Rob Bell’s Myth of Mars Hill “Miracle Grow”

By Ken Silva

Apprising Ministries

Scripture Taught In A New Way

One of the things that had always intrigued me, being that I also planted a church, was the beginning of Mars Hill Bible Church (MHBC) home base for Rob Bell  author of Velvet Elvis: Repainting The Christian Faith (VE). It’s always had kind of a mythical dimension when one reads anything about the actual start of MHBC. In VE Bell recalls, “My wife and I and several others started this church called Mars Hill in February of 1999 with dreams of what a revolutionary new kind of community could be. I was twenty-eight.” [1]

Personally I’m interested in just how many Bell means here by “several.” The MHBC website tells us:

Mars Hill began as just an idea, a desire to open a church where the scripture would be taught in a new way, a way that would reach a changing culture. In February, 1999, Mars Hill Bible Church opened its doors -- actually the doors of a school gym we rented to hold our first services, what we call “gatherings”. [2]

I was still curious as to how many others made up this “several” because when I planted my church I had done so through starting four or five home Bible studies. And then from the thirteen to fifteen people this involved I also had “several” with me when we were sent out from Monroe Avenue Baptist Church and started a church back in the late nineties.

Not Knowing What To Expect?

Rob Bell informs us that we need to understand that “to this day” he has “never read a book on church planting or church growth or been to a seminar on how to start a church.” [3] Then Bell says:

I remember being told that a sign had been rented with the church name on it to go in front of the building where we were meeting. I was mortified and had them get rid of it. You can’t put a sign out front, I argued; people have to want to find us. And so there were no advertisements, no flyers, no promotions, and no signs. [4]

Bell states that “the thought of the word church and the word marketing in the same sentence makes me sick.” [5]  He goes on, “We had these ideas and these dreams, and we went with them... And the strangest thing happened: People came on the first Sunday.” [6] While back on the MHBC site we’re further enlightened, “We had no idea what to expect, but God amazed us! Without ever advertising, just through word-of-mouth, our first Sunday's two morning gatherings saw over 3000 people visit us!”

Something Just Didn’t Quite Add Up

Finally concerning that first Sunday Rob Bell says:

Now I am going to give you some numbers. And I hesitate to do this because few things are more difficult to take than spiritual leaders who are always talking about how big their thing is. But it happened and it’s true and it’s part of my story. There were well over 1,000 people there the first Sunday. [7]

Based on my own personal experience in planting a church something just didn’t quite add up because in general when there is a new church plant it will usually come out from another local fellowship. I began to wonder why Rob Bell didn’t mention this. A little investigative research unearths that Bell was sent out to found MHBC from Calvary Church (CC) in Grand Rapids where he had been on staff for around five years.

Planting Mars Hill Bible Church With “Miracle Grow”

We easily verify Dr. Ed Dobson was the senior pastor at CC and then an AM reader tipped me off to an email response they had received from official CC spokesperson Ruth Gudbrandson that:

Mars Hill Bible Church was started, I believe in February of 1999 and Rob was on staff at Calvary Church for 4 possibly 5 years. Sorry, but I don't have the exact dates. I believe between 700 and 1,000 went with Rob. [8]

Rob Bell had between 700 to 1000 people who went with him from Calvary Church to plant MHBC. A spokesperson from another church in Grand Rapids told me it is common knowledge that Rob had a 1000 people with him when he started his church. Quite honestly the word “several” is much closer to the 13 to 15 I told you I had when I planted my fellowship where in Bell’s case the word “hundreds” would have been a more accurate number.

It looks to me that in VE Bell himself would appear to be misrepresenting this plant to shroud it in myth and MHBC’s website is being somewhat disingenuous as well when it says “we had no idea what to expect.” Because based on Gudbrandson’s letter we have been told 700 to 1000 people were sent with Rob Bell to start MHBC. The other church spokesperson who has been in Grand Rapids for over a decade confirms the fact that Bell did have 1000 people with him in order to plant MHBC.

So contrary to Rob Bell’s assertion in VE and the MHBC website we would have a very good idea concerning what we might expect on that very first Sunday–sign or no sign: Anywhere from around 700 to 1000 people could conceivably be expected to show up. And when all the actual facts about this MHBC plant are brought into the light we can see that there’s just a little bit more to this story than meets the eye in Bell’s account in VE. And it’s really no wonder at all that when speaking of this mythical first Sunday of his Mars Hill “miracle grow” Rob Bell would later say, “There were well over 1,000 people there the first Sunday.”

Yeah, though now it’s not such a big surprise is it Rob…

By Ken Silva Click here for bio and archived articles