend?

For the sake of your spiritual health and the good of your brothers at DCC. "Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Tim. 4:7-8)

Will Cornerstone Kids be provided?

Unfortunately, no. While we understand that this can be a sacrifice for your family, we encourage you to consider this time as an investment in your spiritual health, which will undoubtedly pay dividends in your spiritual leadership and service to your family.

Okay, I'm in! What are all the details?

When: Saturday, February 11th
Where: DCC Building – 2333 Western Ave, 98121
Time: 9 am to 3 pm. Doors open at 8 am for registration and light breakfast.
Registration: $25 covers a light breakfast, coffee throughout the day, lunch, materials for the day, parking, and a book giveaway. If this presents a financial hardship—just let us know in the registration form, as scholarships are available!
Lunch: Lunch is included with registration.
Parking: Parking is included with registration in both lots next to the building. Register Here

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at justin@downtowncornerstone.org.

In Christ,
Justin Keogh
Pastor of Communities & Mercy Ministries

Downtown Cornerstone,

This Saturday, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, we've got the opportunity to partner with our neighbors around Seattle in Together Washington's Day of Service. This Day of Service is a great chance to meet others while we bless our city through tangible projects of cleaning, graffiti removal, and light landscaping. Read more and register HERE.

Living As Faithful Exiles

During Israel's exile in Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the exiles reminding them of God's sovereign purposes in their exile and his faithfulness to all of his promises. Jeremiah called Israel to do good while they wait for the Lord's redemption:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."
– Jeremiah 29:4-7

Jesus and the apostles apply this theme of exile to Christians in the world. Jesus says "I chose you out of this world" and prayed that we would remain faithful in the world, but not be of the world (John 15:19; 17:15-16). That is, because of God's grace to us in Christ, our earthly lives are not our ultimate end—when God adopts us, we become heirs to an eternal kingdom—and our hope is set fully on our eternal dwelling with God in heaven.

Yet this does not cause us to withdraw from the world but rather motivates us to love and serve others freely, knowing God has purposes for our faithful living as exiles. The Apostle Peter writes:

"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation…For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."
– 1 Peter 2:11-12,15-16

So as exiles in this world, we are to do good and seek the welfare of our city, declaring and demonstrating the love of God, found preeminently in the person and work of Jesus as our Savior.

Serving The City

We have often served in tangible ways around our city, and we have an opportunity to do so again this Saturday by participating in Together Washington's Day of Service. Like many of our Serve the City events, this will be a family-friendly time to come together and bless our city. But in addition to this, we will be serving alongside our neighbors outside of DCC, which we pray will create opportunities to declare the good news of Jesus as our motivation for loving the city as we do.

No specific skills or training are required; simply register, bring friends and family, and show up to help on the 21st!
Register Here

For the glory of our King and the good of many,
Pastor Justin

Downtown Cornerstone,

The letter to the Philippians is so full of theology and encouragement that we may not notice it is a ‘thank you’ letter from a missionary to a church. Paul goes as far as calling his relationship with the church at Philippi a ‘partnership in the gospel’, and he thanks God for it. Consider these words that the Apostle uses:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. – Philippians 1:3-5

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance… – Philippians 1:19

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need… – Philippians 2:25

And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. – Philippians 4:15-18

As noted in the passages above, this partnership entails giving and receiving financial resources, prayer, exhortation, rejoicing together, and much more.

But what makes it a partnership in the gospel? The fact that both Paul and the Philippians have the advance of the gospel as a common desire and goal, and that their partnership is centered around that goal. This explains why Paul talks about the advance of the gospel rather than the discomforts of his imprisonment (1:12), why he rejoices when the gospel is preached even by hypocrites (1:18), why he repeatedly calls the Philippians to strive together for the gospel (1:27; 2:1-4), and why he emphasizes that Timothy, Epaphroditus, Euodia and Syntyche all worked with him in the gospel (2:22; 2:25; 4:3).

This partnership of mutual encouragement, prayer, and support for the advance of the gospel is a model for our own partnerships with other churches, church planters, and missionaries. While we may not have the same depth of relationship with all of our partners, our aim is to get as close to this model as possible. For this reason, I am including a few updates from our partners below, to give us all a chance to pray and rejoice together with our fellow workers in the gospel, and to stir in us a desire to work diligently towards this goal, either as senders or as goers.

As you read the names below, remember that these are not just names, but real people and real churches—our fellow laborers in the kingdom of God. Please join me in prayer for them. (You'll also find more information about our next Global Missions Meetup taking place on Sunday, February 5th.)

Your partner in the gospel,
Pastor Marco

Local, National and International Partnerships

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, we recently also voted to give significant one-time gifts to a pastoral training school in Ecuador, and to the building funds of churches in Albania and closer to home in Oregon.

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

Radiant Church Matsu Valley | Palmer, AK
(Caleb Richardson)
By God’s grace, Radiant Church installed their first elder other than Caleb, and are about to install another in the next few months. The biggest area of growth they have seen as a church in the last year has been in the area of authentic community. Some prayer requests they sent us:

• They need to find a new meeting space in the next few months.
• For boldness in sharing the gospel.
• For the addition of a new elder.
• That the core of their church will grow and own the mission of reaching their city for Jesus.

Sufficient Grace Church | Puyallup, WA
(Noah Winningham)
“We are so very appreciative of your support of our ministry!”
Sufficient Grace just hit their 2 year birthday and are rejoicing with what God has done. By God’s grace, they have 2 elder candidates this year, and have added 13 families into their communities. They expressed deep appreciation for our support, and asked for prayers for continued growth and for more people to step into leadership, in order to support such growth. Noah would also appreciate prayer, as he balances his time being bivocational.

Soma Fuchu | Tokyo, Japan
(Yoshito Noguchi)
Our brothers and sisters at Soma Fuchu are deeply focused on prayer, and in sharing the gospel with unbelievers (of course, those go hand in hand). Please join them in prayer for their work, both as a congregation (e.g. evangelism at the park) and individually (in the workplace).

Antalya Protestant Church / Reach Turkey | Antalya, Turkey
(Kerem Koç)
Reach Turkey received some unexpected large gifts, which allowed them to rent a building and start the ‘Academy’, a 3-year long program for church leaders. Antalya Church is praising God for a variety of visitors, and two new brothers who joined their church in October via baptism. They had many visitors over Christmas, with 15 people hearing the gospel for the first time. Please pray that they would come to faith and repentance!

Restore Brazil
(Jay Bauman)
In 2022, we supported Restore Brazil in the “Projeto Plantador” church planting cohort (residency) with 11 men, representing 11 new churches. We also supported twenty one church plants which are less than 3 years old, as well as various missionary endeavors in underprivileged areas and in the Amazon.

DCC Global Missionaries

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, email us at missions@downtowncornerstone.org.

Learn More And Get Involved

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

• Pray: Start here. Paul is confident that he would be delivered through the Philippians’ prayers. Similarly, we can actively participate in all of the above by asking our triune God to work for his glory. Further, pray for guidance on how you can join this work as a sender or a goer.
• Join our regular Global Missions Meetups: Our next meetup will be on Sunday, February 5th, at 12 pm. In this meetup, we will meet with Andi Dina, who is a church planter in Albania, and also leads a ministry to equip pastors and churches in that area. This is a great opportunity to think about how the unchanging gospel goes into very different and ever-changing cultures, and to pray for church planting in parts of the world that have fewer resources. Register here.
• Consider taking a more intentional role: We’ve developed a Global Missions Development Pipeline to help provide practical pathways and training for engagement in missions. This is both aimed at people who think they may be called to be missionaries, and those who want to grow in becoming better senders. In order to successfully send a church planting team, all kinds of needs must be provided for: accountability, prayer, sending leadership, finances, business mentorship, and other types of practical support. Thus, there are many ways to be involved. You can read more about our Global Missions Development Pipeline and how you can begin taking next steps here.

DCC is partnering with Bloodworks Northwest for a blood donation drive on Wednesday, December 7th.

THE HEART

As God’s people, we are loved and saved by Jesus and called to be a new redeemed people who love God with our whole being and love our neighbors as ourselves (1 Peter 2:9-10; Matthew 22:34-40). Scripture is full of encouragements and exhortations for God’s people to act in order to meet the spiritual and physical needs of our neighbors (Leviticus 19:18; Isaiah 58:6-8; Luke 10:25-37; Galatians 6:10; Titus 3:14; James 1:26-27; 1 John 3:16-18). As such, we talk about being a declaring and demonstrating community: declaring the good news of the gospel to meet people’s greatest need to be reconciled with God, and demonstrating the love of God in tangible acts of mercy to meet the physical needs of our neighbors.

The ways in which we serve are shaped by the stewardship of everything that God has graciously entrusted to us as stewards, the particular passions he’s cultivated by his Spirit in our hearts, and the unique needs of those he’s sovereignly placed around us. And it is through these things that we’ve come to partnering with Bloodworks Northwest to host a blood donation drive next week. Led by members of DCC, this drive is an opportunity for us to both hospitably welcome our neighbors, as well as tangibly care for their needs.

THE NEED

Donating blood is a simple, tangible, and life-saving way to bless our neighbors. Blood donations are used to help folks in emergency situations, those undergoing various cancer treatments, and those under chronic conditions.

While there is a perpetual need to maintain a critical supply of blood for emergencies, there are points of greater need when either the demand increases, or the supply decreases. And just this week, in light of the winter weather, a significant number of donations were cancelled or rescheduled—meaning our donations next week are especially important.

THE OPPORTUNITY

As a way of making blood donations as convenient as possible, Bloodworks Northwest hosts pop-up donations around the city, in order to get closer to where people live and work.

Next Wednesday, December 7th, we will be serving as a host and providing blood donors, while Bloodworks brings in the medical equipment and staffing to collect enough blood to serve over 100 people.

Each donor gives about a pint of blood which our bodies naturally replace over the coming days and weeks. The whole process takes less than an hour, with the actual donation taking about 10 minutes. There is a simple health check prior to donation to ensure that a donation will not be detrimental to the donor or the potential recipient.

Click Here To Sign Up

If you are unable to donate on Wednesday at DCC, you can also sign up to donate at another time and location here. Every donation counts!

Let’s pray that we fill every available spot to donate (and then some!), that our space would be full of Christ-exalting conversations while we donate, and that we’d be a tangible blessing to our neighbors through this donation drive.

LEARN MORE

• To learn more about donating blood, check out Bloodworks NW’s Need to Know page or watch this short video (1 min).
• To learn more about other opportunities to serve our neighbors, visit DCC’s Mercy Ministries webpage, or join one of the Mercy Ministry Groups on Church Center.

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Justin

Downtown Cornerstone,

I am grateful and excited to present a discipleship tool which the elders, along with a cohort of members, have been actively working on over the last three years called, On Ethnic Harmony: A Theological Position Paper. It includes an introductory letter from the elders, a series of Affirmations & Denials, and Frequently Asked Questions.

A position paper, such as this, is intended to be a discipleship tool that presents what we believe God says, or does not say, on this important topic in order to increase understanding, aid our ongoing conversations, and strengthen our “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).

Our hope is that this helps to further facilitate our conversations. After all, we are a multi-ethnic church, nearly matching the diversity of our context (70% white, 13% asians, 6% hispanic, 5% black, 5% multi-racial, 1% other). 15% of our members speak a language other than English as their first language.

We shouldn’t be surprised by this because we know Jesus is currently creating a people from all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages, of which we are a microcosm (Rev. 7:9). What a privilege! Together we get to show the world the new humanity Jesus is redeeming right in the middle of our great city.

If you'd like to learn more about our Ethnic Harmony efforts, or further recommended reading, visit our resource page and, at the same time, consider joining our Ethnic Harmony group on Church Center. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to talk to a pastor or email harmony@downtowncornerstone.org.

You can get the paper here.

“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!” – Psalm 67:4

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

Downtown Cornerstone,

Next Saturday, August 27th, we will be hosting our 11th summer picnic at Myrtle Edwards Park, from 11am–3pm, on the Seattle waterfront—and you’re invited. (For those of you counting, this would be our twelfth apart from Covid.)

This is always a unique annual event in the life of our church where we gather to enjoy God’s common grace through a summer picnic and God’s saving grace through baptism. This year, we have three baptisms to celebrate!

This is a great opportunity to:

• Connect outside our Sunday gathering rhythm.
• Make new friends and reconnect with old ones.
• Revel in the creative handiwork of our God amidst summer in Seattle.
• Share a favorite recipe—or cornhole skill—you’ve been mastering this summer.
• Invite family, neighbors, and coworkers.


We are doing this on a Saturday so that as many as possible are able to join. We encourage you to make an afternoon of it!

Parents, we’ll also have activities for the kids, including bouncy houses, balloon animals, and more!

“What is the schedule?”
We’ll have a rolling start at 11:00am.
Baptisms will occur around 12:00pm.
Lunch will begin at 12:30pm.

“What can I bring?”
DCC will provide the main course, but everyone is encouraged to bring a side to share. You can sign up HERE.

We also encourage you to bring a lawn chair or blanket—and maybe one to share. Break out your favorite lawn game. Dust off your frisbee. Come prepared to enjoy God’s creation and God’s people!

“What should I expect?”
Upon arrival, we will have a welcome tent where you will be greeted and receive a name tag. If you’re new or don’t yet know anyone, we will introduce you to others. We will also have designated “greeters” whose sole purpose will be to facilitate relational connections—though, of course, we encourage you to pro-actively meet others as well! All said, it will be low key. We anticipate folks will be simultaneously eating, chatting, and playing games (ultimate, spikeball, bocce, Jenga, etc.) over the course of our time together.

“How can I help?”
First, be relational. Our relational muscles have atrophied to some extent over the past season, so let’s flex them! Plus, many of you are new. So, there will be ample opportunity for meeting others—familiar and new. Let’s be on the lookout for those who don’t seem as connected or known, and if that’s you, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself.

Second, we still need help covering different responsibilities, from facilitating a game, to monitoring the bouncy house, to cleaning up after the picnic. Each role is limited in scope and time-bound. If you’re concerned about not knowing anyone, serving is an easy way to get plugged in. You can sign-up to help HERE.

Let’s pray for lots of relational gospel-laden fruit!

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

P.S. For specific directions to our picnic spot at Myrtle Edwards, visit our webpage.

On Saturday, July 9th, over 100 folks from DCC and our Belltown neighborhood came together at Myrtle Edwards Park for our 8th annual Serve the City event. It was a great day serving together as we enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation and built new relationships with friends and neighbors.

Over the day, ten teams worked to remove graffiti, pick up trash, and do significant landscaping along the well-loved paths in the park. Thank you to everyone who made the day a great success!

We serve in events like this as a small way of being salt (a preserving agent), light (a guiding tool), and a faithful presence as part of our witness to Christ in Seattle (Matt. 5:13-16; Dan. 6:3,22).

Learn more about our efforts to serve our city through our Mercy Ministries website, and be on the lookout for upcoming opportunities to serve the city with us! And come gather with us at the same Myrtle Edwards Park on Saturday, August 27th, for our annual Picnic at the Park!

For the King and His Kingdom,
Pastor Justin

Downtown Cornerstone,

In just over two weeks, on Saturday, July 9th, from 9 am – 1 pm, we'll gather at Myrtle Edwards Park as a body to serve and bless our neighbors through our 8th annual Serve the City event!

Being a Faithful Presence

As we've been studying Daniel, one of the themes that have stood out to me is being a faithful presence. Daniel remained faithful to God and served where he was—even serving the King of Babylon, who took him and his people into exile. Daniel didn't withdraw in light of the exile or the promise of future return. Instead, he stewarded his time and energies for the good of those around him while trusting in God's work above and through it (Dan. 1:17-21; 6:3; 6:22; 8:27).

We see this same theme throughout the Bible. Abraham, and later Israel, is meant to be a blessing to the nations (Gen. 12:3). Israel, while in exile, was instructed to seek their city's welfare (Jer. 29:7). And we see Jesus himself embody and fulfill this purpose of doing good to those around him through his life, miracles, and ultimately, his death and resurrection—securing forgiveness and salvation for his people (2 Cor. 2:20-22)!

Being Salt & Light

In Matthew 5:13-16, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs his disciples (and thereby, us, his church) to be salt (a preserving force) and light (a guiding force) to those around them. How are we do to this? He says: Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Of course, we understand that these good works come from hearts that have been transformed by the grace of God (Titus 2:11-14), in accordance with God's commandments to know and love him and love our neighbor (Matt. 22:34-39; John 6:28-29), and to give glory to God, and not to ourselves (Matt. 6:1-4).

Serving the City

One of the many ways our DCC family has sought to be salt & light is through our annual Serve the City event. We look forward to serving our city in this way each summer as we work together to make an impact in a short time while making meaningful connections with others. It's a time of joyful labor and fellowship as we live out our calling to be a faithful presence in the city God has placed us. And this year, we're able to resume our large-scale service while partnering with our neighbors in Belltown to serve in our backyard at Myrtle Edwards Park.

Whether you've been at all seven prior Serve the City events or have not yet had the chance to serve with us in these ways, July 9th is a great time to jump in. Our Serve the City event is a simple, tangible, fun, family-friendly way to serve—and it never disappoints! No specific skills or training are required; simply register, bring friends and family, and show up to help on the 9th.

Register Today!

So we can plan accordingly, please register to let us know you're coming. Please indicate any interest in being a team leader when you register. Bring your communities and friends!

Register

For the glory of our King and the good of many,
Pastor Justin

P. S. For a little taste of Serve the City, check out this video from prior years.

Downtown Cornerstone,

Hey there! Whenever this message greets you, I am praying that your soul is finding nourishment in the promises of God, proclaimed by the angel Gabriel to Daniel. God stakes His name on finishing transgression, ending sin, atoning for iniquity, and bringing everlasting righteousness (Dan. 9:24). Count on it!

In just over a month's time, I will have the honor of stepping into a staff role as the Pastor of Families, Students, and Biblical Care. My delight in this new role is mighty and I am feeling humbled at the prospect of shepherding God's people in this new and expanded capacity. Pray for me.

I am sending out a note now in order to add my voice to the call for help in Cornerstone Kids.

As Pastor Adam shared this past Sunday, CKids is the ministry bearing the most weight in our move to one gathering. So, would you join us in helping our church love our kids by extending the oldest good news to the youngest hearts? The space is there, a gospel-rich curriculum is ready, and the kids are wanting to engage. Now we just need your help:

• We recently had to pause offering the K-1st grade class due to insufficient volunteers. We just need 6 more volunteers at the moment to open K-1st back up. But why stop there? The more volunteers we have the sooner we can re-launch classes for infants and older elementary children. Can you give one Sunday morning a month to help?
• To make CKids happen, we need a mix of volunteers who are and are not parents of CKids-aged children. Currently, just over a third of all CKids households have at least one parent volunteering. If we were to double that amount to two-thirds, we would have 14 new volunteers. Parents, ask yourselves, "How can I participate in the good news my kids are receiving?"
• Serving in CKids requires a bit of a process—this is a good thing! As the most impressionable and least powerful people in the church, it is only right that we institute special measures for adults working with children. Therefore, we want all CKids volunteers to be known and require them to have been present at DCC for 6 months. Additionally, there is special training on child abuse which is required of all incoming volunteers.
• Given the "known" requirement, many newcomers to DCC first plug into a service opportunity that is more readily available, like Greeting, for instance. That's terrific! However, now that many of you service-minded folk have been here longer than 6 months, consider moving over to CKids. My own service journey at DCC is similar. When we first arrived, I jumped into building clean-up. After several months I perceived the need in CKids and joyfully stepped into it. If you are thinking about a move out of a service role into CKids, please email operations@downtowncornerstone.org first.
• Are you itching to help but so new that you have not yet been here 6 months? Go ahead and complete an application. You can get yourself ready now by completing the necessary steps in order to be available then.
• I have had more than one person say, "I want to help, but I'm nervous about not knowing what to do." Great news! That's OK. We are careful to pair novice volunteers with experienced leaders in CKids so you get the benefit of a competent partner right there with you.

Come on, click here now to start the volunteer application process or learn more about the role. Our kids need multiple Christian adults in their lives who have tasted the love of Jesus and want to extend that love to them.

All the best,
Pastor Luke

Downtown Cornerstone,

Our friends up north at Canyon Hills Church put this short video together, of which I am a part, to highlight the unexpected exponential impact of our simple evangelism. It reminds us that God is able to do above and beyond all that we ask, think, or imagine through his everyday, ordinary people (Eph. 3:20).

Over 40 years ago, Glenn was sharing the gospel on an Arizona college campus and led Brian to the Lord as a freshman. Brian went on to join Campus Crusade, and later Bridges (a ministry reaching international university students for Christ), through which he has shared the gospel with hundreds of students over 30 years.

Nearly 25 years ago, Brian was sharing the gospel on the UW campus and, of all places, the Greek system. We met and he led me to the Lord while at the Husky Union Building. Shortly after, I too sensed a call into vocational ministry and giving my life to spreading the gospel in Seattle—and beyond.

This clip is a rare and profound glimpse into three generations of gospel movement. We all have stories like this. What is yours? For those of you who’ve come to Christ with DCC, this is part of your gospel lineage as well. Isn’t that amazing?

I hope this encourages you this summer as you consider who God is inviting you to reach with the unbelievable news of Jesus. What might he do though us in the next three months? Let’s pray!

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

Downtown Cornerstone,

It was great to gather with you all this past Sunday! My heart was so encouraged by our time together singing, sitting under the preached word, and responding to the Lord’s initiating work. I can’t wait to do it again this Sunday!

During our gathering, I took a few minutes to give a quick financial update (more details here), and share some exciting news about our new building and our Onward campaign! If you didn’t get a chance to catch that update, you can watch it below.

A Final Push to Finish Onward!

By our reports, and since so many of you are new to DCC, over half of our church has not yet had the opportunity to give or pledge towards our new building.

Now that we have a construction permit(!), and before we close out our fiscal year at the end of this month, we want to make a final push to finish our Onward campaign and invite everyone to prayerfully consider pledging toward our future home. We are currently about $450,000 short of our $3.5 million dollar goal.

The more that is pledged or given now, the more we will be able to build out now, and the less we will have to borrow later.

Giving and Pledging

We know that above and beyond financial giving can take careful and prayerful planning, so pledging is a simple way of expressing a future commitment to give to this project over a period of time. Whether that be a one-time, weekly, monthly, or quarterly gift over a year or two, a pledge is a tool that helps us continue planning through each phase of this project wisely.

Pledges can be fulfilled in the future by either directly donating cash or other securities to DCC (company stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.).

If you are wondering how you can give or pledge to Onward:

First, you can give directly to the DCC Giving fund. Any giving above and beyond our budgeted need for this fiscal year (ending June 30th) will go towards our new building.

Second, you can go to the Onward page on our website or use the button below to submit a pledge. Again, every dollar pledged to be given in the future, will be one less dollar we need to borrow.

Would you consider partnering with us for the sake of the gospel in Seattle and to help see us get into our new home?

Submit a Pledge

Clearly, we don’t want this final push to be a substitute for your regular, ongoing giving to the general DCC Giving fund (so we can make sure we’re able to pay our staff and monthly bills), but we do know that many of us have opportunities throughout the year (through extra income, company stock vestments, and the like) to give above and beyond.

A Brief Project Narrative

If you are new to our church, in 2010 we planted Downtown Cornerstone Church as a Bible-believing, Jesus-loving, Gospel-centered church in the heart of downtown Seattle. Since then, we have prayed for an opportunity to purchase a permanent building that would serve as a gospel outpost and a beacon of hope in our city for generations to come. A place in which we could worship God, proclaim the gospel, make disciples, train leaders, build meaningful relationships, plant churches, and love our city to life.

By God's grace, it is becoming a reality! On December 14th, 2020, we purchased a roughly 24,000 square foot building in the heart of Belltown, just a handful of blocks from where we currently meet. This building was built in 1946 and served as a labor union hall for decades. However, due to the age of the building, it's going to require a complete gut and remodel. This includes everything from seismic retrofitting, to sprinklers, new roof, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and more.

Once complete, the building will seat approximately 700 people in the sanctuary, provide classrooms for children and adult education, an office level for staff and counseling, and plenty of spaces for our church to worship Jesus and help make disciples.

When we did our due diligence on the building in February 2020 before purchasing it, the renovation estimates came in at about five to six million dollars. However, because of Covid-19, inflation, and the skyrocketing prices of commodities and construction in Seattle over the last two and a half years, our renovation costs have practically doubled to about ten million dollars.

Over the last decade, and by God’s grace, our church has been able to save enough money to cover the downpayment of the property ($3 million), and to date, set aside and raise an additional $5 million towards needed renovations. Although we’ve come up with a plan for phasing the project and also secured an additional three million dollar construction loan to help fill some of this gap, we are still about two million dollars short. There is enough equity in the property that the bank is willing to lend us more money, but it’s our preference not to borrow any more than we need to. Hence this final push.

By God’s grace, we received our construction permit and are finalizing preconstruction details with the city in preparation to sign a contract with our General Contractor to get going as soon as possible. Lord-willing, our hope is that we’d be able to start construction in August.

If you have yet to see the plans and renderings of the project, you can view them here!

DCC, I am looking forward to seeing how the Lord is going to continue showing up, and can’t wait to worship in our new home together with you all!

For the Gospel in Seattle,
Pastor David

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us at building@downtowncornerstone.org.

Downtown Cornerstone,

As Pastor Adam mentioned yesterday, starting on June 5th, we’ll be moving to one gathering at 10 am for the summer! Spread the word! 

If you missed the announcement, please watch this important short video below for the rationale behind why we are making this change.

While we know this adjustment will require flexibility on everyone’s part, we are really excited to pull everyone together and are praying that the Lord would use it to further strengthen our church into this next season.

We know there will be many questions, so we’ve tried to address the most common ones in the FAQ below, but if there are other questions you have, don’t hesitate to let us know.

For the Gospel in Seattle,
Pastor David

FAQs

Q: Why are we doing this?

See the linked video above for a longer explanation. But, in short, coming out of the pandemic, our church can fit in one (very full) gathering better than two (not very full) gatherings. This will allow us to regroup as a church over the summer, better steward our resources, grow our relationships with one another, worship together at the same time, and enjoy weekly post-gathering connecting.

Q: How long will we be at one gathering?

At this point, we’re planning to have one gathering through the summer, and then reevaluate as we head into the fall.

Q: How will we fit everyone in the building?

Over the last several weeks, we averaged 300-350 people sitting in our auditorium across both gatherings. We can currently fit about 320 people in our auditorium with another 25-30 in the Commons. We can also fit another 75+ folks in our Multi-purpose Room (MPR) who will be able to worship via livefeed. The MPR should give us enough room to accommodate any overflow and/or create space for those looking for a little more room.

Q: Can we still invite others? Will there be room?

Of course! Please invite others, as always! We will make it work. By arriving slightly earlier, your seats will be guaranteed every week. We’ll also have ample overflow seating. It’s true that some may not feel there is room for them if we’re full. But, conversely, others may not feel welcome if the room is empty. At this point, we believe one full room is the healthiest option for us as a church as we head into the summer. This means we’ll need to be on the lookout for, and be welcoming to, those who are new week-to-week. Why not make it your goal to meet someone new each week?

Q: How early should I/we arrive for the gathering?

Generally, we recommend arriving ten to fifteen minutes prior to the gathering. This will allow you time to park, check your children into CKids (if applicable), find a seat, greet others, and prepare your heart for worship. This will also ensure you are able to participate in the whole of the gathering, from the welcome to the commission.

Q: Will there be any changes to parking?

No. We’ll continue to reserve the lots next to the building for families and first-time visitors. Free parking is also available on the street and validation will still be provided for the Bell Harbor Parking Garage (located at 2323 Elliott Avenue). Please bring your ticket with you so we can validate it in the Commons, by the Connect Desk.

Q: Will there be a rotation for those sitting in the MPR (downstairs)?

For now, no. Our first aim will be to fill the sanctuary, followed by the Commons, then the MPR. Seating will generally be available on a first-come-first-served basis. Therefore, those arriving last, will usually be directed downstairs if upstairs seating is full. After all, we don’t want people downstairs if there is still room upstairs.

That said, our hope is to strike a balance over time. If you or your community are open to taking rotations downstairs, we’d welcome that. We also hope to have pastors and leaders present in the MPR each week. While not ideal, it's important that we don’t see MPR as second-class seating. You’ll still be with the church, in the same building, at the same time, with opportunities to connect with others before and after worship.

Q: What’s the difference between a livefeed in the MPR and a livestream at home?

All throughout scripture we see that the church gathers. In fact, the very definition of “the church” isn’t a building, but God’s people gathered in a particular place, coming together to worship our Savior together. We discontinued our livestream last July in order to bring our church together. While we might be scattered in different parts of the building, the distributed livefeed will allow us to worship, all together, under one roof, at the same time. Additionally, we’ll be inviting everyone to stay and join our post-service fellowship.

Q: Are there ways we can help in this transition?

Yes! There are five things you can do right away to help:

1. Pray that the Lord would continue to unify us and grow us in our love for each other.
2. If you’re not serving, please join a serving team. We’ll especially need additional volunteers in Cornerstone Kids, and volunteers in all of our teams to backfill those moving to serve in CKids.
3. Be thinking about who to invite this summer.
4. Be intentional about welcoming those who are new or whom you don’t know.
5. Plan to arrive early and help the ushers and greeters fill every seat by sliding into the middle or end of a row to give room for others.

Q: How will this affect my serving team?

Be on the lookout for an email from your Ministry Lead this week about how this change will impact your serving team's responsibilities and schedule. The biggest impact of this shift will be on our Cornerstone Kids ministry. Our hope is that we’ll have enough CKids volunteers so that we can move to a four-week rotation, and no one is missing more than one gathering a month.

Q: I’m planning to participate in the Foundations class. How will this affect me?

We’ll be moving the start time of our Foundations class to 8:15 am, to ensure it is completed before worship begins.

Q: I typically use the Commons with my toddler who needs a little extra wiggle room, what should I do?

First, in addition to providing Cornerstone Kids and our Nursing Mom’s Room, children will always be welcome in our worship gatherings! Second, if you’re having a harder morning with your child, we’re opening the conference room downstairs as a “wiggle room” that has a TV with the livefeed that you are welcome to utilize as needed.

Q: When will we be able to move into our new building?

We’re continuing to wait for our building permit and a final round of bids so we can move forward. Please continue to pray that the City would issue a building permit soon and that we’d be able to start construction this summer. Once everything is in place to start construction, we expect the initial phase of renovations will take 6-8 months before we can move.

Downtown Cornerstone,

This week we’ll kick off the last round of our spring classes before we break for summer. Whether you are new to DCC and exploring Christianity, or interested in getting further connected to the life of our church—or maybe you have been following Jesus for a while and are eager to continue growing in your faith—wherever you may find yourself, I want to encourage you to invest in feeding your soul this spring by taking advantage of one of the upcoming classes. You won’t regret it!

