The Ballard campus switched the 11:00 service to its new format in light of our multi-campus strategy, as Pastor Mark is now preaching in West Seattle for the 10:30am service on Sundays. The 11:00am service in Ballard has become a service leveraging video for the sermon, much like services at the successful and growing Shoreline Campus. September 24th was the “test run” and the standard routine kicks in this week as we celebrate our tenth anniversary and officially launch seven services in three locations (Ballard’s 9am, 5pm and 7pm continue to be live).

Though concerns were voiced about the success of video in services, the response in Shoreline has been positive, even from older churchgoers who were initially reticent about the impact a recorded speaker would have on the audience. However, humor and applause have routinely filled Shoreline’s Schirmer Auditorium, and Ballard’s first 11:00am was equally responsive. Some who came in late and hadn’t heard about the change didn’t even notice for a few minutes that it WAS video! This week at Ballard, the format will be even better than its inaugural week, thanks to enhanced lighting and playback. The large screen virtually covers the entire stage so the speaker appears life-size; (some even suggest the Ballard production crew makes Mark look a couple inches taller).

What to do if you’re just not wild about video used in service? Well, video and multimedia for openings, interviews, portions of the message, and even upcoming events will likely become an increasing part of Mars Hill services, even when the preaching pastor IS present. It’s part of our committment to engaging culture just like the music and worship and aesthetics and we hope that we can all continue to challenge ourselves in this way. However, if the main issue is simply the preaching pastor being live, this is not a problem. Currently four of Mars Hill seven services are live, and if those who prefer this to choose your service and location accordingly and participate with us at the service of your choice, bringing friends and family to hear about Jesus as we provide increasing opportunities for the gospel to be heard.