Pete was born and raised in Olympia, WA, and educated at Calvin College, Fuller Theological Seminary and Calvin Theological Seminary.
Pete and his wife Lily moved from Seattle to NYC to start Dwell Church.
Dwell Church is a growing gathering of New Yorkers exploring the life of God in community. Their vision is simple: connecting the Mission of God to the Bowery. That means that they both encourage people to be in relationship with God but are also fully engaged in serving their neighborhood. They started meeting in an apartment in September of 2011 and launched public worship on April 15, 2012.
Some have been Christians for a while and others are investigating Christianity for the first time. Many live in the neighborhood of the Bowery but others commute from Brooklyn, Queens or uptown. There is a strong sense of internal community but they are also enjoy reaching out to serve the neighborhood and city.
Pete writes how God is at work at Dwell “two more people recently came to faith and would like to be baptized. God be praised! I'm going to take them through a short course on the meaning of baptism. I find that this is often when spiritual attacks come from the enemy. So I want to pray protection over Susie, Janay and myself during this crucial season. They are hoping to be baptized on December 8. Susie is an Ivy League graduate (married to another Ivy League grad, of course!) who works as a consultant. She is Korean-American. Janay grew up in the projects in Brooklyn and works in retail. She is African-American. I am so thankful that God is drawing folks across borders of class and race together at Dwell. May He bless our times together and not let anything stand in the way of their baptism and growth as they follow Jesus.”
Pete and Lily are thankful for: believers being called to NYC to build God's Kingdom here, my brother and sister-in-law worshiping with us, seeing the fruit of their prayers the last few years, a powerful testimony in worship from a Columbia grad changed by God's love, ready to change the world, more folks than ever connecting through our gospel communities, a wonderful core group who gives of their time, leadership and finances, powerful times of prayer and worship together, financial faithfulness of friends who continue to support us, the opportunity to serve Christ in a wonderful urban environment, increased confidence and marvel at the gospel through preparing and giving sermons, Lily taking classes for a counseling degree at Alliance Theological Seminary.
Pete asks that we join them in praying: for a bigger vision of what God wants to do with Dwell in this city that He loves, for more families and children from the neighborhood to join up with Dwell, for the teenagers who live, study and play along the Bowery, for deepening relationships, especially with those who don't know Christ, for connecting our faith in Christ with our busy days at work, for new and emerging leadership at Dwell and in Christ's church more broadly. for our Leadership Development Network currently ongoing, for ways to connect with couples and other young marriages we can pray for and encourage, for a larger space we're hoping to move into on January 1, for favor from landlords and for the finances to make the move into a long-term sustainable space for Dwell.