Quest Church,
As I look back on 2025, my heart is full—full of gratitude, awe, and genuine hope for Quest. This was a year when we didn’t simply hang on through transition; we chose to imagine together what God might be up to in our midst. You showed up through prayer, presence, emails and texts of encouragement, and words you were sensing from the Spirit—and that mattered deeply. Under our theme Imagine, we experienced real stability and growth—spiritually, relationally, and communally—even as we navigated significant change.
One of the most meaningful moments of discernment this year was our collective decision to move toward selling our property—unanimously. That choice wasn’t about letting something go; it was about trusting that God’s imagination for Quest is bigger than any one location, and that ministry happens wherever we say yes to the Spirit’s movement.
I was especially encouraged by the ways we imagined church differently—rolling up our sleeves to make resource kits for asylum seekers, writing letters of advocacy to elected officials, and serving our neighbors with warm clothes and a bowl of chili. Our quarterly Days of Action reminded me that Quest is at its best when faith turns into practice and love becomes visible. In the same spirit, the way our community rallied around our All In, All Together giving initiative demonstrated more than meeting a financial goal; it spoke volumes about the culture and commitment of our people. It was a bold, faith-filled response grounded in our belief in a healthy, stable, and sustainable future for Quest. Because of you, we are stepping forward with renewed confidence and a strong foundation beneath us. THANK YOU!
The year closed with another significant transition as I stepped into the role of Lead Pastor. I am truly honored, humbled, and excited for this next season and where the Spirit is leading us. As I look ahead to 2026, I keep returning to Jesus’ invitation in Luke 5 to “cast the nets into the deep.” It feels like a word for us in this season. Our theme for 2026 is Deeper. I sense God calling Quest into deeper waters—where fear is met with faith, doubt with possibility, and uncertainty with curiosity rather than control. Peter’s response continues to echo in my heart: “Yet if you say so…” That’s the kind of church I see in Quest and believe we are becoming. We may not have it all figured out—but when Jesus calls us forward, we are willing to follow.
I’m especially excited that part of this deep-water journey will be walking through the Gospel of Luke together in the year ahead, grounding ourselves in the life, teachings, and table-expanding love of Jesus. I see Luke forming us toward deeper spiritual formation marked by courage, conviction, and character, reflecting the beloved community Jesus invites us toward. Together, let’s deepen our commitment to live courageously, embody our values, and strengthen our inner character.
Deeper together,
Aaron Cho
Transitional Lead Pastor, on behalf of Quest Leadership
This year marked a significant season in the life of the church. We spent much of it in the book of Acts, seeking to become a more Jesus-centered, multi-ethnic, LGBTQ+ affirming, and justice-engaged community. The early church offered a model for living differently—slowing down to listen to more voices, sharing resources generously, and actively pursuing justice locally and globally.
The phrase “they had everything in common” guided two major, trajectory-shifting decisions: voting in Pastor Aaron Cho as Lead Pastor and voting to sell the building. These decisions did not change who we are, but sharpened our focus on who God is calling us to be in this season.
Throughout the year, Questers stepped up in meaningful ways. Under Pastor Matt’s leadership, our worship team was strengthened by Aaron Cokely, Chris Fuller, and Terry Kelly stepping into expanded roles. This widened our worship expressions and created space for God to speak through a broader range of leaders, traditions, and experiences, further enriched by guest preachers throughout the year.
We also intentionally deepened our theological foundations. We hosted our first Trans and gender-expansive affirmation during worship and offered classes to help Questers engage more fully with our LGBTQ+ affirming theology. Through Faith and Race and our Days of Action, we continued connecting our faith with Scripture’s call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
We are deeply grateful for our Prayer Team, who meet weekly and lead pre-service prayer on first Sundays. Their faithfulness has fostered spiritual growth, deeper intimacy with God, and stronger communal connection. The return of post-sermon prayer during communion created additional space for shared prayer and spiritual formation.
Together, this collective faithfulness welcomed more than 350 visitors and families, added 36 new members (167 total), and grew weekly attendance to over 300 people, in person and online.
The church is both an institution and a people. As an institution, we create systems that support the people, who, in turn, build systems of care and connection. Community is central to being a church that fosters and supports radical belonging.
In 2025, our Community Groups (C-Groups) continued meeting regularly, forming pockets of fellowship across the city and online, while 20+ summer Community Plays (C-Plays) created opportunities for more than 150 Questers to connect and play. As Quest grows and changes, so do our community opportunities. This year we saw more than 200 people involved in C-groups around the city and online and more than 350 participated in our affinity-based gatherings.
One of our major values this year was a commitment to eat together more. We hosted several potlucks for the entire community to eat together in addition to centering the table in many of our community groups and gatherings. These have provided hospitable space to connect, share life, and deepen our bonds to one another. This coming year, we look forward to an off site church retreat, more shared meals, and a greater emphasis on going deep together.
At Quest, we welcome the wiggles, giggles, wonderings, and growth of kids—they are a core part of how we know God as a church. 2025 marked a significant year of transition for Quest Kids. We celebrated and sent Director Kelsey into her next season after two years of faithful service, and welcomed Director Syd in the early fall. Through these changes, our goal remained the same: to create opportunities for kids to love themselves, love others, and love God, while inviting them to lead the broader church.
This year, we welcomed dozens of new families, invested in growing numbers of kids each week, and offered programming that allowed kids and parents to play, learn, grow, and engage more deeply with the Quest community. Quest also experienced a bit of a baby boom, a joyful sign of continued growth and new life among us.
