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HISTORY Founded in February 1999, services, or "gatherings" were originally housed in a school gym Wyoming, Michigan . Based on the idea that worship must be stripped down to its simplest form, it quickly grew in popularity. Through word-of-mouth and the launch support of Calvary Church Grand Rapids, Michigan , the church attracted about 1,000 visitors to their first gathering. Within a year the church purchased the defunct Grand Village shopping mall in Grandville, Michigan . After some remodeling, the 3,500 seat facility opened its doors in July 2000. As Of 2005 , the church attracts over 10,000 churchgoers to its three Sunday services. PASTOR The church's founding pastor, Rob Bell , founded the church at 28 years old. He is now considered to be the "Teaching Pastor" at Mars Hill. On August 1st, 2005, Zondervan Publishing released his first book, 'Velvet Elvis'. A NOTE ABOUT DENOMINATION The church claims to be Nondenominational on its website, though some may describe it as Interdenominational . IDEOLOGY The ideology of the church is somewhat different from other large mega-churches in that it places little emphasis on high-tech production during its weekly gatherings. The church's sanctuary (formerly the anchor store of the mall) reflects this simplistic ideology; the sanctuary walls are a dull green, there is a freestanding homemade wooden cross in the sanctuary, and the multimedia projections are white text on a black background. There is a belief that the gatherings should not be a performance, as many megachurches are often known for. Mars Hill receives the financial tithes and offerings of the people through "joy boxes" that are located in the back of the room (versus a traditional “pass the plate” tithing moment). The initial 25% of the offering is given away to global and local partners in order to "join God where He is already at work among some of the most church-forsaken peoples, places and issues of our city and world." This figure is public knowledge and the individual missionaries supported are highlighted on a regular basis through preaching stories, video testimonies, and strategic updates in "the weekly" bulletin. It is the philosophy of Mars Hill that “this kind of way of living is to be put on display” so that more might be inspired to take up the cause wherever they live. THEOLOGY The church's theology is influenced by what is described by the Emergent Church movement. As the name might suggest, what exactly is the emergent church theology can be tough to describe, though it adheres to Christian theology basics such as the divinity of Jesus, Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the inerrancy of scripture (though see below), and the concept of the Trinity. One aspect of the emergent movement is the belief that philosophy and culture is constantly emerging, creating a need to change the church's view of ministiry and how non-Christians respond to the Christian faith. Some of the theology bridges both Protestant and Catholic thought. In one example, Pastor Bell affirms in his book ''Velvet Elvis'' his belief in the inerrancy of scripture while at the same time limiting the role of Sola Scriptura . RELATED BOOKS
SIMILAR EMERGENT CHURCHES SEE ALSO TRIVIA The name " Mars Hill " comes from the Spot in Greece where Paul of Tarsus preached to leading intellectuals and pagan leaders. Criticizing ancient houses of worship, Paul declared, "God ... does not dwell in temples made with hands." The church's teachings inspired the popular Western Michigan Bumper Sticker "LOVE WINS". EXTERNAL LINKS
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