Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - July 30

Dan Arnold • Lead Pastor
July 30, 2026

3 Minute Read
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.”
Dear Mercer Creek Family,

It was so much fun having Scott Sinner back with us this past weekend! Whenever Scott is here, we're reminded of an important part of our identity as a church: we are committed to loving our community.

Last year, we made a strategic staffing investment to redevelop and revitalize two important ministries in our church: our high school ministry and community outreach. By hiring Peter Bower, we made the intentional decision that we weren't going to coast—we wanted to take seriously our calling to love our community well.

Over the past year, Peter has worked hard alongside his team to strengthen our high school ministry, and he's excited about what God has in store for the year ahead. At the same time, we're preparing to lean even more intentionally into community outreach this fall. Peter was sharing several new outreach initiatives with me just the other week, and I couldn't be more excited about what's coming. While the details are still coming together, I'd encourage you to reach out to Peter now if you're interested in helping launch new outreach efforts designed to love our community in practical ways. He's on vacation this week, so let's fill his inbox with people who are ready to serve! You can reach him at peter.bower@mercercreek.org.

It may still be July, but believe it or not, summer will be over before you know it. Our staff and ministry leaders are already preparing for what I believe will be a powerful season of ministry this fall. Beginning August 19, we'll launch our 40 Days of Prayer guide to help us seek the Lord together as we prepare for this new ministry season. The guide will conclude on Wildcat Welcome Weekend as we welcome students back to Central and look for opportunities to share the love of Christ with them.

I'd also ask you to begin praying about the relaunch of our third service on September 13. During the school year, we need three services to make room for everyone—and, Lord willing, for many more people who will encounter Jesus. Every seat we create is another opportunity for someone to hear the gospel, experience Christian community, and begin following Christ.

To make that possible, we'll need many people to step into serving roles across every ministry, especially in Kids Ministry. We also need many of our regular attenders to make the 11:30am service their primary service. If you're able to serve or make the 11:30am service your regular service this fall, you'll be helping create space for new people and new families to experience what God is doing at Mercer Creek. Would you begin praying now about whether God is calling you to be part of that mission?

This weekend, Pastor Jon Riley will lead us back into our Journey Upward series as we study Psalm 128. He'll also guide us in celebrating communion in a format that's more similar to how Salt regularly observes the Lord's Supper. If you've attended our Good Friday services, you'll have a good idea of what to expect.

I will be out on vacation this weekend with my family, but I hope you’ll still join us this Sunday!

Dan Arnold

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From this Collection: Pastoral Letters
September 10, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - September 10
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, It’s hard to believe we’re already here, but this weekend we are relaunching our 11:30am service! After a long summer, it’s exciting to see all three of our Sunday services back up and running. Over the past year, we’ve continued to see God grow Mercer Creek, and our heart remains the same: to pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world. Adding the 11:30 service gives us more room to make room for more people—and we’re excited about what God is going to do this fall. You’ve heard me say this for a while now, but I want to encourage you to consider making 11:30 your regular service this season and, even better, invite someone to come with you! We also have some great opportunities to serve during this service. If you’ve been looking for a place to jump in, you can find those opportunities at mercercreek.org/serve. This Sunday I’ll also be continuing our Faithful series as we talk about a subject that touches every one of us: contentment. I’ll be preaching primarily from Philippians 4:10–13, 1 Timothy 6:6–10, and Hebrews 13:5. I’m looking forward to what God has for us as we consider what it means to trust Him and find contentment in Him, regardless of our circumstances. And as we head into fall, so many great things are getting started! Our women’s ministry is launching weekly small-group Bible studies and MomCo, and middle and high school students begin gathering again this Wednesday from 6:30–8:00pm. If you have students in your life, this is a great time to help them get connected and plugged in for the year ahead. Our prayer ministry is also launching an exciting new five-week seminar called Listening and Healing Prayer, beginning Monday, September 21, from 6:00–7:30pm. The seminar will be taught by trusted local professional Jackie Moore. This course introduces Listening Prayer as a discipline for cultivating spiritual attentiveness and discerning God’s guidance through intentional reflection and quiet contemplation. Building on that foundation, Healing Prayer provides a structured framework of reflective questions to help participants seek God’s restoration and freedom. The course addresses areas such as unhealthy behavioral patterns, dependencies, anxiety, fear, guilt, grief, anger, shame, and depression. You’re encouraged to go through it with a partner, but that is not required. I really cannot recommend this seminar enough. There is a lot happening, and I’m genuinely excited about this next season at Mercer Creek. God has been so faithful, and I believe He has more for us as we continue to pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission together. It’s going to be a great Sunday. I hope to see you here! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

