While this was the 2nd annual Belltown Green & Clean event hosted by Mars Hill, it was my first time ever at an event like this and I didn’t know what to expect. I decided to go ‘all in’ and be a wagon leader which I found out means I lead a team of 10 volunteers to strategize the clean-up of a 3 block radius on a Belltown map they provided. My team was an equal mix of Mars Hill people and Belltown residents who had never considered coming to Mars Hill prior.

We geared up and then were entrusted with a retro, red Radio Flyer wagon. It was loaded with paint, brushes, garbage bags, and gloves for our mission.

We had a full house of 150 people who turned out on this grey, slightly rainy Saturday morning. We were inspired hearing Pastor Tim kick off the event by sharing his heart for the city and Belltown. The Seattle Police department and the City of Seattle also shared their appreciation for Mars Hill hosting and organizing the event.

A few key summary highlights:

Visible impact – We cleaned up 36 square blocks of Belltown! We had large piles of trash bags and hundreds of graffiti areas cleaned up. This is a visible sign of our love for the local Belltown community. At first, the task of cleaning up all of these blocks seemed overwhelming and not possible with only small teams and a red wagon going out – but it was done and inspiring.

Relational outreach – We had a good excuse to make personal connections with many organizations like Belltown Business Association, Seattle Paint Out, Belltown Community Council, Seattle Police Department and the City of Seattle. Being viewed in a positive light of loving the city opens up doors and breaks down walls of perceptions about church.

Personally, I talked with many people who were volunteering and stepping inside Mars Hill (and a church) for the first time. While not everyone was ready to come to church, people commented how much they appreciated Mars Hill being in the area and caring for the community. This opens up hearts to being receptive to the Gospel.

Neighborly love – Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matt 22-36-40) Unconditional love means you love people and neighborhoods that may not love you back. This is modeling God’s grace to each of us in our lives.

The early church in Acts was a church that preached the Gospel in word and deed. This gained them favor of people and the city and added to their number daily who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

That is my hope and prayer for our mission today in downtown Seattle as well.

Deacon Paul Freed
Campus Operations Officer
Mars Hill – Downtown campus

To read more about the Green and Clean and other Belltown news and events, visit www.belltownpeople.com.

Mars Hill Church Downtown lives for Jesus as a city within the city of Seattle: knowing culture, loving people, and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus. For more information, visit us HERE. For information on community groups and other ministries go HERE. For general questions, you may email us at downtown@marshillchurch.org.