Midweek classes start this Wednesday at 6:30 pm, and the Foundations class will start this Sunday at 9 am. Check the class descriptions below, and register by following the appropriate links:

DCC Foundations

Sundays @ 9:00-10:30 AM | May 15 – Jun 12
Instructors: DCC Elders
Our Foundations class is the first stop for those seeking to learn more about DCC, join a Cornerstone Community, be baptized, and become a member. This five-week class walks through what we believe (doctrine), why it’s important to belong (membership), who we are (vision, mission, and values), why we are here (context), and how we live together (leadership, ministries, partners, and finances). By the end, you’ll have clear next steps for how to grow and get further connected. This class is required for membership with DCC. Register here…

Exploring Christianity

Wednesdays @ 6:30-8:00 PM | May 18 – Jun 8
Instructors: Pastor Russ Collins & Team
Have you ever considered why you are here and what life is all about? Christianity has compelling answers to these questions. Whether you are a skeptic who is exploring the claims of Christianity or you are a believer wanting to learn how you can better explain your faith to others, this class will walk through the claims and life of Jesus and what it means to be a Christian. Register here…

Biblical Womanhood

Wednesdays @ 6:30-8:00 PM | May 11 – Jun 8
Instructors: Jen Keogh & Anne Johnson (DCC members, deacons)
This class will explore the beauty of God’s good design for women—created in God’s image, equal but yet distinct from men. We’ll discover God’s heart for women and the high value He places on them throughout the Bible, by examining the Old & New Testaments. We’ll consider our unity and identity in Christ, as well as the diversity of roles and gifts that God may assign to women. This class is specifically for women and will be taught by women in our body. Register here…

Financial Stewardship

Wednesdays @ 6:30-8:00 PM | May 11 – Jun 8
Instructors: Pastor David Parker & Bryan Alsbury (DCC member)
How we handle our finances can be one of the most misunderstood and taboo topics in our day and age, but one of vital importance to our spiritual lives and our worship of God. In this class, we’ll examine what Scripture has to say about our finances, how we’re to use them, and the dangers to avoid. We’ll also cover practical topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, and more! Register here…

If you have any other questions, email us at classes@downtowncornerstone.org.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Eph. 3:20-21)

In Christ,
Pastor David

Men of DCC,

In just over two weeks—Saturday, May 21st—will be our next Men’s Training Day (the first since 2019)!

Join us for a time of equipping, encouragement, and fellowship as we dive into 1 Timothy 6:12, which calls us to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…”

We’ve taken all the essential components of our discipleship—teaching, reflection, discussion, prayer, and application—and put them into a well-paced six hours that will help you take steps forward in the good fight for your faith. You won’t regret spending this time together with brothers from our body pursuing our King and His everlasting kingdom!

Those who remember our previous training days and retreats will recall the clear preaching of God’s word, the fellowship among friends, opportunities to meet others, and the practical tools given and used for your discipleship. But for anyone who has yet to experience a training day, let me briefly answer as many questions and objections as I can:

WHAT WILL WE DO?

You'll hear from our pastors on the what, the why, and the how of fighting the good fight of faith. We'll engage the Word of God and sing in worship. There will be times for meeting others and table discussion, and time for prayer and reflection. You'll take away a personal discipleship plan, a practical devotional book, and renewed relationships to help you fight the good fight.

WHY SHOULD I ATTEND?

For the sake of your spiritual health and the good of your brothers at DCC. “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Tim. 4:7-8)

I ALREADY HAVE PLANS

Consider changing them! This is our first chance to meet in this format in almost three years—and we won’t host another event until next year, so now is the opportune time! These events are catalysts for spiritual growth, like shots of Red Bull for our discipleship (in the best ways).

ISN'T THIS THE SAME AS A SUNDAY WORSHIP GATHERING?

In short, no. There are common elements, but this day is designed specifically to help us engage with God’s word together as brothers and apply it practically to our lives. You will walk away informed, encouraged, and equipped with a plan to help you grow in your faith in the months to follow.

I'VE BEEN TO EVENTS LIKE THIS BEFORE. WHY ANOTHER ONE?

Indeed, you may have gone to many retreats and events in your life. But, you’ve probably also eaten many meals—and continue to do so! Similarly, exercise and training do not happen as a one-time event but as a lifestyle of healthy habits. This is an opportunity to take stock of your discipleship, be encouraged, and consider your next steps. No one goes into battle unarmed, and neither should we! So let’s arm ourselves with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, so that we may be able to stand firm (see Eph. 6:10-20).

WHAT IF I'M NEW?

This is a perfect opportunity to meet others and get further plugged into the life of our body!

CAN I INVITE OTHERS?

Yes! Invite your brother/neighbor/coworker/unbelieving friend. The content for the day will be centered around the gospel, calling all of us to respond in faith and then in faith-filled obedience to fight the good fight.

WHAT ARE THE COVID PRECAUTIONS?

We will follow the current guidelines, which permit us to gather without requiring masks or checking vaccinations. We will have masks available, and you are welcome to wear a mask if you would feel more comfortable doing so.

CAN I ATTEND ONLINE?

Now that we can gather in person again, we will not be providing an online option. Being together allows us many opportunities to connect with others that don’t happen virtually.

WHY IS THERE A COST?

The $25 registration cost includes a light breakfast, coffee throughout the day, lunch, materials for the day, parking, and a book giveaway. If this presents a financial hardship—just let us know in the registration form, as scholarships are available!

WILL CORNERSTONE KIDS BE PROVIDED?

Unfortunately, no. While we understand that this can be a sacrifice for your family, we encourage you to consider this time as an investment in your spiritual health, which will undoubtedly pay dividends in your spiritual leadership and service to your family.

OKAY, I'M IN! WHAT ARE ALL THE DETAILS?

When: Saturday, May 21st
Where: DCC Building – 2333 Western Ave, 98121
Time: 9 am to 3 pm. Doors open at 8 am for registration and light breakfast.
Lunch: Lunch is included with registration.
Parking: Free parking is available in both lots next to the building.

Click here to register
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at justin@downtowncornerstone.org.

In Christ,
Justin Keogh
Pastor of Communities & Mercy Ministries

Dear Ladies of DCC,

On Saturday, March 19th, we will finally be able to gather for our first Women’s Discipleship Day in over two years! How my soul has longed to gather with my sisters. At last, it is safe and possible to do so! I urge you to take advantage of this one-day event to worship our great and sovereign Lord, receive teachings by fellow sisters in DCC, and point one another to the God of peace. Our time will be anchored in Philippians 4:2-13 in which we’ll consider the contentment found in Christ alone.

Why participate in women’s discipleship day?

Over the past two years, we have experienced countless circumstances to tempt us to despair and anxiety—above and beyond those that everyday life, work, and relationships bring. This year, not only do we get to gather in a way we have been prohibited from, but we will also be diving into a text abounding in the remedy for our modern anxiety. Women’s Discipleship Day is meant to be a time for us to slow down and learn and grow together in putting off anxiety and finding ourselves wholly surrounded by the peace of God.

What can I expect from this day?

We’ll have homegrown teachers expositing Philippians 4:2-13. You will hear testimonies from other women on how they cultivated contentment in their lives. We’ll praise our God together in musical worship and prayer, as well as spend time in personal reflection and table discussions. Our hope for the day is that each of us grows in intimacy with one another and with the God who gives us His peace in our minds, our circumstances, and our relationships.

What if I have plans?

Consider changing your plans to prioritize this opportunity as it is the first time in over two years that we can gather like this. This rich time spent in scripture, prayer, and fellowship with one another is of great worth to your soul.

What if I don’t know anyone?

Don’t worry – you’re not the only one! This event is a great opportunity to meet other women in DCC and build or strengthen relationships here. Consider inviting a friend; you don’t have to be a member to participate. In fact, invite the woman sitting next to you at our next gathering. One of our prayers for this day is that each woman will find the beginnings of a deep, discipling relationship with others in our body.

What does the $25 registration fee include?

The cost includes a light breakfast, coffee throughout the day, lunch, materials for the day, parking, and a book giveaway. If this presents a financial hardship – just let us know in the registration form, as there are scholarships available!

Will Cornerstone Kids be provided?

Cornerstone Kids will not be provided as we’d love for this time to be focused and fruitful for the ladies. We encourage husbands, family, or friends to help care for children during this time.

Event Details

When: Saturday, March 19th
Where: DCC Building – 2333 Western Ave, 98121
Time: 9 am to 4 pm. Doors open at 8 am for registration and light breakfast.
Lunch: Lunch included with registration.
Parking: Free parking is available in both lots next to the building.

Click here to register
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to email women@downtowncornerstone.org.

In Christ,
Jen Keogh
Deacon of Women’s Discipleship

Downtown Cornerstone,

In light of Pastor Adam preaching on God’s unfolding mission the other week, we thought it’d be fitting to send out a church planting update so you can be encouraged at what Jesus is doing in and through your faithful giving and prayers.

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”

– Romans 15:18–21

Isn't it interesting that the apostle Paul can use the short phrase ‘bringing the Gentiles to obedience’ as a summary of the fulfillment of the ministry of the gospel of Christ? Of course, ‘bringing people to obedience’ is a summary of Jesus’ commission to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt. 18:20). One way to phrase our mission as a church is to bring others to obedience to Jesus Christ, which simultaneously displays our love to God (as we desire to see him worshiped and obeyed) and our love for people, who can only truly flourish if they turn to Jesus Christ in the obedience of faith.

It is instructive to observe how Paul went about fulfilling this ministry – we get a glimpse in Acts 19-21, where Paul starts with a small group of twelve men (19:7), plants a local church, and teaches them the whole counsel of God in public and from house to house (19:9; 20:20,27), even as he works with his own hands to support both himself and others (20:34-35). Paul spent three years in Ephesus (20:31), and as a result, “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks (19:10)”, after which Paul proceeded to strengthen previous churches (21:1-16) before making it his ambition to preach the gospel and plant more churches amongst those who had not yet heard the gospel.

In addition to our local evangelism and discipleship, we want to follow Paul’s pattern, by partnering with other churches or church planters. We also train and send some of our own members called by God to proclaim the gospel somewhere else, prioritizing peoples among whom Christ is yet to be named. It is for this reason that we set aside at least 10% of our budget towards ministry outside our walls.

