We love the people who make up Mars Hill Church and wouldn’t trade the past couple of years we’ve had serving them and Jesus for anything. It has become clear to us over the past month however, that we will no longer be able to continue forward in good conscience under the current leadership structure and ministry culture. So it was with a sad heart but a clear conscience that I handed in my resignation to Mars Hill yesterday morning, far earlier than we had ever hoped or anticipated. Because of the current work visa that I am on, that also means we will be required to leave the country by the end of this month.

That said, we have zero regrets. We are deeply grateful for the many new friendships we have been blessed with and the hundreds of young people we’ve had the great honor of serving. We’ve met some of the best people in the world during this season, many of whom we count as life-long friends who we will miss very much. The joy we’ve received far exceeds any sacrifice we’ve made or disappointment we’ve had to endure. We will continue praying that Jesus is glorified in whatever lies ahead for Mars Hill.

So what’s next?

Well, when we came to Seattle in 2012 we pressed ‘pause’ on the dream God placed in our hearts to plant a church-planting church in one of Australia’s major cities. Recently, two of our closest friends in the world – Ross and Kathy Abraham – approached us with the idea of planting a new, stand-alone church out of their church (Elevation) on the northern end of the Gold Coast.

A New Church on the Northern Gold Coast

From the nightlife of Surfers Paradise, to the lower income areas of Southport, to the wealthy affluence of Sanctuary Cove, to the 17,000+ students at Griffith University – this a region that is in great need of more churches that will spread the gospel and love their city. We definitely see the Holy Spirit’s hand in this and are very excited to take our next step forward as we follow Jesus. We’ll begin the core group phase of this new church in October, as soon as we land back in Australia!

To all our friends here in the Northwest, we love you so much and will miss you terribly. We will be around until the end of this month, please let us know how we can serve you or pray for you during this time.

To all our friends back in Australia, if you’d like to be involved in any capacity, or just want to stay in the loop with our church planting journey, we’d love for you to fill out this expression of interest form. Lots more details to come, watch this space! 🙂

Still For Jesus’ Fame,

Adam & Kristina