WOW! What a year, I can hardly believe it is half over. Let me tell you about all the amazing things that have been going on with our ministry. God is moving at a fast pace, and claiming more people for himself all the time. I am so excited to be a part of His work here in Seattle. It continually brings tears to my eyes when I think of how much grace and mercy He has poured out on us.

In January I officially became a Pastor at Mars Hill Church Downtown Seattle, Artist Reformation became an official non-profit in the state of Washington. We are currently working through our new strategy with the board of directors. The focus is looking more and more like storytelling via film, as the catalyst to do all of the other programs we want to be doing including an arts center in downtown Seattle.

Surrender dance which is one of our programs is doing an amazing job with reaching out to the community. You can check out their blog here and read more about the work they are doing. Things are also moving ahead with the Aritst Reformation partnership with Union Gospel  Mission. We have continually been showcasing art created by people who are either a part of the UGM's drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, or are a part of the homeless shelter provided by the guys in the program at UGM. This has been amazing to see interest in the art created gather over time.

On Easter Sunday Mars Hill Church Downtown Seattle met for one service at Benaroya hall.  I got the privilege of baptizing 81 people! We had 20 people sign up before hand and the rest were spontaneous.  I am continually surprised by this wave of grace and mercy God has placed on our church.

My family and I went on a short vacation recently and got well rested. We played on waterslides, and swam for hours everyday. It was an enjoyable time to get away regroup and come back with a renewed sense of what God is doing, and how I get to enjoy Him with all of the things He allows me to be a part of.  Teresa and I also got a chance to get away together and plan out the next five years of our life. We used the reverse engineering template outlined in Mark and Grace Driscols book Real Marriage. It was super helpful in bringing us together. I am so glad we got that time.

Thank you so much for praying for us, and supporting us financially. We could not do this without your love and support. I hope to catch up with all of you soon.

Thanks

Jeff Bettger

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

(Matthew 9:37-38 ESV)

1. Continued focus on raising support and developing GCM's ministry team. I am almost to my goal, and excited about hitting it.
2. The hearts of people around us would be soft, and God would continue using us to preach His Gospel to the lost.
3. Our roof that needs to be replaced. That God would bring wisdom and opportunity as well as the money to get it done this summer
4. Artist Reformation to have a good strategy for long term sustainability, and empowerment for the creatives we work with
5. Pray for two computers with adobe premier, and a DSLR with HD video, and an HD camcorder so we con tell more stories
6. Pray for new AR team members to come on board and fulfill our volunteer needs.  I am looking for an administrative assistant, a web designer,  and a few writers who want to blog, as well as a social media expert.

If God is leading you to support GCM and it's missionaries, here is how you can do that.