We are a Seventh-day Adventist church rooted in the heart of Seattle, seeking to be a faithful expression of Jesus Christ in our city and sharing the everlasting gospel.
“Seventh-day” points back to our belief in God creating us, and gifting Sabbath to us all. “Adventist” points forward to our joyful anticipation of the soon return of Christ. Simply stated, we are a people created by God, who strive to live like Christ, whilst awaiting His soon return.
The pioneers of Volunteer Park church organized as the North Seattle church on September 6, 1886 and chose as its site the vicinity of 2nd and Thomas, in Belltown, which then boasted Seattle’s only broad sidewalk. In May 1920, the church moved to 1707 Boylston & Olive, and became the Central Church. Following a fire on February 23, 1963, the property was sold and the current building at 1300 E Aloha was purchased from Burril C. Johnson. On February 26, 1965, two years after the fire, the first service was held in our church. Since then we sought ways to serve our city and be part of its vital existence.
We strive to Experience God in our weekly gatherings. There are many ways this happens; one is the united congregational expression of worship. The mediums are: the spoken word, the sung word, the petitioned word. Through all of these expressions we stand opened handed for God to fill us. Having been filled, we leave ready to be agents of God's goodness in the week to come.
We take seriously, Christ's distillation of all holy scripture; namely, love of God and love of neighbour. We order the life of our community around 'life groups' that meet in homes, chapels, and pitches around Seattle. In those moments, we believe that opportunities to practise loving one another well are created. God as Trinity is a community, we affirm the divine basicity of being in community.
Service is the fruit of experiencing the goodness of God, and being rooted in the soil of community. We have opportunities for all to serve at our church. There are opportunities for service within the walls of the church, and without the walls. We are motivated by Christ who spent more time in service than He did in sermons. For a world in need, actions matter, just as much as words.