September 17, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - September 17
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, As I write to you at the end of this week, my heart is filled with all kinds of emotion. It has been a full week! We kicked off our 11:30 service, launched our women’s ministry, restarted middle school and high school ministries, and helped college students move in this morning. Next week, we launch Salt and MomCo. On a personal note, I’m chasing kids around each night to different activities while cheering on other kids in our community from whatever sideline I find myself on. These are fun, wild, and crazy days! But in the middle of it all, I am keenly aware that while we are going strong, we also must heed our Savior’s invitation to withdraw, be quiet, and get alone with Him. We are going to have some exciting days of ministry and outreach this fall, but we must never forget that you are deeply loved by the Father, and He longs for slow, unhurried time with His beloved. I pray that this Sunday will be a time for you to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with Jesus. I’ll be completing our Faithful series, continuing where we left off last week as we explore 1 Timothy 6:17–19 in a message I’m calling “Live Rich.” Then, on Wildcat Welcome Weekend, I’ll kick off our next series through 1, 2, and 3 John, which we’re calling The Real Thing: Finding Authentic Faith in an Artificial World. I’m looking forward to being together Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

September 3, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - September 3
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, Today we are celebrating some great progress in Nicole’s healing! This afternoon (Thursday), we received word that they are starting the discharge process today! Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for Nicole’s full and complete healing. As we head into this weekend, I’m reminded that, in so many ways, Labor Day weekend represents the pinnacle of community life here in Ellensburg. Throughout the weekend, Mercer Creekers will be serving and participating in activities across the spectrum of our community. We are praying for you as you do! You are called to be the light of Jesus in every one of those “arenas” where you engage. May you represent Jesus well as you function as His hands and feet wherever you go. Well, we only have one more week with just two services! Join us this Sunday as Paul continues our Faithful series with the message, “Money Reveals the Heart,” from Matthew 6:19–24. We will also celebrate communion together. See you Sunday (and probably throughout the weekend)! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

Currently Reading
July 30, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - July 30
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, It was so much fun having Scott Sinner back with us this past weekend! Whenever Scott is here, we're reminded of an important part of our identity as a church: we are committed to loving our community. Last year, we made a strategic staffing investment to redevelop and revitalize two important ministries in our church: our high school ministry and community outreach. By hiring Peter Bower, we made the intentional decision that we weren't going to coast—we wanted to take seriously our calling to love our community well. Over the past year, Peter has worked hard alongside his team to strengthen our high school ministry, and he's excited about what God has in store for the year ahead. At the same time, we're preparing to lean even more intentionally into community outreach this fall. Peter was sharing several new outreach initiatives with me just the other week, and I couldn't be more excited about what's coming. While the details are still coming together, I'd encourage you to reach out to Peter now if you're interested in helping launch new outreach efforts designed to love our community in practical ways. He's on vacation this week, so let's fill his inbox with people who are ready to serve! You can reach him at peter.bower@mercercreek.org. It may still be July, but believe it or not, summer will be over before you know it. Our staff and ministry leaders are already preparing for what I believe will be a powerful season of ministry this fall. Beginning August 19, we'll launch our 40 Days of Prayer guide to help us seek the Lord together as we prepare for this new ministry season. The guide will conclude on Wildcat Welcome Weekend as we welcome students back to Central and look for opportunities to share the love of Christ with them. I'd also ask you to begin praying about the relaunch of our third service on September 13. During the school year, we need three services to make room for everyone—and, Lord willing, for many more people who will encounter Jesus. Every seat we create is another opportunity for someone to hear the gospel, experience Christian community, and begin following Christ. To make that possible, we'll need many people to step into serving roles across every ministry, especially in Kids Ministry. We also need many of our regular attenders to make the 11:30am service their primary service. If you're able to serve or make the 11:30am service your regular service this fall, you'll be helping create space for new people and new families to experience what God is doing at Mercer Creek. Would you begin praying now about whether God is calling you to be part of that mission? This weekend, Pastor Jon Riley will lead us back into our Journey Upward series as we study Psalm 128. He'll also guide us in celebrating communion in a format that's more similar to how Salt regularly observes the Lord's Supper. If you've attended our Good Friday services, you'll have a good idea of what to expect. I will be out on vacation this weekend with my family, but I hope you’ll still join us this Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