What follows below are some updates on these various efforts, ways you can be praying, and resources on how to get involved. (You'll also find more information about our next Global Missions Meetup taking place this Sunday, February 13th.)

Let's continue to pray for these missionaries, churches and ministries. Pray that the gospel would go forth, pray for that more souls would be saved, and that the Lord would make us a people who live both as those who were sent and those who are sending others, for his glory and our joy.

In Christ,
Pastor Marco

Local, National and International Partnerships

Acts 29
Our church is 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. We also ‘personally’ support the following individual churches / planters:

Radiant Church Matsu Valley | Palmer, AK
(Caleb Richardson)
Radiant is encouraged by how the Lord is continuing to grow them as a church. Although they’ve experienced quite a bit of churn from Covid, they are trusting in how the Lord is growing them in maturity. Be praying that the Lord would raise up more elders and leaders within the church and that God would use their upcoming church conference to encourage their hearts and be a catalyst for more church planting in Alaska.

Sufficient Grace Church | Puyallup, WA
(Noah Winningham)
Sufficient Grace Church is a church plant we’ve been supporting since its conception, around 1 year ago. As you can imagine, finding a meeting space during COVID was a big challenge, but God providentially blessed them with fellow believers at a local school who were eager to help them rent a space. It is a blessing for us to watch a nearby church grow in maturity, as they grow in prayer, teaching, and gospel proclamation. The Lord continues to go before them through growing and multiplying communities. They are thankful for his provision as they work towards being less reliant on external giving, and as the church grows in size and generosity. Continue to pray that the Lord would use SGC in Puyallup and the South Hill area to declare the gospel and make disciples.

Soma Fuchu | Tokyo, Japan
(Yoshito Noguchi)
Our brothers and sisters at Soma Fuchu are rejoicing at finally being able to meet face to face. They recently held a joyful ordination ceremony for Jon Cole, who was appointed as pastor and are celebrating God’s grace to them in many other ways this past year. They ask for prayer so that many friends and acquaintances of members would hear the gospel, that they would be able to develop a local (Japanese) intern for ministry and leadership, and for partner churches in Japan. Finally, “many spiritual forces are strong at work throughout Japan. Please pray that the gospel will be deeply rooted and that the gospel will be boldly proclaimed.”

Antalya Protestant Church / Reach Turkey | Antalya, Turkey
(Kerem Koç)
In addition to Antalya Church, we are supporting efforts to train church planters in Turkey and translate gospel-saturated resources (e.g. books) into the Turkish language. Ministry in Turkey presents a variety of challenges, but the Lord has been faithful.

Restore Brazil
(Jay Bauman)
Our support to Restore Brazil is disbursed to a variety of small churches and church planters participating in their church residency program. They also have an initiative specifically focused on training pastors who minister in Brazil’s slums, and have recently started developing work in Mozambique, Africa – sending Brazilian missionaries (the language is the same), and developing a local institute for theological training.

DCC Global Missionaries

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 Chad, Africa and Southeast Asia, email us at missions@downtowncornerstone.org.

Learn More and Get Involved

Friends, we are all called to the mission of ‘bringing the Gentiles to obedience’, for their good and God’s glory. Here are a few ways to get involved:

• Pray: Start here. We cannot fulfill Jesus’ mission for us in our own strength. Just as Paul appeals to the Romans to strive together with him in his prayers to God (Rom. 15:30), we appeal to you “by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit” to pray to the Father for all of our partners above, and for guidance on how you can join this work as a sender or a goer.
• Join our regular Global Missions Meetups: This month we will hear from The Al-Ma'idah Initiative on how we can be better equipped at reaching Muslims with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Register here.
• Consider taking a more intentional role: We’ve developed a Global Missions Development Pipeline to help provide practical pathways and training for engagement in missions. This is both aimed at people who think they may be called to be missionaries, and those who want to grow in becoming better senders. In order to successfully send a church planting team, all kinds of needs must be provided for: accountability, prayer, sending leadership, finances, business mentorship, and other types of practical support. Thus, there are many ways to be involved. You can read more about our Global Missions Development Pipeline and how you can begin taking next steps here.

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.

For more regular updates in each focus area, please request to join our Mercy Focus groups in Church Center (linked below) and join us at this Sunday's Mercy Meetup (details below).

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.

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."
– Galatians 6:9-10

It's 2022! If we're honest, as the Covid-19 pandemic approaches the two-year mark, many of us may be weary—generally, and also in our service to others. Even while the Galatians faced many challenges—false teachers, ethnic conflict, internal strife, battles with sin—Paul calls them to persist in doing good to everyone as they had opportunity. 

It's helpful to recognize that while the particulars of our situation may be different than the churches in Galatia, many of the patterns are the same. Every season will have many and varying challenges that threaten to keep us from right living before God and right living with others. Our call as Christians, who have received the grace of God by faith in Christ and who have the Spirit of God at work in us, is to not grow weary of doing good.

How are we to persevere in doing good? We do so, not in our strength, but by abiding in Christ and drawing our daily power from him. He has loved and cared for us in the most significant ways by dying in our place to secure our forgiveness and restoration with God. And he continues to love and care for us in the details of our lives by being present with us, interceding for us, and working all things to our ultimate good. So we can look to Christ and be strengthened by his Spirit to live as he did—in radical service to others, by being present with them, interceding for them, and caring for their material and spiritual needs.

Mercy Ministry Meetup: This Sunday, January 23rd

Join us this Sunday, after each gathering, downstairs in the MPR, for our next Mercy Meetup. In this meetup, there will be a brief update from me and our current Mercy Ministries, including more information about how to serve in this season. While many of the ways we have traditionally served have changed in light of Covid-19, there are still opportunities to help now, both individually and with others.

This is an excellent place for those looking to get started, ask questions, meet others, and take the next step in serving with our Mercy Ministries. Registration is not required—just plan to join us this Sunday after either gathering downstairs in the MPR.

Stay Connected

Learn more about our Mercy Ministries HERE. Join the focus area Church Center groups in order to hear more regular updates, events, and opportunities to serve:

• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Life Project
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

For the Kingdom,

Pastor Justin

Just like our bodies need food to flourish physically, so our souls need God’s Word to flourish spiritually (See 2 Tim 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12). Our souls will shrivel without it. There is no other means of grace (aka spiritual discipline) that is more important than intentionally, regularly immersing yourself in God’s revealed word, the Bible. Not even prayer is as important (though it is a close second) because there is nothing we need more than to hear from Him. So, in light of this, let me offer the following ten tips to help improve your reading of the Bible this year.

#1 Ask yourself “Why do I read the Bible?”

This might seem like a strange place to start, but it is important to begin here. Often, we jump in without even considering this question. But, I’m growing increasingly convinced that our answer to this question may reveal why so many find reading the Bible dull drudgery – if they read it at all. Ask yourself, “Why do I read the Bible?” or, “Why do I think I should read the Bible?” Many people will answer by saying, “Because I am supposed to.” But, is that meant to be our primary motivation? “I’m supposed to.” No. Here’s the real question: “Do you want God?” In other words, do you want to know him more? Do you want to grow in relationship with him, understand who he is more fully, revel in all that he is for you, grasp his promises afresh, love what he loves, be more deeply anchored in what is most real? If so, you will want to read the Scripture. But, if God is not what your heart is ultimately after, then your reading will largely feel like dull drudgery, mere duty. Whenever we do the right thing (e.g. reading the Bible) for the wrong reasons (e.g. just because we should), it will always leave us dry and dissatisfied. When you read the Scripture because you want to know God more, it changes how you approach your reading. This doesn’t mean there won’t be times of dryness, there will be, just like in any other relationship, but the underlying motivation will propel you through those seasons. So, as we begin the year, maybe the first question isn’t, “How will I read the Bible this year?” but “Do I want God?”

#2 Read the Bible from love, not for it

The good news of Jesus’s life and work is that we are made right with God through faith alone, by grace alone, in him alone. In other words, we don’t earn or merit or deserve his incomparable love. For our purposes here, that means we don’t read the Bible in order to earn God’s love, but because we already have it. Or, to put it differently, reading the Bible won’t make him love us any more than he already does, in Jesus. Why point this out? Unless you are sure that you are safe with God, that he loves you, that he is completely committed to you, that he wants your best, you will never seek him. After all, if you see God as a vindictive, cruel, unapproachable task-master, why would you want to spend time with him? I wouldn’t. But, if God is immeasurably good, incomparably wise, unfathomably powerful and he has graciously made you his, in Jesus, that allows you to read the Bible from love, not for it. So, we can open up the pages of his Word day-after-day not to earn His love, but because we know we already have it.

#3 Understand the dynamics of your fallen heart

Nearly every morning I wake up and my heart has drifted back into it default position of unbelief. Pastor and author Paul Tripp, rightly calls this “gospel amnesia”. When I wake up I often feel like the weight of the world rests on my shoulders, that I need to earn the approval of others, that my worth is tied to my performance, that my treasure is found in this world, that I don’t really need God, and more. It’s embarrassing, really. But, we shouldn’t be surprised about this. Our hearts are like leaky buckets. Just when you thought it was filled, they start to empty. We need to know this about our hearts. This is just how fallen hearts function. Because of the nature of indwelling sin, our hearts effortlessly drift away from God like unanchored boats at sea. So, when we think, “I don’t really feel like spending time with God today?” we should respond by saying to ourselves, “I expect to feel that way. That’s my shady heart talking. I obviously need to take it in for a realignment.” Knowing that my heart is misaligned, to some degree, every morning motivates me to reorient my heart toward God and all that he is for me every morning. This happens most powerfully through the Bible.

#4 Raise the sail to catch the wind

In his helpful book Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God, Rankin Wilbourne uses the illustration of a sailor raising his sail to catch the wind as a metaphor for how we should approach the means of grace. Just as a sailor will not catch the wind if he doesn’t raise the sail, we will not grow if we do not raise the sails of our hearts through the means of grace – especially regular bible reading. Some object to this and say, “If salvation is all of grace, then why are you saying there is something I need to do?” Well, no doubt, life with God is all of grace. But, his grace invites us into a life that requires us to participate (see Phil 2:12-13). We play a crucial role in our ongoing growth. Now, of course, if anything good and worthwhile is to happen within us it is ultimately up to God. The sailor raises the sail, but he’s dependent on the wind to move the boat. Reading the Bible is like that. Humbly opening up the Scripture is how we raise the sail of our hearts, while knowing it is only God who sends the wind. Fortunately, more often than not, he loves to send the wind, so its not much of a gamble. We can’t control the wind, but we can raise the sail to catch it. If we don’t, its guaranteed we’ll do nothing but drift.

