Welcome back to the unfolding story of Mars Hill Baptist Church, a sanctuary that has stood as a beacon of faith, hope, and community in the heart of Chicago for over six decades.
If you joined us for Part 1, you already know Mars Hill is no ordinary church. It’s a living testament to what can be achieved when a community comes together, united by faith and driven by a vision.
As we dive into Part 2 of this compelling series, prepare to be inspired by the church’s innovative outreach, transformative leadership, and bold steps into the future.
Whether you’re a long-time member or new to our community, what you’re about to read will deepen your understanding of Mars Hill’s enduring legacy and its exciting path forward.
Mars Hill Baptist Church: Continuing the Legacy
In our previous post, we embarked on a journey through the early days of Mars Hill Baptist Church, a sanctuary of faith, hope, and community nestled in the heart of Chicago. As we delve deeper into this continuation, we’ll uncover more facets of this remarkable institution, highlighting its growth, outreach, and the modern touches that make it a beacon in Chicago’s religious landscape.
Innovative Outreach: Beyond the Church Walls
Mars Hill’s vision has always transcended its physical boundaries. One of its groundbreaking initiatives was the bus ministry, a transformative outreach inspired by Jack Hyles and the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. This wasn’t merely a transport service; it was a mission to bring children from the inner city to Sunday school, planting seeds of faith and hope. By 1982, Mars Hill’s commitment to education and community led to the inception of a school, resulting in a surge in membership, reaching about 850 souls by 1992.
Transition and Transformation: A New Era
The dawn of the late 1990s heralded a significant transition for Mars Hill. With the leadership baton passed, Clarence E. Stowers, Jr., the founder’s son, emerged as a beacon of youthful energy and innovation. The untimely passing of Rev. Stowers Sr. in 1999 propelled the younger Stowers into leadership, marking a revitalization, growth, and transformation period for Mars Hill.
Diversifying Ministries: Catering to a Dynamic Congregation
Mars Hill expanded its horizons under Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.’s visionary leadership. By spring 2001, the church had birthed several new ministries. Mars Hill was moving from the Basketball ministry for sports enthusiasts to the Music ministry for budding talents. One standout event was the “Taste of Mars Hill,” a testament to Mars Hill’s commitment to community, faith, and fellowship.
Embracing Modernity: A Progressive Approach
While Mars Hill Baptist Church is steeped in tradition, it has always been forward-thinking. Recognizing the evolving dynamics of worship and the diverse needs of its congregation, the church made bold moves. Shorter, concise services were introduced, and the traditional pulpit was removed, symbolizing Mars Hill’s commitment to blending tradition with modern worship methods.
Looking Ahead: The Dawn of Mars Hill Anywhere
Mars Hill recognized the need to evolve as the world became more interconnected and digital. The church began envisioning a model to cater to its in-person congregation and growing online community. This vision led to “Mars Hill Anywhere,” a hybrid church model that seamlessly blends physical and digital worship experiences. This innovative approach ensures that no matter where someone is, they can be a part of the Mars Hill community, partaking in worship, fellowship, and spiritual growth.
Conclusion: A Legacy Continued and a Glimpse into the Future
As we wrap up this second installment on Mars Hill Baptist Church, it’s evident that its journey is a harmonious blend of tradition, innovation, faith, and community outreach. From its humble beginnings in 1963 to its current hybrid model, Mars Hill continues to inspire and nurture souls.
Stay tuned for Part 3, where we’ll delve deeper into the evolution of “Mars Hill Anywhere” and explore how the church has seamlessly transitioned into a hybrid model, catering to its in-person and online communities.
For a deeper dive into Mars Hill Baptist Church and its myriad programs and initiatives, visit www.marshillchicago.org.
Celebrating Six Decades of Faithful Service
As we reflect on the remarkable 60-year journey of Mars Hill Baptist Church, it’s evident that our legacy is not just built on bricks and mortar but on faith, dedication, and community. Our history is a tapestry of countless stories, prayers, and miracles; each of you is an integral thread.
This Sunday, we commemorate our past and ignite our future. Whether you’ve been with us since day one or just getting to know us, we invite you to be part of this milestone celebration.
Join us in person or tune in online at 10:30 AM Central for our 60th-anniversary service. Let’s honor the legacy, celebrate the present, and anticipate the boundless possibilities that await.
We eagerly anticipate the joy of worshiping with you online on Sunday, October 8, 2023, at 10:30 AM Central.
Remember, regardless of how you choose to participate—whether in person or online—the power of our collective worship transcends physical boundaries, uniting us as one body in Christ.
Be there. Be part of the legacy. Let’s write the next chapter of Mars Hill together.