July 23, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - July 23
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but summer is more than halfway over! Don't panic—consider this your wake-up call to be purposeful with the weeks ahead. Our family still has one more vacation planned, but much of our attention is already beginning to turn toward the fall. I hope you are able to enjoy meaningful times of rest, celebration, and connection with family and friends in the weeks ahead. I also want to encourage you to spend some intentional time praying and considering what it might look like for you to become more engaged at Mercer Creek this next year. This is such an exciting season in the life of our church. Everywhere you turn, there are opportunities to serve, connect, and grow. As you step in, you will help prepare the way for the work God wants to do in and through our church in the coming year. If you're wondering where you might fit, I encourage you to visit mercercreek.org/serveand explore opportunities to get more plugged in. Please also be praying for the 30 middle school students heading to camp this weekend. This is an exciting milestone for our youth ministry, and God is doing some wonderful things among the teenagers in our church. Let's faithfully lift up these students, leaders, and the camp experience in prayer this weekend. This Sunday is one of my favorite weekends of the summer as our friend and former Mercer Creek lead pastor, Scott Sinner, joins us as our guest speaker. Scott will take a brief break from our Journey Upward series to share a message that is especially close to his heart right now. We will also take time to commission our Dominican Republic team as they prepare for their trip in August. It is going to be a wonderful weekend together, and I hope you'll make plans to join us. See you Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

July 16, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - July 16th
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, Our Mexico team had a few hiccups getting started, but from all we are hearing, they are having a wonderful week. Please continue to pray for them as they still have several days of ministry ahead before returning home. Over the last few months, I have sensed that this has been a season of preparation for Mercer Creek. I don't know how long this season will last, but I do know that our team continues to feel there is much to prepare for. I genuinely believe that God is getting ready to do an important work in and through our church, and the calling of this season is simple: get ready. In the coming months, I will invite our church into prayer in several different ways. One of those initiatives, which I briefly introduced on Sunday, is called PIC 3. I mentioned it because it fit naturally with where our sermon led, but I will share much more about it next month. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I would encourage you to begin praying today about who your three might be. Ask God to place three people on your heart who do not yet know Jesus. Then, when we officially launch next month, we will encourage everyone to: Pray regularly for these three people. Invite them when the opportunity is right—to a worship service, event, small group, or ministry gathering. Connect intentionally by investing in relationships through meals, coffee, conversations, and shared experiences. For now, simply begin by asking the Lord: Who are my three? Perhaps one of the ways God is preparing our church is by preparing our hearts for the people He wants to reach through us. This weekend we will continue our Journey Upward series as we look together at Psalm 127. The following week, Pastor Scott Sinner will be our guest speaker. "Sinner Sunday" is often one of the highlights of our summer, so I hope you'll prioritize being with us over these next few weeks. See you Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

July 9, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - July 9th
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, I'm looking forward to this weekend! We have baptisms in both services, and I'll be preaching from Psalm 126—a psalm that has become especially meaningful to me. Please also be praying for our Mexico team as they depart this weekend. Pray for safe travels, meaningful ministry, and that God would work powerfully both in and through our team. I'd also encourage you to mark your calendar for Sunday, July 26. Every summer we welcome back one of my predecessors, and what I affectionately call "Sinner Sunday" has become a fun Mercer Creek tradition. Scott Sinner, now the lead pastor at Green Valley Community Church, will be our guest preacher. Scott made a tremendous impact on Mercer Creek during his time here, and I always enjoy the opportunity to honor him and continue the strong relationship between our churches. I hope you'll plan to join us that weekend. As I've been preparing for Sunday's message, I've also been preparing for a funeral this Saturday. Moments like these remind me how grateful I am for our all-volunteer funeral ministry. This team faithfully serves families during some of life's most difficult moments, offering compassion, care, and the hope of Christ. Thank you to every member of our funeral ministry for serving so faithfully! See you Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

July 2, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - July 2nd
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, Happy 250th Birthday to our country! I hope you, your family, and your friends have a fun and safe weekend celebrating our nation's birthday. Don't forget that we have two special services planned for this Sunday. We'll celebrate communion, commission our Mexico team as they prepare to serve, and welcome special guest speaker Alex Worthington, who will be preaching from Psalm 125. Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world. This past week, you stepped up in a big way to love our community. In the midst of a blood shortage, we hosted a blood drive, and I'm so grateful that Peter Bower organized this event. He shared that we had eight volunteers, including several who were serving for the first time. Thirty-nine people donated blood, including an impressive fifteen first-time blood donors! Our Red Cross representative said he rarely sees that many new donors at a single blood drive. Thank you for loving our community so well, Mercer Creek. Your willingness to serve will make a real difference in the lives of others, and we're already looking forward to hosting another blood drive this fall. See you Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

