We at Mosaic are a community of people who are seeking to intentionally orient our lives around the life and teaching of Jesus.
Our journey began in the summer of 2006 when a group of about 50 people gathered for a backyard BBQ in Bellingham, WA to discuss what it would look like to plant a new faith community that was intent on “being” the church and “being” Jesus (To Learn More, listen to “Community Within Community”). We were fed up with the complacency in our own lives and our tendency to simply “attend” church and longed for something more, something deeper.
After that gathering we began calling ourselves Mosaic and had several backyard BBQs throughout the summer to continue our exploration of “being”. The name Mosaic really resonated with us because it speaks of broken pieces that come together to create something beautiful, a work of art. We think the church is like that. Each person is valuable even though we are not perfect. It is in coming together that we form something incredible, a piece of art that communicates Jesus to all who see it.
The excitement grew and soon we had over 100 people crammed into lawns for great evenings of food, music, teaching and discussion.
We began to see the need in our lives for a community “rhythm” or way of life. We were asking the question, “What would our lives look like oriented around the life of Jesus?” From there we committed to 5 values, what we now call our B.L.E.S.S. Rhythms: Beautify, Listen, Eat, Study and Send. Click on Our Rhythms page up above on the menu bar for more information about these and visit our BLESS Rhythms blog at blessbellingham.com.
Together we have found that these Rhythms have helped us put flesh on the skeleton, so to speak, of our original vision to be the church and be Jesus. Living the BLESS Rhythms puts the emphasis on our everyday lives and not just on our church gathering experience. It also gives us a common way of life that can be lived in any context. It’s not about what kind of jobs or pursuits we have, it’s about how each one of us is living the Rhythms in our particular field. The Rhythms also send us into engagement with our neighbors and coworkers. We realized that we didn’t want to be about separating ourselves from our culture and our city. We have decided to push for each person in Mosaic to live out the Rhythms within our culture, within our neighborhoods, within our relationships in our journey to be Jesus to Bellingham.
Also, we think our Rhythms are just a great way to live: intentionally bringing beauty weekly to the people and places we come in contact with, listening to the voice of our Creator and obeying him, eating meals together, studying the life of Jesus and sending each other out and affirming one another to live Jesus’ heart and passion in our town and ultimately the world. We think that a faith community truly committed to living this way could change everything.
Mosaic now gathers at 10am (over the summer months) 2 Sundays at The Majestic in downtown Bellingham. We also have several Rhythm Groups (small groups that meet to practice the BLESS Rhythms) that meet on the off weeks. See the calendar on the home page for more on these. Together we are on a journey, longing to “be” and finding our rhythm.
We invite you to join us in this unfolding story. The Mosaic may just need your piece!
For more information on our gatherings click Our Gatherings above on the menu bar.