When you know precisely what you want to accomplish and how your goals seem realistic, it's easier to achieve objectives like 10 pounds lost, debt eliminated, and a new career when they're concrete. Specifics provide a reference point and instruct you on what to do next.
It's a journey that will last a lifetime—and then some. It's not something you should expect to happen immediately. So, set any anxiety or guilt aside and commit to making modest progress each day, week, and month.
I was feeling stuck in a rut spiritually. I had been growing in my faith, talking and walking with God, but then I stopped maturing. After trying these steps, I noticed an improvement in my relationship with God.
What if there was a simple way to get closer to God? What if it only took three steps? Would you try it? I did, and now I want to share what worked for me and pray they work for you. First, you begin by getting into prayer mode.
Get Into Prayer Mode
A big part of my spiritual walk is prayer, and I found that many times when I was starting to feel distant from God, I wasn't tuning in to prayer. So I sat down one day and created a schedule to pray twice a day - Once in the morning and once in the evening.
When I sit down to pray, it's usually just God and me. I ask Him for forgiveness for whatever troubles me or has bothered me throughout the day. And at night before bed, I thank Him for all of the blessings He's given me during the day and thank Him for making me feel closer to Him than ever before.
My goal with this schedule was to spend at least 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes before bed talking to God. I wanted to make sure I had a connection with Him each day, no matter how busy I was. This schedule truly helped me feel closer to God, and I hope it does the same for you. Try it out for a week or so, and see how much more connected you feel with God!
Now that you're in prayer mode, next, eliminate all distractions, including electronic distractions.
Eliminate Electronic Distractions
I also recommend turning off any digital devices that might disturb or distract you from the prayer. Try to find a place where you can be alone and uninterrupted, even for a short while. It's not about being perfect, but it is about making an effort.
If you can't find a place to pray, don't worry about it. I was tempted to make it easier for you by listing some great spots to find solitude in, but the truth is that you can pray anywhere: your bedroom, church, bathroom (no one will judge), or even while walking the dog!
You can pray anywhere and anytime that you feel led to. Some ideas are listed below.
If you're having a hard time following or concentrating on what you're saying, don't worry about it! You may find yourself repeating the same general prayer over and over because your thoughts are all over the place. That's okay. It's not about being perfect! Just keep at it until you feel a sense of peace or hear God's voice encouraging you to continue.
You're in prayer mode and eliminate all distractions, including electronic distractions. Next, give thanks in advance for the little things that will happen on this day.
Turn off any digital devices that might disturb or distract you from the prayer.
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Give Thanks in Advance for the Little Things That Will Happen on This Day
Every day when you wake up, say a short prayer. It doesn't have to be anything too complex or lengthy. Just remember and thank God for the day that he gave you of life. Then ask Him what He would like you to do with your life today. Make it personal by mentioning specifics of things He has done for you.
And when it comes time to fall asleep, say another prayer. Thank God again for the blessing of a new day, and ask Him if there is anything that he would like you to do tomorrow. If you woke up with any problems or concerns, pray about them and ask God how to handle them.
Try to read a chapter from the Bible each day. It doesn't have to be in chronological order or necessarily anything extensive. Just try to get into it and understand what you are reading, even if that means rereading some parts over again. If possible, make sure that the section of the Bible that you chose relates somehow to what you are going through that day.
For instance, if you recently learned about a significant mistake your friend made, read the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12). This will help remind you that we all make mistakes, even though God still loves us.
Write down any thoughts and questions during your devotional time. This will benefit you in the long run. If an idea or question comes to your head, write it down and ask God about it later that day. By doing this, you are helping yourself get closer to God by staying in a constant conversation with him.
Give thanks in advance for the little things that will happen on this day. Begin each day with an attitude of gratitude. Write down:
-I am grateful for
-I am grateful for
-I am grateful for
...and so on.
Finally, you're in prayer mode, and eliminate all distractions, including electronic distractions; gave thanks in advance for the little things that will happen on this day; it's time to make a few slight necessary adjustments.
Give Thanks in Advance for the Little Things That Will Happen on This Day.
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Slight Necessary Adjustments
Try These Steps: (James 5:16)
Step 1: Change your perspective on your relationship with God. If we are willing to admit that we have grown distant from God, He is more than happy to help us feel close again!
Step 2: Start each day by reading the Bible for 10-15 minutes. It doesn't matter where in the Bible or what part of life you read about; start with reading every morning!
Step 3: Spend time in prayer each day as well. Pray for others, pray for yourself, and thank Him (God) for all He has done.
If you are willing to commit to prayer, you will see an immediate difference in your relationship with God.
