Our Adults ministry helps fulfill the mission of Mars Hill by providing individuals and communities with resources and environments to discover and grow their Identity, Belonging, and Mission. So whether you’re looking to develop a deeper sense of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, hoping to find a tribe of people to journey with, or are in need of tangible care—there are opportunities and people to help you along the way.
House churches meet consistently from September through May, with natural on- and off-ramps built in over the summer. So while we expect that every group will take on its own personality and emphasis, the biggest common denominator you’ll see among house churches is an intentional commitment to a group of people within our community for a longer period of time than some of our other offerings.
We’re inviting you to explore the nuances of peacemaking, refugee crisis, local justice, poverty, racial reconciliation, care for the vulnerable, and more with a posture of curiosity. Through a series of Learning Labs, or thoughtful sessions on the topics of our day, we’ll engage divisive issues from the standpoint of humility—in an attempt to learn from one another and grow towards unity over discord.
Grow personally and relationally without a long-term time commitment. Short Circles offer a variety of options to enter into community based on your season of faith or stage of life for a 6-10 week period.
Every week people from the Mars Hill community gather together to study the Bible, develop friendships, pursue wholeness, and share life experiences. Are you ready to join in?
Mars Hill Young Adults [MHYA] is a community of 18-25 year olds who together explore where God is showing up in their lives, this world, and why that matters. Meeting once a month for connection and fellowship, and once a month for worship, learning, and practice, we seek to be a “Jesus people for the sake of the world.”
In Mars Hill Young Adults [MHYA], we love hanging out with each other and we love food, among a few other things. MHYA meets once a month, usually on Tuesday nights.
Mars Hill Students is a community for 6th-12 grade students to explore who God has made them to be and their role in God's grand story. It is a place for students to journey together as they seek to be a Jesus people for the sake of the world— asking big questions, hearing and telling stories of God's ongoing involvement in our world, and engaging in practices to model the way of Jesus in our lives.
ECHO is a place where middle school students grow and become. Where we seek to reverberate the love of God deep within our hearts and to the hearts of others. And just as echoes multiply, we hope that this ministry would be a place where love and acceptance grows, where fun is infinite, and where adventure is amplified.
Part of our time together is spent in large group, where any number of things happen—we learn, play, laugh, entertain, focus, and let loose. The rest of our time is spent in our LifeGroups, where we discuss, share, hang out, and build relationships together.
ECHO meets on Sundays, September to May, from 4:30pm-6pm.
In Anthem, high school students and leaders worship, serve, study the Bible, eat snacks, play games, and build relationships together in Life Groups. The goal is for high school students to experience a safe place to belong, discover their identity as the image of God, and cultivate a mission for their lives. Together, we’re helping each other live the best kind of life—the life God made us to live.
We meet from 4:30-6pm on Sundays during the school year [September through May].
Mars Hill Kids exists to teach kids the way of Jesus. We believe that God has revealed himself through history and is working within history to fulfill his purposes for all creation. The Bible tells the story of God’s work in the world. Each week, we gather to explore this story and invite our kids to enter into it: following the way of Jesus and joining the work that God is doing in the world. Our programs for newborns through 5th grade meet on Sundays during the 10am and 5pm Gathering.
Our goal is to support families by presenting biblical narrative in a safe environment through the care of consistent and committed volunteers. They can be dropped off in their rooms before the Gathering begins.
Kids 4 years of age through fifth grade learn alongside caring Classroom Leaders, helpers, and other kids their age. Sundays consist of a Bible story, discussion, games, and other fun activities. We value the engagement of families through family worship time each Sunday so kids ages 4 and up will worship with their parents after check in and then be escorted from the Gathering to their classrooms by volunteers. All kids are picked up from the Kids hallways at the end of the Gathering.
Embrace - An inclusion ministry for disabilities and neurodiversity
We are here to provide support, opportunities, and accommodations so that our family members with disabilities, sensory sensitivities and/or neurodiversity can be fully engaged in the life of our community.
We want you here. Without you and your family, our community is not a true picture of the body of Christ.
Email embrace@marshill.org or call 616.249.3337 to start a conversation.
Come explore scripture, prayer, and relationships with God and with each other in simple language and activities. This bi-weekly evening is crafted with a lens of being disability and neurodiversity welcoming, but inclusive of all. We truly celebrate the spectrum of differences and abilities that God has created within humanity.
DATES: 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesdays, ongoing
TIME: 6:15-7:45pm
LOCATION: Mars Hill
COST: There is no cost for this group.
LEADERS: Trace Dicocco and Dawn Post
REGISTRATION: None necessary - just come! Questions? Email Trace at tdicocco@marshill.org.