#5 Find a good translation

I remember being a new Christian in college wondering, “How in the world am I to pick the right Bible? There are too many options!” It can be overwhelming. If you’re a new, or renewed, follower of Jesus I recommend reading through the Bible using a study bible (e.g. ESV Study Bible, Gospel Transformation, Reformation Study Bible, NIV Life Application Bible, etc). Most Bibles with study notes offer enough information to answer your basic questions and ensure you don’t get needlessly hung up on what things mean. As far as Bibles themselves go, here is a good place to start:

ESV: Probably the best literal (word-for-word) modern translation available. The ESV is an updated version of the RSV. This is the translation we use on Sundays as a church. If you need one, feel free to take one of the paperback ESV’s we have available. Personally, I also enjoy the NASB and NKJV.

NIV: The NIV is the most popular dynamic-equivalent Bible of our day that seeks to strike a balance between matching the original word usage while communicating the original meaning. That makes it not quite as literal (i.e. word-for-word) as the ESV, but helpful and easy to read. You do need to be more discerning here as recent editions have introduced more gender neutral terminology that is not found in the original languages.

NLT: The New Living Translation belongs to the family of Bibles known as “paraphrases”. The goal of interpretation of these paraphrases is not to match word-for-word but to freely use language to highlight the original meaning. The Message is another popular paraphrase. The primary advantage of the NLT is that there was a translation committee involved, as opposed to the single authorship of The Message by Eugene Peterson (which is great too).

#6 Find a plan

This is where it is easiest to get lost. You want to know God. You understand that you’re reading the Bible from God’s love, not for it. You know your shady heart needs it. You’re ready to hoist the sail. You have your ESV open in front of you and think, “Oh, great, now what?” To avoid this moment, you need a plan. It doesn’t really matter what your plan is, provided you have one. Often in their eagerness, new believers will think, “I’m just going to read the Bible straight through.” I tried this myself. This might surprise you, but I don’t recommend it. Why? Because it can be really discouraging, especially once you hit Leviticus. Instead, try a plan that has you reading the Bible in a year. This is the one I use. If a year is intimidating, take two or three. it can also be helpful to read a chronological Bible reading plan so you get a sense of the order of events in the Scripture. Or, you could sink yourself into a single book, or study a character, or dive into a topic you’re interested in. Don’t worry about getting it right. Pick something. Give it a shot. If it doesn’t work, try something new. Be sure to ask your friends what they’ve found helpful.

#7 Find a rhythm

If you don’t have a rhythm for when you’re going to get unhurried time with God through the Scripture, it likely won’t happen. Look at your calendar. Find a consistent block of time. Then, find a quiet spot. Turn your electronics off or leave them somewhere else in the house. Be intentional about making it a focused, non-distracting time. I remember once reading of a famous theologian, who had seven kids, whose wife would put a towel over her head at the kitchen table to read the Bible and pray. When the towel came out, the kids knew that momma was getting time with Jesus. Do whatever it takes. Get creative, even if it involves a towel. A relationship with God is forged like any other relationship – thru consistent, unhurried, quality time. Be patient with yourself, especially if this is new for you.

#8 Ask God to give you eyes to see

A passage of scripture that I regularly think of when I open my Bible is Psalm 119:18 that says, “Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of your law.” We need God to open the eyes and ears of our hearts to see and hear what he has for us in his Word. This is why one person can read a section of the Bible and be bored to tears, while someone else may read the exact same section and be lost in the breathtaking beauty of what she finds there. So, when you open your Bible, pour out your heart to Him. Tell him you’re tired, distracted, or distant. Tell him your heart needs realignment around what is most real. Then, ask him to open your eyes. Tell him that you want to see, really see. Trust that the Spirit who inspired the writing of the Bible (2 Peter 1:21) is the same Spirit at work in you (Romans 8). Then read, full of faith, on the lookout for what he might bring to your attention. That leads us to the next tip.

#9 Stay on the lookout for God as you read

After asking God for help, be on the look out for how he wants to feed your soul and stir your heart. You’re really looking for one, maybe two, things to think about. Its hard to digest more than that in a single day. So, as you’re reading, you want to find a truth to savor for the day. Ask: What is this saying about God? What does God want me to learn here? What does this tell me about myself? What difference would it make today if I actually believed this? Try to find something about him to satisfy your hungry heart every day. More than likely, it won’t be something new that you haven’t seen before, though it might be, but more often it is something “old” that strikes you in a new, deeper way. The famous English pastor George Mueller was known for his goal of making his heart happy in God every morning. I’ve adopted that as my own goal ever since I first heard it. Read with intention. Look for what jumps out. Then, when it does, stop and savor it.

#10 Slow it down, then write it down

Have you ever spent time reading, then closed your Bible, and immediately forget what it is you’ve read. I’m sure you have. I have. It is a universal problem. Is there a way to avoid that? Yes. Slow it down. Then, write it down. By “slowing it down” I mean don’t spend all your time reading. Rather, read and then chew on something that you’ve read (this is called “meditating”). Take a verse, or two, that stood out. Stop. Read through it a number of times. Turn it into a prayer. Look at it from multiple angles. Imagine how your life would be different if you believed the truth in view. Take your time with it. So, for example, if you have 20 minutes to read. Spend 10 minutes reading and 10 minutes slowing down on one verse or passage that stood out. Writing it down helps to further solidify these things in your heart, especially if you’re prone to distraction. One thing I do, nearly every day, is write down a verse or two that stands out. I use a small notebook, but it could be anything, even a 3×5 card. Then, I pray through it and meditate on it. Then, I try to pull the notebook out around lunch and before bed to review those truths so that they are with me throughout the day. Give it a shot and see what works best for you.

Christ is all,

Pastor Adam

Merry Christmas Downtown Cornerstone,

There is no doubt these are dark and difficult times. Conflict lurks around every corner, at home and abroad. Covid is mutating. Inflation looms. Politics divide. Ethnic tensions remain. Vaccines, and now boosters, are available, but debated. There is ongoing conflict over when life begins and who can end it, conflict over what gender is and who defines it, conflict over the media and which narrative controls it, conflict over societal injustice and how to fix it, and conflict over the gap between the haves and have-nots and how to shrink it. Homelessness, immigration, and violent crime are at crisis levels. Global warming is being seen as a growing concern. Deconstructing faith is an unfortunate trend. Yet, even so, I’m not a declinist. I'm a gospel optimist.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1:5)

Our God specializes at working in the darkness of a world under the siege of sin, amidst catastrophic floods (Gen. 7-9), elderly infertility (Gen. 17), marital brokenness (Gen. 29), tremendous personal loss (see Job), sibling betrayal, slander, and false imprisonment (Gen. 50:20), enslavement and genocide of foreign nations (Ex. 1), forty years of wilderness wandering (Ex. 16:35), a decades long battle-fraught unfulfilled conquest (see Joshua), over two hundred years of oppression, chaos, moral descent and spiritual decline (see Judges), faithless rulers and impossible battles (1 Sam. 15,17; 1 Kgs. 11–2 Kgs. 25), systemic paganism and false prophets (1 Kgs. 18), the fall of empires (2 Kgs. 17; 25), life in exile (see Daniel, Esther), re-building post-exile (see Ezra, Nehemiah), and four hundred years of seeming silence from God (Mal. 4–Mt. 1). There is a reason God ordained for this darkness to be recorded in the Bible. Why? To show that He is not hindered by it and so that we'd take heart amidst it (Jn. 16:33). When the timing is right, He will act.

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman…” (Gal. 4:4)

After millennia of tragic and tumultuous darkness, in the fullness of time, this Son, our Jesus, the “light of the world” (Jn. 9:5) arrived in an oppressed Roman-occupied Israel. This should bring fresh hope amidst the darkness we find ourselves in this Christmas. His light shines most brightly against the darkness he came to save us from—then and today. Now, as people of the light, we are to be a community of light, a redemptive picture of what life looks like when Jesus’ people together submit to God’s kingly rule of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). In the words of Jesus,

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Mt. 5:14)

This means our ongoing, faith-filled, Jesus-treasuring, gospel-spreading, people-loving, church-planting, mercy-minded presence in Seattle is more important than ever. It’s amidst the darkness, that the Light shines most clearly, like a redemptive "city set on a hill”. Our corporate light points Seattle to Jesus as the Light, like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm-tossed winter night. This is, of course, counter-intuitive. After all, who wants to build their life in the dark? Well, Jesus does. But, why? It's not because He enjoys the dark. It's because He wants His light to shine in the dark. He wants the light of the indestructible joy, found through His gospel, to overcome the darkness—for the sake of the nations. So, there is something significant at stake in our shared life as Jesus’ people in our city at this moment. Let’s shine as lights in the world.

“Be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.” (Phil. 2:15-16)

You can see how different this understanding of Jesus’ local church is from something we consume—when we have time, when it meets a need, when it’s convenient or not too challenging. Jesus is after a faith-filled people in a particular place—a local church—who together display something of His glories through their shared life in singing and sacrifice, in prayer and praise, in studying the Scriptures and spreading the gospel, in lament and longing, in confession and creeds, in sanctification and service, in gathering and generosity, in hope and help that together creates an other-worldly people—a diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural people whom only Jesus could forge. It is precisely this kind of people, this compelling Christ-forged community, that stands out as a light in the darkness. What a privilege! Yet, there is still work to do.

“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

Amidst all this, God is at work among us in ways seen and, more often, unseen. Over the last twelve months we have continued to see God provide regularly, faithfully and generously:

• We celebrated our tenth birthday as a church, which is a huge milestone.
• We raised over $2.5M for our new building, in the middle of a pandemic.
• We rejoiced in six stories of God’s grace through baptism, and more on the way.
• We continued our long-form study of Romans, paired with One Another'ing.
• We welcomed 45 new members.
• We sent 116 members, the vast majority of whom moved out of the city/state.
• Over 300 people took a class, whether virtually or in-person.
• Currently 307 people are involved in a community.
• We essentially restarted Cornerstone Kids, Greeting, Ushering, Facilities, and Hospitality teams.
• We invested $211,000 in church planting efforts in the US and around the globe.
• We sent out our second frontier church planting team, John and Hannah, to SE Asia.
• We survived the doldrums of Covid.

