Mark Driscoll was raised Catholic, converted to evangelical Christianity at 19, got an MA in theology, connected with others who were associated with “church planting” efforts, and launched the first Mars Hill church in 1996 when he was 26. The church was initially in his home.
So it seems he may have received coaching, training, and some limited support at that early stage, but probably not enormous financial resources.
It looks like you’re right that he didn’t receive much funding via networks or sending churches. The podcast describes initial support coming from “friends and family”, in ways that sound more like a friends and family round of start-up funding than normal tithes.
I’m still under the impression that he received initial endorsements, blessings, and mentorship from people who should have known better.
(In case this isn’t a joke, Mars Hill church was named after Mars Hill / the Areopagus / Hill of Ares, which in the New Testament is where the apostle Paul gives a speech to a bunch of pagans about Jesus. That hill is named after the Greek god. The church was located on Earth, in particular in Seattle.)
Mark Driscoll was raised Catholic, converted to evangelical Christianity at 19, got an MA in theology, connected with others who were associated with “church planting” efforts, and launched the first Mars Hill church in 1996 when he was 26. The church was initially in his home.
So it seems he may have received coaching, training, and some limited support at that early stage, but probably not enormous financial resources.
It looks like you’re right that he didn’t receive much funding via networks or sending churches. The podcast describes initial support coming from “friends and family”, in ways that sound more like a friends and family round of start-up funding than normal tithes.
I’m still under the impression that he received initial endorsements, blessings, and mentorship from people who should have known better.
Launching the first Mars church sounds like a success to me!
(In case this isn’t a joke, Mars Hill church was named after Mars Hill / the Areopagus / Hill of Ares, which in the New Testament is where the apostle Paul gives a speech to a bunch of pagans about Jesus. That hill is named after the Greek god. The church was located on Earth, in particular in Seattle.)