June 25, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - June 25th
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, This has been a full and beautiful week for us as a church. An army of volunteers descended on our campus over the last four nights and served our kids so well. I truly felt that this year's Kids Camp was the smoothest and best-run camp I have seen in years. I am so grateful for Brenna and her team. They worked incredibly hard to make it such a positive and memorable experience for every child who attended. As I volunteered throughout the week, I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this great event, and I'm already looking forward to next year. As I look back on this week, I'm reminded once again of God's faithfulness and the privilege we have of investing in the next generation. What a gift it is to see so many children hear about Jesus, build friendships, and experience the love of Christ through our church family. I also want to take this opportunity to encourage you to consider volunteering in our Sunday morning Kids Ministry. Kids Camp reminds me that we have an incredible opportunity to reach even more children and families in our community. However, to do that well, we need to continue building our children's ministry team. If you would like to learn more about serving, please reach out to Jen at Jennifer.Ellsworth@mercercreek.org. We take ministry to the next generation very seriously at Mercer Creek, and there are many meaningful ways to make a difference in the lives of children and families. This Sunday, I will be back as we continue our Journey Upward series and explore Psalm 124 together. As we reflect on God's faithfulness in the past, we'll be reminded that the God who has been our help is still our help today. I hope you'll join us. See you Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

June 18, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - June 18th
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, This next week is one of the most exciting weeks on our church calendar! Beginning Sunday night, Kids Camp will be in full swing, and we could not be more excited to serve and love so many children. Would you be praying with us? Pray for our volunteers as they serve faithfully, and pray that the kids would be open and ready to hear from the Lord. I am so grateful that our church is committed to investing in the next generation. Sunday is Father's Day, one of my favorite holidays! We will have donuts between services and a fun photo booth for families to enjoy. Bryan Halferty, founding pastor of Anchor Church in Tacoma and one of our former young adult pastors, will be speaking as we continue our Journey Upward series. Our passage this week will be Psalm 123. In this email, I want to take you behind the scenes a little. Most people think church only happens on Sundays, but as many of you know, ministry takes place almost every day of the week through our various programs, ministries, and staff. You may not realize that each year we conduct a staff review and development process. This provides an opportunity to share constructive feedback, celebrate strengths, set goals, and create plans that help our team continue to grow. In addition, each May our board conducts my annual review. This is one of their most important responsibilities, and it is a process we take very seriously. I’m happy to report that the board recently completed this year's review, and I am grateful for their thoughtful feedback, encouragement, and support. Like the rest of our staff team, I am committed to continuing to grow in my role as we prepare for another ministry year. As a staff team, we take feedback, growth, and development seriously because we want to be the healthiest church and leadership team we can be. I thought you might enjoy hearing a little about some of the important work happening behind the scenes. We are going to have a great week, and I hope you'll join us this Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor

June 11, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
Weekly Letter from Pastor Dan - June 11th
“Together we pursue Jesus, love our community, and live out His mission to reach the world.” Dear Mercer Creek Family, This is our last weekend with three services before we begin our summer schedule. If you have never attended the 11:30 service, I would encourage you to give it a try this weekend and see if it might be a good fit for you when we relaunch it in September. This Sunday, I will continue our Journey Upward series as we explore Psalm 122. We are also offering baptism classes in preparation for our summer baptisms, so if you have been considering taking that step, I encourage you to join us for one of those classes. As we prepare for the next ministry year, I’ve been describing what our staff team is experiencing as growing pains. We are working hard to recruit new volunteers, develop leaders, and build the structures necessary to sustain a growing church. While these growing pains can sometimes be challenging, they are also evidence of God’s blessing and the opportunities He is placing before us. One area where I would appreciate your prayers is our budgeting process. We are not in a crisis, and the Lord has blessed Mercer Creek with strong resources and reserves that our board stewards wisely and creatively. However, our giving has not grown quite as much as we projected this year. At the same time, our church continues to grow. Over the past year, our average monthly attendance has increased by more than 100 people. Every one of those numbers represents a person God loves—a person who needs community, discipleship, care, and opportunities to grow in their faith. As our church grows, so do the ministry opportunities before us. Like many organizations, our fixed expenses continue to rise due to inflation, including utilities, insurance, and ministry supplies. At the same time, we are serving more people and doing more ministry than we were a year ago. The challenge before us is figuring out how to continue expanding ministry opportunities while stewarding our resources faithfully. I am incredibly grateful for a staff team that is creative, resourceful, and committed to our mission. Most importantly, we know that God is our provider. Time and again, He has faithfully supplied everything we have needed to accomplish the work He has called us to do. One of my ongoing prayers is that we would continue growing as disciples, including growing in generosity. As more people learn to trust God through faithful giving, we believe He will continue to provide everything needed for the ministry ahead. Would you join us in praying for wisdom, discernment, and God's provision as we prepare for the coming year? Budgets aside, I can’t wait to worship with you this weekend. God has been working in powerful ways, and I can’t think of any place I’d rather be this Sunday. See you Sunday! Dan Arnold

Dan Arnold

Lead Pastor