We emphasize the apostolic “sent” nature of the church. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” said Jesus. We are as much the church “scattered” as “gathered.” The church is called to gather as the body of Christ to worship, to support and encourage one another in faith, and to be equipped for ministry in the world. The church, however, does not cease being the church when it disperses; the church scatters and is sent to serve as Christ’s disciples in all the arenas of life: marriage and family, in daily work and school, in government and community involvement. The church is called to join God in his work in the world; it cannot remain a holy huddle behind closed doors. MPC knows that it has been blessed and seeks to be a blessing to its community and to the world at large.
MPC's pastor, 2 full-time and 6 part-time staff serve to equip and mobilize God's people for ministry and mission. The church offers one traditional and one contemporary worship service. Our music ministry is a diverse virtuoso: an adult choir of 40; a children’s choir, a contemporary worship band, and a brass band. MPC's Christmas Cantata draws nearly 800 people annually. Christian Education is offered at all levels, preschool through senior adults. Vacation Bible School is staffed by 60+ adult volunteers and draws over 300 children annually. Student Ministries disciples 100+ middle and high school youth weekly. The Hilltoppers fellowship reaches out to the spiritual and social needs of our community's seniors.
The church engages in various mission projects beyond its walls. We founded and house the Mukilteo Food Bank. Many of our members are engaged in a bi-monthly hot meals program for needy folks in the area. Though we support mission workers in Taiwan, Peru, and Kenya, the focus of our international mission is on Turkey and the Middle East. We give generously to mission causes, both through our denominational channels and through individual giving. We are pleased to offer our building to a number of non-profit groups serving the community.
God has blessed MPC's congregation with a wealth of resources to serve His purpose. We continue to create a "permission-giving" environment where members are encouraged to identify their gifts, spiritual and tangible, and to utilize them as the Spirit leads. We encourage people to listen to the Spirit and initiate their own ministry if they can gather a team and the ministry is congruent with our church’s mission/values. This bottom-up approach to doing mission has made for more creative ministry, if a bit more chaotic.
The congregation is spiritually hungry. A large contingent of the membership is engaged in a bible study of one kind or another, and worship is well attended. Church members genuinely enjoy one another and there is much laughter when people get together. A spirit of unity pervades the body. We are regarded by most as "a friendly church". We have unusually strong music and youth ministries for the size of our church, and have attracted many new people to our congregation.
The church has enjoyed consistent pastoral leadership over many years and has a talented church staff that works very well together as a team. These church staff members understand that their role is not so much to do the ministry, as to resource and equip the people to perform their ministry.
8 years ago, the church relocated to a 5 acre plot in the middle of town. Our new campus has been a boon to our ministry, as it has provided greater community visibility and opened new opportunities to grow and serve.
We are very aware of the postmodern paradigm shift that has marginalized the Christian church in our culture. This is even more apparent in the Pacific Northwest, where the church has never been firmly established. We believe this presents a fresh opportunity for the church to let its light shine. In our society, talk is cheap; the only way to win a fair hearing for Jesus Christ is to perform extraordinary deeds of love. We are exploring what it means to be a missional church. We cannot do ministry as we did 30 years ago, where the pastor was entrusted with the really significant ministry while a largely passive congregation watched. Now that our mission is at our doorstep, it is imperative to mobilize all the people of God to do the work of ministry. We take the priesthood of all believers very seriously; everyone is called to ministry by virtue of their baptism.
In this day of great cultural change, we believe it is more important than ever to maintain our theological integrity. We align ourselves with the classic biblical, Reformed/Evangelical tradition. We hold to historic, biblical teachings with regard to marriage and human sexuality and resist cultural pressures to conform. We proclaim salvation in Christ alone, strive to live in obedience to Scripture alone and go into the world for God’s glory alone. We find ourselves to be in sympathy with the Fellowship of Presbyterians. We value our global Christian partners who have much to teach us about faith and ministry.