The First 20 Years
This all began with a very expensive dinner. The DOTCOM goldrush of the late nineteen-nineties saw the birth–and nearly the death–of e-commerce. Seattle was at the center of what ended up being a bubble that left a lasting impact on the economy and the Church in the Northwest.
The impact of that night and the many prayers and sacrificial generosity that followed can be seen in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.
It was a time for starting things and the nascent church planting network movement in North America was part of the zeitgeist. Missional partnerships had sprouted out of Redeemer in New York City and Acts 29 was just a fledgling.
Closer to home, the leaders of Green Lake Presbyterian Church (now Trinity Church Seattle) began praying about starting a cooperative mission in Seattle. Naturally, that led us to a Five Star restaurant overlooking beautiful Lake Union and the Seattle skyline.
Canlis is a Seattle culinary landmark that has artfully avoided becoming a mere throw-back. The Canlis family’s vision has evolved with the city while never losing the restaurant’s heart or compromising its cuisine. That line seems like it was lifted from their website. It wasn’t but it’s relevant to our story. Then and now, Canlis represents Seattle’s history and its current moment. That made it the perfect place for a feast dedicated to the city and its need for the Gospel.
On a beautiful late summer evening ten couples paid $1,000 per plate to listen to a nationally known missional leader talk about church planting in a post-Christian culture. An elder and his wife gifted all the food and drink and the church paid for the speaker. Almost half of the couples were in their twenties and part of the burgeoning (at the moment) economic boon. Years later two of those young couples would go to seminary and serve in church plants in England and Scotland.
We raised $20,000 for church planting in the Northwest and began the work of building a team by approaching churches in our tribe about building what would become the Northwest Church Planting Network. Over the last 20 years the $20,000 God raised has multiplied 150-fold as we’ve given more than $3,000,000 to church plants and church planter care and support.
The impact of that night and the many prayers and sacrificial generosity that followed can be seen in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska
