The City Church Story
Three Decades of Ministry
Wendell and Gini Smith met and fell in love while students at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. In 1972 they married and moved to Portland, Oregon, where, for 20 years, they were members of City Bible Church, formerly known as Bible Temple. There they served as elders and Youth Pastors. In the mid-1980s, they invested five years of ministry to over 100,000 youth across the nation in their Dragonslayer Seminar. In 1992, the Smiths were sent from their home church, Bible Temple to launch The City Church in the Seattle area.
The City Church began during the spring and summer of that year. The first interest meeting for the church was held in May, 1992, in Bellevue, Washington, with 40 people in attendance. By August, official Sunday services were under way at the Bellevue Courtyard Marriott Hotel. By September, they had outgrown that facility.
Subsequently, the church moved into its first true home, a retail mall in Bellevue's Kelsey Creek Center, signing a five-year lease. By 1996, attendance was averaging 1,000 at weekend services and the Kelsey Creek Center location was beginning to get cramped.
The City Church continued to grow, and in late 1997, their lease had expired and they found a home in a facility purchased from Overlake Christian Church. The spacious 13-acre complex with ample parking and an 111,000 sq. ft. facility was acquired in seven days.
A Church for "The City"
Pastor Wendell describes the church as multi-denominational. The City Church underscores its commitment to diversity within its stated mission "to build a New Testament local church and proclaim the good news about Jesus Christ to young and old, rich and poor, red and yellow, black and white, and extend the kingdom of God by building people, families, and leaders-first in our city, and then in the ends of the earth."
They place high priority on social service and assistance to those in need. Through a ministry called the City Ministries, the church helps to feed more than 20,000 people a week and, through a food distribution network, supplies 150 different churches with food for their communities.
The "Generation Pipeline"
An emphasis on "the generation pipeline," is central to the church's efforts. This includes strategic, vibrant ministry for every age population from City Kids to Generation Plus, the church's ministry to senior adults.
Each week, over 1000 young people-ranging from junior high to college age-gather together in dynamic services called Generation Church. Services are held at various locations, including the University of Washington campus. GC now produces their own weekly half-hour TV program, which is locally broadcast in several time slots to thousands. City Kids, which ministers to over 400 kids each week, will launch their own TV program in the fall of 2005.
One Church, Many Locations
Central to The City Church's mission is reaching thousands by making God famous in their city. To be able to preach the gospel in many areas of the city, the church has adopted a multi-campus emphasis. "One church-Many Locations," has become their motto as the Lord has blessed them with several additional facilities.
In 2002, the congregation of Bethel Temple, a downtown church with a nearly one hundred-year history, merged with The City Church and in 2003 the Belltown Campus was acquired. It is located in downtown Seattle, just a few blocks from the Space Needle.
The Plateau Campus, a 40-acre site 20 minutes east of Seattle, was acquired in 2004.
In 2006, the University District campus was opened, which is located just two blocks north of the University of Washington.
In 2007, the New Beginnings congregation of Mountlake Terrace, Washington, merged with The City Church and their facilities became the Alderwood campus, which is located just north of Seattle.
Most recently, the congregation of Christian Family Center, located in Camano Island, Washington, which is located about sixty miles north of Seattle, merged with The City Church and have become the new North Sound Campus.
On Sunday mornings each campus is home to hundreds of people who will come to participate in a City Church service. They will experience "live" worship, prayer and personal ministry and then hear the pastor in person or see the pastor broadcast live from one of the other locations.
One Happy People
The first chapters in the story of The City Church have been written over the past 16 years.
Pastor Gini has summed it up well by having a portion of Psalm 126 posted above the entry to the sanctuary of the Kirkland campus:
"We laughed, we sang, we couldn't believe our good fortune. God was wonderful to us; we are one happy people."