Our buddy program on Sunday mornings in Grandville provides the little bit of extra support some kids need to participate in the life of our church—either through accommodations and inclusion in our traditional programming, or a bit of a break in our Sensory Room. Both are available on Sunday mornings, and preregistration is appreciated so we can best prepare for every child’s comfort and safety.
When you choose to worship in the Shed with us, there are a variety of sensory-rich items available to borrow from our Sensory Tool Library along the North wall. Always feel free to get up and walk around the outer perimeter of the Shed, sit on the floor, or to be present in this space in whatever ways you normally show up in the world.
One mom recently said “our daughter gave us new eyes to see the world in a way we didn’t even know we had been missing out on”. This is one of the many rewards of leaning into a friendship with someone that has a disability or is neurodivergent. We will always have room for you at our table—to laugh, worship, learn, share, play, pray and be prayed for, and to be a friend. There are opportunities on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and special events. We are also regularly looking for rides to programming for adults.
Friday Night Recess
Help put on a fun evening for our Mars Hill Embrace kids and their siblings while gifting parents a coveted night out! There is honestly no specialized training needed for these evenings, your friendship and joy is perfect.
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Family Days, Parents-Day-Out [we call those ‘Recess’], lunch together, wrap-around-care and whatever else we dream up—we love spending time together. If you have any kind of disability or on-going health challenges in your story, we’d love to hear from you to be able to include you and your family in invitations to our special events and care giving that happens throughout the year.
Friday Night Recess
We understand that being a caregiver is a 24/7 job and sometimes it’s difficult to find a sitter for your child with disabilities and/or neurodiversity. Make plans now for all of your kids to attend our Embrace Recess events on the second Fridays of each month. We’ll provide dinner and activities while you enjoy a meal, catch a movie, or sneak in some much needed rest.
Drop off between 4:30-5:30pm I Pick up at 8pm
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Sensory Room
For those that would benefit from a smaller community experience on a Sunday morning in Grandville, our Adult Sensory Room is offered as an alternative space during the Gathering. We have the capability to live-stream with dedicated headphones for those that want to participate with what is happening in the Shed, but this room also shines with interactive prayer stations, sensory-enriching equipment, and volunteers that provide care, support, and Bible-focused themes each week.
Community Days
Sometimes, all we need is a few friends, not programs or tasks or classes. Just people we enjoy and can be fully ourselves with. If this rings a bell for you, join us for Embrace Community Days. Designed for individuals and groups with disability and neurodiversity, these casual afternoons are open and welcome to all.
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As a community, we are committed to service—to moving our resources and ourselves in response to human need. Focusing largely on the most vulnerable, we’ve established a framework of investing in 4 main initiatives at a time, so that we can maintain our collective focus and make the greatest impact. Locally and globally, our skills, experiences, resources, and heartbeat meet around forgotten places, people, and issues.
Launched in 2002, our Mars Hill Mentorship Program began with the goal of connecting every student at Burton Elementary who desired a mentor with a caring adult from our community. Over the years, we’ve grown to be one of the largest school-based mentoring programs in the country, and have been labelled a “Premier” national program.
Help us create a world where the creativity, passion, and drive of Jesus’ followers carve out spaces of belonging and strength for those who feel left on the outside. Our Grassroots Initiative provides funding and mentoring for people and organizations in the Mars Hill community who are launching new projects—whether for-profit or nonprofit—that can make measurable change in the world.
This isn’t an “issue”, and it’s not “over there.” SEE’s data collection is nationally known, and the numbers are clear that both labor- and sex-trafficking are alive and well in West MI. And with the stats being what they are, it’s likely that “users” are sitting in the pews of our churches. Likewise, with our digital age, kids of all backgrounds can be exploited.
Simply put, people of color are disproportionately affected in any area of injustice or inequity that you can imagine (including those above). It is more often the rule than the exception that our brothers and sisters of color face bias and prejudice in such a way that their basic humanity, worth, safety, and ability to use their God-given potential is too often thwarted. . And the Church has not only been complacent in its response, but historically churches have been complicit or the cause of great injustices. We say, no more. We want to repent, to do justice, to empower and uplift those who have been marginalized.
The number of refugees and internally displaced people numbers over 65 million worldwide, more than half of whom are children.. We cannot sit idly by while these beloved individuals and families lack access to basic human rights or are marginalized within our own “communities.”
Working with dedicated local partners, we provide rest, resources, and life readiness tools for these children in need. It’s a place where we can not only meet basic needs like a warm shower or some toothpaste, but also provide educational resources, job training, and connections for housing and counseling. A place where youth can come as they are and be met without judgment.
Whether it’s participating in water awareness activities and fundraisers, becoming a vocal advocate, or reaching into your pocket to help purchase and install more filters and cisterns—there is a place for you in this work.