That is a lot of grace amidst a very difficult season. So, what's next?

“You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” (Jas. 4:14–15)

2022 is uncertain. What will happen with Covid? Will we renew our lease or go mobile for a season? Will our building be complete? How many might give their life to Jesus? We don't know. But, what we do know is that Jesus will be with us no matter what we face (Mt. 28:20). Amidst this uncertainty, we have seven priorities as we head into the new year together, of course, Lord willing:

Will you join me in praying for the health of our church in these ways in 2022?

“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:6–7)

As the year comes to a close, we invite you to partner with us financially as an act of worship. Many of you already are. Thank you! We are blessed by Him, in order to bless others. Together, our generosity spreads the gospel, multiplies disciples, plants churches, and serves the city. It is incredible to consider all that we are able to do together. Here are a few practical pathways for us to financially partner to do our part in fulfilling Jesus’ great commission:

• During gatherings: Drop your gift in an offering basket. Giving envelopes are located in every seat pocket.
• Snail mail: Mail us a check postmarked by 12/31 and it will be included in your 2021 giving.
• Online: Visit us at downtowncornerstone.org/give
• Assets: Or, consider giving stock, bitcoin, or other appreciated assets.

If you have any questions about how to give, please do not hesitate to email giving@downtowncornerstone.org.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Ps. 27:14)

God is our refuge and strength. He is an inexhaustible fountain of goodness, glory, and truth. In Him, and in Him alone, do our hearts find the rest and meaning they long for. May He keep us on fire for His supremacy in all things in the year to come. Let’s lean on who He is and all that He is for us, in Jesus. His promises are true and they cannot fail. He alone is worthy of our days and dollars. We exist to know Jesus and to make him known for the glory of God and the joy of all people. So, as we’re on the verge of a new year, let’s be reminded of His faithfulness. His story is still unfolding and we’re a part of it. Together, let’s ask Him to do what only He can in 2022. Merry Christmas!

Warmly, in gospel hope,
Pastor Adam

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 building@downtowncornerstone.org. 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

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

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.

For more regular updates in each focus area, please request to join our Mercy Focus groups in Church Center (linked below) and join us at this Sunday's Mercy Meetup (details below).

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.

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
– Philippians 2:3-8

Philippians 2 is a beautiful reminder of Jesus' humble posture and loving pursuit of us (while we were dead in our sin, even!), which calls us to take a humble posture and make loving pursuit of those around us (who are far from us, even!). Because Christ had set aside his position and all that was rightfully his to be born as a baby, to grow and live as a man, and to die a criminal's death on our behalf, we can be forgiven and restored to God. And as we are forgiven and restored with God, we are also given a new relationship to others—we are called to be like Christ in his love and sacrificial service toward others. While Paul is writing to the church, calling them to love and serve one another, we know that our love and service will extend beyond the church to anyone who we find in need (Gal. 6:10).

Our city has no shortage of God's image bearers who are in vulnerable situations—youth experiencing foster care, women facing pregnancy crisis, refugees fleeing persecution, and many experiencing homelessness. We want to bring the good news of Jesus—in word, and in action—to those who society most readily ignores. God has given them dignity, value, and worth—and we want to consider them more significant than ourselves, by serving their practical needs and sharing the greatest news in the world.

Mercy Ministry Meetup: This Sunday, September 19th

Join us this Sunday, after each gathering, downstairs in the MPR, for our next Mercy Meetup. This brief, informal meetup will be a time to introduce yourself, meet our ministry leaders, learn more about the vision and mission of our Mercy Ministries, and get connected to ways to serve within our Mercy Ministries. Come for a few minutes to check in with one of our focus areas, or stay for the short duration and meet all four of our mercy partners.

This is an excellent place for those who are looking to get started, ask questions, meet others, and take the next step in serving with our Mercy Ministries. Registration is not required—just plan to join us this Sunday after worship.

Stay Connected

Learn more about our Mercy Ministries HERE. Join the focus area Church Center groups in order to hear more regular updates, events, and opportunities to serve:

• Mercy Focus: Foster Care & Adoption
• Mercy Focus: Homelessness
• Mercy Focus: Life Project
• Mercy Focus: Refugees

For the Kingdom,

Pastor Justin

Downtown Cornerstone,

As disciples of Christ, we are called to changed lives as we grow in our knowledge, love, and trust of the Lord. But, this change doesn’t happen automatically; it happens through regularly opening and applying of God's Word together.

In Psalm 19, we see the primacy of God's Word and its power to change our lives, summarized:

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

– Psalm 19:7-8,10

Our quarterly classes are intentional times together meant to allow God's Word to affect this change in us, and to grow us in holiness amidst the season of life we find ourselves in.

To that end, we're offering a number of classes this fall over two five-week sessions. These will be taught by pastors, staff, or other leaders. Most classes will meet at the building in the MPR downstairs.

We have also prepared a brochure that lists all the classes we will be offering this year, organized into distinct tracks.

Download Brochure
Session 1 begins this Sunday, September 12th at 9 am (Foundations) and Wednesday, September 15th at 6:30 pm (midweek classes):

• Are you new with us and looking to meet others, learn more about DCC from our elders, join a Cornerstone Community, be baptized, and/or become a member? Join our Foundations class. We’re offering a weekly round (Sundays) as well as a weekend round (Friday evening–Saturday afternoon). Register here…
• Are you (or do you know) a skeptic who is exploring the claims of Christianity, or a believer wanting to learn how you can better explain your faith to others? Join the Exploring Christianity class. Register here…
• Are you desiring to trust in how the cross of Christ brings comfort and help, and how you can grow to be like Christ in the hardest circumstances? Join the How Jesus Changes Us class. Register here…

Session 2 will begin in the second half of October, and offer another round of the Foundations class, along with three additional classes:

• Are you an engaged couple who want to build a solid gospel foundation for their marriage? Join our Building a Strong Marriage (Pre-Marital) class. Registration deadline: October 6th. Register here…
• Are you seeking conversations with others in the body about how we as Christians can work toward racial harmony in the church and the world around us? Join Undivided 2: Biblical Conversations About Race. Register here…
• Are you looking to grow in how you approach decisions in light of God’s wisdom and His revealed will to us in and through the Bible? Join the Guidance: Making Godly Decisions class. Register here…

Downtown Cornerstone,

This Saturday, August 28th, we will be hosting our tenth Summer picnic at Myrtle Edwards Park, from 11am–2pm, on the Seattle waterfront—and you’re invited. (For those of you counting, this would be our eleventh apart from Covid.)

This is always a unique annual event in the life of our church where we gather to enjoy God’s common grace through a summer picnic and, usually, God’s saving grace through baptism. However, we’re holding off on baptisms, which we’ll celebrate in September, so that we can invest in building relationships.

This is a great opportunity to:

• Connect outside of our Sunday gathering rhythm.
• Make new friends and reconnect with old ones.
• Revel in the creative handiwork of our God amidst summer in Seattle.
• Share a favorite recipe—or ultimate frisbee move—you’ve been mastering all summer.
• Invite family, neighbors, and coworkers.

We are holding this event on a Saturday so that as many as possible are able to join in. We encourage you to make an afternoon of it!

Parents, we’ll also have activities for the kids, including bouncy houses, balloon animals, and more!

“What is the schedule?”
This year there is no formal schedule, just mingling and activities from 11:00am-2:00pm.

“What can I bring?”
In light of Covid, we are asking everyone to bring their own lunch, though DCC will provide snacks.

We also encourage you to bring a lawn chair or blanket—and maybe one to share. Break out your favorite lawn game. Dust off your frisbee. Come prepared to enjoy God’s creation and God’s people!

“What should I expect?”
Upon arrival, we will have a welcome tent where you will be greeted and receive a name tag. If you’re new or don’t yet know anyone, we will introduce you to others. We will also have designated “greeters” whose sole purpose will be to facilitate relational connections—though, of course, we encourage you to pro-actively meet others as well! All said, it will be low key. We anticipate folks will be simultaneously eating, chatting, and playing games (ultimate, spikeball, bocce, Jenga, etc.) over the course of our time together.

“How can I help?”
First, be relational. Our relational muscles have atrophied to some extent over the past year of isolation, so let’s flex them! We haven’t seen one another in one place for nearly two years. Plus, many of you are new. So, there will be ample opportunity for meeting others—familiar and new. Let’s be on the lookout for those who don’t seem as connected or known, and if that’s you, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself.

Second, we still need help covering different responsibilities, from facilitating a game, to monitoring the bouncy house, to cleaning up after the picnic. Each role is limited in scope and time-bound. If you’re concerned about not knowing anyone, serving is an easy way to get plugged in. You can sign-up to help HERE.

Let’s pray for lots of relational gospel-laden fruit!

Christ is all,
Pastor Adam

P.S. For specific directions to our picnic spot at Myrtle Edwards, visit our webpage.

Downtown Cornerstone,

By God’s grace, the governor announced this week that we are now able to return to 100% capacity for our Sunday gatherings and all other church-related functions. Further, masks are no longer required for those who are fully vaccinated.

Therefore, beginning this Sunday, July 4th, we will gather for (mostly) unhindered worship for the first time in 483 days! Let's take a moment to thank our Lord for carrying us through this season.

What this means for us

In light of the state’s reopening, we are making the following changes beginning this Sunday, July 4th:

• No pre-registration will be required going forward. (This is already in place.)
• No social distancing will be required, therefore all seating will be open.
• Masks will no longer be required for those who are fully vaccinated.
• State law continues to require those who are unvaccinated to wear masks. However, this is an individual mandate so compliance will be left to the individual, not the church. 
• We will continue to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together with individual communion cups, as we have through the majority of the pandemic, at least, through the summer.
• We are prioritizing the rebuilding of Cornerstone Kids in order to remove as many potential barriers as possible. Please let us know if you are able to serve. The rebuilding of other ministries will follow. More below. 
• All smaller gatherings, whether inside or outside, are now permitted without restrictions (communities, discipleship groups, classes, Connects, informal meet-ups).
• Our last day of public livestream will be on Sunday, July 25th. More below.

“What if I don’t feel comfortable returning yet?”