In addition to regular programs like Sunday Funday and Kids Night In, 30 kids participated in our second annual Creative Arts and Justice Camp (CAJ). There, they learned to use their voices and bodies to stand up for what is right. The now-iconic chant “less trash, more trees” echoed through the building for weeks, calling us toward deeper creation-care and love of neighbors.
Kids and families were present across every part of Quest life—writing letters during Days of Action, welcoming neighbors at our fall distribution day, leading us in worship through the Nativity, and bringing joy and energy to potlucks, groups, gatherings, and more. It is a gift to serve and learn from the next generation of world-changers at Quest.
Through it all, we welcomed more than 50 new families this year and celebrated that kids and families are finding belonging in and out of programming.
This year marked another season of transition and change in our Youth Ministry. Last year saw the graduation of seniors who had been (and continue to be as they visit and attend) staples in our community as well as the graduation of a class of 6th graders into the Youth Group.
Throughout the year, our youth met regularly for Discipleship Class on Sunday mornings for spiritual formation and exploration. They got to know each other through events, met up to worship and pray, and attended camps together. These times at Camp offered opportunities to bond, connect, ask real questions, and come back home with a sense that they aren’t on their spiritual journeys (as varied as they are) alone and that there is space to be exactly where they are. We are excited to continue these rhythms.
Director Grace transitioned out of her role as Youth Director in August having served our youth since 2022 with creativity, compassion, an ear to the community and an ear to the spirit. We are so grateful for the team of volunteers that stepped up to maintain youth programming before we hired Jeremy Yang MacDonald in December. We are particularly grateful to Caenisha Warren who stepped in as interim youth coordinator during the transition. It was truly a gift and reflected out values of consistent investment in the lives of middle and high school students. <
In 2025, under the vision and activist heart of Director Chloe, Quest moved its core values—to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God—into tangible action in our church and across Seattle.
We continued our annual Faith and Race rhythm, a three-week series inviting Questers to educate themselves, engage in courageous and humble dialogue, and activate shared values around timely issues. These practices—educate, discuss, activate—became part of our collective posture as we responded to social and political injustices, particularly during this presidency.
This posture took clearest shape through our 5th Sunday Days of Action, which intentionally interrupted our service flow to center advocacy, meet tangible needs, and create all-ages, all-abilities opportunities to practice justice together.
A highlight was the November clothing distribution, where worship became tangible through the distribution of hundreds of pieces of warm-weather gear to unhoused and under-resourced neighbors, a shared chili meal, and spaces for art and connection.
This was a values extension of our weekly Ballard Community Dinners that, in partnership with other Ballard churches, fed over 100 under-resourced guests each week.
This year also marked a deeper shift into community engagement, supported by our Justice Groups (J-Groups), which gathered Questers and community members around immigrant and refugee resettlement, incarceration and mental health, and the ongoing conflict in Israel/Palestine.
Beyond Quest, Questers participated in the Seattle Pride Parade, the MLK march, City budget meetings, and organizing efforts with the Church Council of Greater Seattle, Faith Action Network (FAN), and the Seattle Christians Organizing Project.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
The Ayla Project
Ballard Community Dinners
Ballard Food Bank
Faith Action Network
Wonderland Gear Exchange
Seattle Christians Organizing Project
Church Council of Greater Seattle
Andy Larsen- Peace Catalyst
Real Rent Duwamish
Lavender Rights Project
RECLAIM
Khayari
SPECIAL THANKS
We could not do what we do without the faithfulness of leaders who give their time tirelessly on behalf of the church. We are grateful to Grace Torres, Kelsey Gardner, and Sam Wilkinson for their years serving on staff and to Jen Manlief and Kevin Hale for their years serving as deacons. Thank you for your investment in Quest- each of you has shaped who we are in significant ways. A special thanks to Caenisha Warren for willingness and diligence as our Interim Youth Coordinator.
Even as we hold departures tenderly, we celebrate that this year we have welcomed Syd Bagley, Cody Sugai, Victor Puentes, and Jeremy Yang Macdonald to our staff team! Additionally, Sam Yang, Tiffany Lumley, Jan Bersin, Michael Muto, and Vanessa Lee have recently joined as Quest Deacons!
Additionally, we are so grateful for the leadership of our Elder Board. Thank you to our beloved elders: Chair Sonja Lowe, Co-Vice Chair Donnie Griffin, Co-Vice Chair Hannah Joseph, Secretary Francxs Placide, Treasurer Cesar Arvizo, Jim Caldwell, Nourisha Wells, Sam Kim, Tré Wyatt and Jun Young.
Finally, this year has required the diligence of volunteer committees in our large processes- we would not be where we are without the investment, care, discernment and hard work of our Lead Pastor Nominating Committee, Giving and Stewardship Committee, Finance Committee, and Building Committee. No thank you is sufficient, but we are so grateful.
FINANCIAL REPORT
TOTAL INCOME (giving, income, grants, bridge funds, CD, etc.)
$1,485,432
TOTAL EXPENSES (payroll, ministry, operational costs)
$1,310,957
Numbers are only one part of our greater story. We seek to develop sustainability within our church budget and know that many factors are at play. We are so grateful for the generosity and creativity of Questers who have faithfully given, sat on committees, and brainstormed possibilities for how to more faithfully use our individual and collective resources toward a more healed world.
You can read more in our treasurer's report to learn the sources of the gap and our hopes moving into 2026.
