Planting a church in Seattle is no small task. According to Barna, the Greater Seattle area is the third most unchurched city in the United States. In addition, 37% of Seattleites fall into the category of “nones” - those who do not affiliate with any religion or belief system. This is the highest percentage of religious nones in the country.
With a cultural landscape that is generally hostile toward Christianity, it can be tempting for pastors to find other mediums to attract people to church, rather than simply teaching the Bible. But Pastor Adam Sinnett and the team at Downtown Cornerstone Church believe that gospel itself is far more powerful than any gimmick meant to draw outsiders in. Since they planted the church in 2010, their mission has been simple: teach the scriptures and serve the city of Seattle. Boldly proclaiming Jesus as Lord in a city that looks elsewhere for fulfillment and joy can be intimidating, but Pastor Adam and his team truly believe that if they simply remain faithful to preaching the gospel, God will show up. "The Bible is God's inspired word, given to us for the heralding of the gospel and the upbuilding of his people and the conviction of sin and the fulfilling of God's promises....it's really meant to do those things," he says. "God is in fact as good as the scriptures say he is. He is as powerful as the scriptures say he is. So we need to be careful not to bow to the cultural forces that tell us people aren't interested in Jesus or interested in the Bible. We've discovered the exact opposite to be true." God certainly has shown up at Downtown Cornerstone. Over the last seven years, they have seen sleepy Christians awakened to the joy of Christ, countless baptisms, and even the most calloused hearts transformed by the love of Jesus.
We sat down with Pastor Adam to hear more about Downtown Cornerstone and what it's like to do ministry in Seattle. Check out the video above to hear what he had to say.
To learn more about Downtown Cornerstone, visit downtowncornerstone.org or download their app.