Here's What You Can Do This Week
1. Find a time and place where you will not be disturbed and can focus.
2. Turn off any digital devices that might disturb or distract you from the prayer.
3. Get into what some refer to as "prayer mode." This is your way of getting ready for prayer, with an attitude of reverential awe before God.
4. Address God as Heavenly Father in your own words and use the pronouns "Thou" and "Thee."
5. Give thanks in advance for the little things that will happen on this day, but remind yourself that God knows what will happen tomorrow, too - so don't be disappointed if you forget something today or if you don't get to pray about everything that's on your mind.
6. Pray sincerely from the heart. Give thanks, express gratitude, ask for blessings and make requests of God as you feel inspired by the Holy Spirit.
7. Express your feelings at any promptings from the Holy Ghost and take note of what thoughts or feelings you may have received, either from the Spirit or your thoughts.
8. Conclude your prayer with a statement of gratitude and love for God, such as, "I'm grateful for this opportunity to communicate with Thee O Heavenly Father" or "I love thee." Then take time to sit quietly and contemplate on any feelings that came through in your prayer.
9. Some people like to finish with a closing prayer, but others prefer to sit silently until their thoughts turn back to the world and they're ready to begin their day. It's up to you and what works best for you personally!
10. Make sure that you have been reverent in your demeanor and sincerely give thanks in your prayer. If any distractions come up, such as your mind wandering to thoughts or concerns that aren't related to what you're praying for, gently return them to the things that you were brought before God to pray about - making sure not to get frustrated with; yourself! Turn again and start over.
Conclusion
We all need to take some time for prayer. Prayer is essential in our lives, and we must find a way to include it in our day-to-day lives. The best time to pray is at night when you sleep, but other times during the day work well.
There's no right or wrong time of day—do what works best for your schedule! To start getting into prayer mode more often, try setting aside 10 minutes every morning before school starts or before work begins where you can spend that time praying with God about anything on your heart, from family issues, worries about finances in general (including how they may affect current debt), problems at work anything that is a burden on your heart should be shared with God.
Christians are to pray at all times, not just when they feel like it or for some specific reason. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 in context, "Pray without ceasing." It doesn't mean we can't sleep or do anything besides pray. This is my testimony of how I was able to get closer to God. I hope it will help you, as well.
Drawing closer to God begins with prayer. Don't forget to join us for part two on "How to Get Closer to God." If you found value in today's post, can you do me a favor and share it? Thanks!
How do you get into prayer mode? I'd love to hear more about your prayer strategies.
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “I’m All In or All or Nothing?”
Originally and still a poker metatphor, ‘all in’ has also come to mean a situation whose subject is unreservedly involved, without qualification. Fully committed. In this sense the term “all in” is almost the same as its denotative opposite, “all out,” as in all-out warfare.
When many people think of church membership, they may think that it just means their name is on a roll at a church. And in some churches it means you were baptized or dedicated at that church. But it’s actually much more than that.
It’s about an attitude, not an action.
In my new message series for 2016, I’m laying out the basic principles for what it means to be “ALL IN.”
All In
It’s Not About me…It’s All About Him
In Order to Go Up, I Must be Prayed Up.
As For Me and My House, It’s Settled.
Sit or Serve…It’s a Choice
Why waste your life when you can make something of your life? If you wait, life will probably pass you by. But if you go out and do the things you want to, take the risks you fear, you may just find that everything falls into place. Join us each Sunday in January at the Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago at 8 AM or 10:30 AM. It’s a safe place to hear a dangerous message.
[shareable]It’s about an attitude, not an action.[/shareable]
Question: What would it take for you to be “All In” in 2016 Share your answer on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
For One Week, we will pray for One Minute every hour about One Topic as One Church to One God! Pray for the first 60 seconds of every hour and watch God bless the other 59 minutes! There is power when God’s people pray in unity. Join us as we answer Jesus’ prayer “May they be ONE” (John 17:21).
Although it sounds great, it’s not in the Bible. No matter how good it sounds, if we demonstrate some effort to improve, God will give us a little push in that direction. So we decide to make it by sheer willpower and discipline. The problem is, we run out of steam and lose focus.
Next year, millions will make and break resolutions because they’re trying to solve a spiritual problem through earthly means. The challenge we all face is that we want to be transformed. However, we tend to look within ourselves for the solution. The solution resides outside of ourselves. The solution is God.
Transformation is a problem that we cannot solve. That’s why God sent Jesus! Apart from him, we can do absolutely nothing! In Galatians 3:3, Paul reminds the Galatians that God has given them His Spirit and with this – combined with their faith, they can make it.
