500 years ago today, a German monk proclaimed the Church was not acting as it should and with pen, paper, a nail and a hammer - set off a ripple which would soon turn the tides of how people interact with their faith in Christ. Luther's famous 95 Theses outlined his disgust with the Church to sell "indulgences", which were offered as ways to get family members and loved ones out of purgatory (of which he pointed out, is not even mentioned in scripture). His action, in some ways, seems to parallel Jesus' zealous cleansing of the temple. Like Jesus, Luther didn't condemn the Church itself, but rather the actions of those who were defiling it with greed. While Luther's Theses set in motion a

For the past four years Light Up the City has been privileged to host Q Commons Seattle, we are now passing that privilege on to our friends in Bellevue- with Marketplace Church in Bellevue. Join us Thursday, October 26, 2017, from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, as we gather at Resonance at Soma Towers to learn and consider how to advance good in Bellevue. What is Q? Q is a two hour live event that will educate Christians on how they can bring hope and leadership to their communities in a critical moment for America. You will hear from three national speakers, live and then three local speakers. The national speakers include author and NY Times columnist David Brooks, author Kara Powell and activist

Federal Way is a city of about 96 thousand souls in South King County- who are very passionate about their city. On October 1st, congregations in Federal Way came together to serve their city with the 5th annual We Love Our City. When the group in Federal Way started this endeavor five years ago, they took a practical approach, asking people in the city, “How can we serve you?”. This year the serve day expanded from those initial steps to engage: parks were cleaned up, schools painted, community gardens were planted and harvested; and a stretch of Pac Highway had a group that picked up litter on the side of the road. A few groups worked inside too: the Federal Way Day Center and a clothin

In May of 2017, the interns of Serve Seattle, an urban ministry internship program for young adults associated with Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, gathered with local volunteers and community resource partners to host the first Bridge event under the I-5 Bridge, at the cross streets of 6th and Columbia. Jenna Dubas, a second year intern with Serve Seattle and co-director of the Bridge, explains, "When it comes down to it, the idea of the Kingdom of God is so important in my life, so transformational to think about and then to try to live that out. I really feel like the Bridge is such an accurate representation of what that might look like, bringing people from all walks of life together, u

Gathering as the Church in West Seattle When you are an unknown, tiny church plant with very few resources, you wonder how you can ever make an impact in your big (and growing) city community. That was the reality when we began New City several years ago. Then one day, seemingly out of nowhere, I received an invitation from David Fairchild, the lead pastor of Trinity West Seattle, to participate in a joint Thanksgiving prayer service. I gladly accepted. At the joint service, I was warmly welcomed and New City received much needed prayer for its new gospel work. And that is how I was introduced to the West Seattle Church Collective and and became a part of The Church in West Seattle. As the C

We had a great final Quarterly for 2017 with the topic on Homelessness. Paul La Rose from Seattle's Union Gospel Mission emphasized that homelessness is not a resource issue, but a relational issue. We heard from a panel of guests, their different backgrounds of engagement with homelessness in their neighborhoods; and we had a time of prayer and reflection let by Maggie Breen of Seattle University. This was our final Quarterly which centered on the six issues we prayed over to hear God's heart for our city in 2014, in which hundreds of congregations throughout the region prayed for 40 days to hear how God might move them into engagement within their cities. We look forward to #theadvance2018