This is understandable. It has been an incredibly difficult season and, to an extent, we’ve all become habituated toward isolation, caution, and the ease of at-home live-streaming. Yet, this is our state’s re-opening. There will not be another re-opening, even if some of the remaining restrictions are eased. Vaccines are readily available. Seattle was the first major US city to fully vaccinate 70% of its residents. Based on an April survey, our church is nearly 90% vaccinated, giving us our own ‘flock immunity’. Risks are involved anywhere in the public (whether grocery stores, restaurants, airports, etc). We have not had a single outbreak. In other words, this is probably about as safe as it is ever going to be. Therefore, we lovingly encourage you to return.

“Will we be enforcing a mask policy for those who are unvaccinated?”

Per the reopening guidance, our state no longer requires vaccinated individuals to wear masks. However, state law continues to require those who are unvaccinated, over five years old, to wear a mask in indoor public settings, which includes church gatherings. This is an individual, not an institutional, mandate. Therefore, while we encourage compliance, we will not be “enforcing” compliance any more than we “enforce” you driving the speed limit or paying your taxes. In other words, compliance will be left to the individual and his/her conscience before the Lord (cf. Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17).

“Can I still wear a mask, even if I’m vaccinated?”

Yes, of course. In fact, we imagine quite a few people who are vaccinated will continue to wear masks, including families with young children who are unable to be vaccinated at this time, those with compromised immune systems, and/or those simply erring on the side of caution. Wearing a mask is not a sin nor evidence of a lack of faith. In fact, not wearing a mask will be an adjustment for us all after sixteen months of doing so.

“Won’t following these guidelines create division and partiality?”

As elders, we have been “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” throughout this tumultuous season (Eph. 4:3). We must keep in mind there are many factors that facilitate our unity and the primary one, apart from the Spirit, is our ability to physically gather for worship.

Therefore, from the beginning, we have sought to gather as Jesus’ people to the greatest extent possible given the government’s guidelines at the time. Amidst these ever-changing guidelines, we made it our aim to not be more restrictive than the government. For example, when we could gather at 25% with pre-registration, we did. When we could gather at 50%, we did. When we couldn’t sing at full volume, we lowered our volume to speaking levels. When we could only have two band members, we did. When we could sit in groups of 15, we did.

So, now that the vaccinated are no longer required to wear masks, we do not wish to be more restrictive than the government is calling us to be (e.g. if we were to continue to mandate masks for everyone for the sake of unity). While we understand there are a variety of perspectives on masks and vaccines within our church, we don’t see this greater freedom for corporate worship as facilitating division or partiality, but a matter in which we must bear with one another in love (Eph. 4:2; Rom. 14:22-23).

For those who are unvaccinated, please keep in mind, as noted above, that there will continue to be people who are vaccinated that will wear masks across our church life. It is simply not true that mask wearing will become a ‘scarlet letter’ identifying the ‘unvaccinated outcasts’. Let’s remember that our righteousness isn’t found in our mask or vaccination status, but in Jesus.

Additionally, masks will continue to be required for everyone regardless of vaccination status in hospitals, schools, child care centers, long term care facilities, and public transit (buses, light rail and planes). Masks are not going away anytime soon for anyone. Let’s pray for unity, love, and lots of grace.

“Why is the livestream ending in four weeks?”

From the beginning of the pandemic our livestream has been a concession “in light of the present distress” (1 Cor. 7:26) and was never meant to be a long-term replacement for physically gathering; an IV drip, not a permanent crutch. The church is not a commodity to be consumed, it is a people to whom we belong. The church is not a flat one-dimensional pixelated reality, but a multi-dimensional spiritual reality experienced as individuals knit together by the Spirit of God in a local place.

The regular gathering of Jesus’ people to sing, pray, and preeminently sit under God’s Word is the most important means of grace in a Christian’s life (Heb. 10:24-25). The word for church in Greek literally means “assembly” or “congregation.” In Christ, we now belong to Jesus’ people, universal and local. That means Sunday is the one time during the week where we get to physically live out this shared identity. Therefore, gathering on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, has been integral to Jesus’ people from the very beginning.

However, we recognize that it may take some time for everyone to reboot their Sunday rhythms. Therefore, we are allowing four weeks to begin making those adjustments.

Additionally, we know there are a few among us who cannot participate in our gatherings due to ongoing chronic health issues. In these cases, the pastor overseeing their care will be able to provide a link to a non-public livestream or recording (TBD).

“What do I do with my children?”

We understand that it can be difficult for young children to sit through an entire gathering with their parents. Therefore, Cornerstone Kids is currently offered at the 9am gathering for 1-3 year olds. We’re aiming to expand this to both gatherings starting Sunday, August 1st, and then grow the ministry, and ages served, from there. Our goal is that by October, we'd be able to resume CKids for all ages (6mo to 8yrs). However, this entirely depends on volunteer recruitment. If you’ve served in this capacity previously, or are willing to serve now, please sign up today.

In the meantime, pre-registration for CKids will continue to be required as space is limited.

Another option is the MPR (multi-purpose room) downstairs that will continue to have a live feed of the gathering and more space for families with young children.

Additionally, ‘Parenting in the Pew’ is a great resource for ideas on how you can disciple your children into the joy of worshipping with Jesus’ people, from the youngest of ages.

“When will all of our ministries get back to normal?”

Due to the pandemic, many of our ministries have ceased to exist for over a year. During that time many previous volunteers have moved, transitioned, and/or experienced life-stage changes. This means that we’re currently in the process of rebuilding almost everything from the ground up. As you’d suspect, this doesn't happen overnight. We need all hands on deck. Therefore, if you call DCC your church, but have yet to sign up to serve, we invite you to do that in some capacity today.

Our most immediate needs are in Cornerstone Kids and Operations (see below). However, there are needs across the board. Below is a list of our current minimum volunteer needs in order to ensure our Sunday gatherings run smoothly:

• Operations: Greeting, Support & Security, Connect (23)
• Cornerstone Kids – 9:00am (19)
• Cornerstone Kids – 11:00am (27)
• Operations: Post-Gathering, Cleanup (11)

To learn more and sign up, visit downtowncornerstone.org/serve.

Let’s keep Jesus at the forefront

This has been long, and difficult, 16 months. As we lament the challenges of this past year, let’s also celebrate God’s grace, kindness, and mercy to us. Let’s remember his faithfulness to us as a church. Let’s continue to pursue unity. Let’s keep looking for ways to love one another. Let’s ask the Lord to grow our hearts for the lost all around us. And most importantly, let’s remember, that amidst our diversity, we are unified around Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is an incomparable city awaiting us, just around the bend. Until we arrive, let’s continue to make him known, for the glory of God and the joy of all people. We hope to see you on Sunday!

Warmly, in hope.
The DCC Elders

Update: Starting August 23rd, 2021, the governor has moved back to requiring facemasks to be worn in indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status. In light of this, we are temporarily requiring facemasks to be worn during our Sunday gatherings.

Update: With WA State and King County mask mandates being lifted on March 12th, 2022, we are no longer requiring facemasks to be worn during our Sunday gatherings.

Downtown Cornerstone,

It's hard to believe it has been over 16 months since we had our last in-person Prayer Night! However, this Sunday at 5 pm, we're going to resume physically getting together for the high purpose of praying, to go before our Father and ask him to do what only he can do. I can't wait!

In one of my favorite books on prayer, Paul Miller writes these helpful words when it comes to prayer:

“If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life….What do I lose when I have a praying life? Control. Independence. What do I gain? Friendship with God. A quiet heart. The living work of God in the hearts of those I love. The ability to roll back the tide of evil. Essentially, I lose my kingdom and get His. I move from being an independent player to a dependent lover. I move from being an orphan to a child of God.”

In one sense, we're getting together to pray. But in another sense, we're getting together to get God himself. So, whether you are weary and heavy-laden (Matt. 11:28), or find yourself abounding in the joy of the Lord (Rom.15:13), come. Pray with others. Let your heart be stirred afresh at how big our Father is and how much he delights in his children coming to him in prayer.

For this month, we're going to hear from Gil P. (who is back on home assignment from Chad!) as she shares how the Lord has been at work in her life and in Chad. And of course, we're going to pray, focusing our time on praying for the unreached; in the world, in our city, and in our lives.

So whether you've joined us for every Prayer Night since 2011, or you've never yet had the opportunity to corporately pray with us, I want to invite you to join us.

Doors will open at 4:30 pm, we'll kick off our time at 5 pm, wrapping up at about 6:15 pm.

Looking forward to praying with you all,
Pastor David

Note: Although you are free to bring your children, please note that we are not yet able to provide Cornerstone Kids at this time.

Downtown Cornerstone,

As members of the body of Christ, we need each other to help us flourish and fulfill God’s call in our lives, individually and corporately (Rom. 12:3-8, Eph. 4:1-32, Jn. 13:34-35). As we enter the glorious Seattle summer and take steps to come out of this long and challenging Covid season, we are inviting everyone to consider using this time to help reboot our shared life together.

Consider taking some or all of these opportunities to meet and grow with others this summer—for the sake of your spiritual life as well as the health of the church:

Sundays

Our weekly corporate worship gatherings are an essential means of grace for us, individually and collectively. Consider making a goal to meet 1–2 new people every Sunday, or connect with others in the lobby / parking lot after the gathering, or invite someone to join you for a walk, coffee, or brunch.

If you have any questions about anything DCC related, stop by the Connect desk near the entrance and one of our members will be happy to help!

Serve

Serving together is also a great way to meet others while tangibly blessing the church. Most teams are serving between 1–2 times a month. Our most immediate needs are in CKids and Sunday Ops (cleanup team, greeting, hospitality), but there are needs across the board. Check out our Serving page and fill out our simple form to indicate where you're interested in serving!

Cornerstone Connects

Cornerstone Connects exist to help connect people with others who share similar life stages and/or interests and connect further to discipleship opportunities within DCC. We currently have four Connects: Young Professionals, College, Seasoned Saints, and Mom’s Connect. You can find out more about each here.

Pray

Join our staff and leadership to pray for one another, our church, and the spread of the gospel in our city. You can join on Tuesday mornings at 8 AM (via Zoom), and you don’t have to commit to attending every week.

Summer Events

We have three church-wide events planned this summer; save the dates and plan to join us for as many as you’re able, as these are great opportunities to meet others and grow together:

• June 27th: In-Person Prayer Night @ DCC
• July 25th: In-Person Prayer Night @ DCC
• August 28th: Picnic at the Park (@ Myrtle Edwards Park)

The church is primarily a people, not a place—so let’s use this summer to help each other get back into the relational rhythms of our shared life together, for our good and God’s glory!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via connect@downtowncornerstone.org

Blessings,
Pastor Justin