Duane and Debbie Stixrud serve in northwest Washington. Located fifty miles north of Seattle and continuing to the Canadian border, bounded by Puget Sound on the west and the Cascade Mountains on the east, the northwest Washington field consists of large rural and suburban areas, several small to medium-sized cities, and many islands with year-round residents.
Like much of western America, the population of northwest Washington is largely unconverted and unchurched, though the overwhelming majority of communities have at least some gospel presence. It is not unusual to find cultures within cultures in this area.
The needs in these communities are similar to those in most communities across the United States. Many residents profess a general “belief” in God, but distance themselves from local churches and the Christian community with the premise, “I know what I believe.” Life-giving, personal relationships with Christ are exchanged for individualized religious ideas and beliefs.