[shareable]Transformation is a problem that we cannot solve. That’s why God sent Jesus! [/shareable]
Who Does God Help?
God doesn’t help those with themselves. God helps those who abide with Him and those who walk with Him in faith (John 15:1-5). Our efforts were never the impetus for God’s transforming grace. Nor will they be the impetus for our changed hearts.
[shareable] God helps those who abide with Him and those who walk with Him in faith (John 15:1-5). [/shareable]
The Bible says that we are justified by faith. We don’t need willpower or self-effort as much as we need faith that God will accomplish in us and for us what we can’t do ourselves. He is the source of what we long for and need. Willpower and self-effort can only take us so far in our desire to change.
What’s The Point?
Change is Possible
Focus is Required
Dependence on God is Foundational
Focus requires discipline. As the famed personal finance guru Robert Kiyosaki defines it: Follow One Course Until Successful.
Prayer of F.O.C.U.S (Follow One Course Until Successful)
Lord, right now, eliminate all distractions for the time it takes me to complete my priorities. Help me to turn off the wifi, silence cell notifications, and schedule F.O.C.U.S. time with you. Help me to stay on task and Follow One Course Until I’m Successful. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
[shareable]Change is Possible. Focus is Required. Dependence on God is Foundational. [/shareable]
For One Week, we will pray for One Minute every hour about One Topic as One Church to One God! Pray for the first 60 seconds of every hour and watch God bless the other 59 minutes! There is power when God’s people pray in unity. Join us as we answer Jesus’ prayer “May they be ONE” (John 17:21).
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (3:14)
Paul said that his goal was to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ had in mind for him. This goal took all of Paul’s energies. This is a helpful example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal—knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians.
[shareable]We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal—knowing Christ.[/shareable]
What’s Holding You Back?
Paul had reason to forget the past—he had held the coats of those who had stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:57, 58, Paul is called Saul here). We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be.
Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of past guilt and look forward to what God will help us become. Don’t dwell on your past. Instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with him now. Realize that you are forgiven, and then move on to a life of faith and obedience. Look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because of your hope in Christ.
Pray That You May Finish Strong
Jesus, help me to finish the race and to make my life a testimony to Your grace.
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. Acts 20:24
Lord, help me to rejoice in hard times because that shapes perseverance, character, and hope in me.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4
Lord, help me to live my life in such a way that I will be victorious in You and find You in eternity.
Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:24b-25
For One Week, we will pray for One Minute every hour about One Topic as One Church to One God! Pray for the first 60 seconds of every hour and watch God bless the other 59 minutes! There is power when God’s people pray in unity. Join us as we answer Jesus’ prayer “May they be ONE” (John 17:21).
At the Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago, our theme for 2015 is People Reaching People (#PRP). Jesus commissioned the church to continue His ministry of reconciliation to the lost; and He both modeled and taught a strategic formula that would facilitate that great endeavor. Scripture has a word for this – Evangelism (Outreach).
Evangelism (Outreach)
Evangelism is the act of telling the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. It’s derived from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “gospel” or “good news.”
The verbal forms of euangelizo, meaning “to bring” or “to announce good news” occur some 55 times (Acts 8:4,25,35; 11:20) and are normally translated with the appropriate form of the word “preach.” Evangelism has to do with the proclamation of the message of good news.*
From the beginning, God has consistently focused on a specific group, as his initial target for evangelism. That is, He primarily perpetuates His Kingdom through those close relational connections that we all have, those eight to fifteen people He strategically placed around each one of us.
Throughout the New Testament, whenever God’s Spirit changed a life, a world changer was born. Whether it was a demon possessed man, a swindler named Zacchaeus, a royal official with a dying son, a tax collector named Matthew, a Centurion named Cornelius, a businesswoman named Lydia or a recently unemployed Philippian jailor, they all were sent back home to their close relational connections. Again, Scripture has a word for this – Oikos.
Mars Hill’s Outreach Strategy
Oikos, the Greek word for “extended family,” encompasses our relational worlds—anywhere from eight to fifteen people, on the average, whom God has supernaturally and strategically placed in our circles of influence. And, if those relationships frame our primary evangelistic targets, then that reality must frame the strategy for our church.
Pray for Your Circle of Influence – Family and Friends
Make a commitment to pray daily for your circle of influence – your family and friends. Write their names down and pray:
LORD, I pray that they (CALL THEIR INDIVIDUAL NAMES) would sense God’s presence in their lives and that You would draw each one to You. Lord, I offer myself to You every day as an instrument in this process. In Jesus’ name. Amen
*G. William Schweer, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. Chad Brand, Charles Draper, Archie England (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), s.v. “EVANGELISM,” WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
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Best regards,
Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.
