I have been going to this church for about 10 months now. I really love this church for so many reasons! 1. In Seattle, a lot of churches water down the gospel to try to make it easier to swallow. Roots does not cut any corners with difficult truths, but instead maintains a biblically accurate message while sharing it in a loving and kind way. 2. The leadership at Roots is very humble and real. Their messages often reflect the ways that God has taught them hard lessons, and they do not paint themselves to be holier-than-thou. 3. It is a small community of people that really value fellowship. The weekly attendance probably varies between 50-100 people depending on the season (also, a lot of the core team members are from out of state, so sometimes some of them leave town for holidays). This number of people is big enough to provide you with lots of potential new friends, but small enough that when you're new, you won't get lost in the crowd-- members will come up to greet and welcome you! I also love it that Roots is not just a Sunday church meeting, but there are also weekly "growth group" meetings and frequent spontaneous hang outs. Roots is often engaged in evangelistic ministry and tries to be a blessing by volunteering to help the local Ravenna community in many ways. 4. This church is a huge handmade labor of love. Every person that comes to this church has different skills to contribute as a member of the body of Christ, and they really model that well here! There are a lot of skilled administrators, leaders, baristas, musicians, and artists that keep Roots going! 5. Although we have members of all age groups, there is a large bias towards members in the 20s-30s age range. This won't benefit everyone, but I personally enjoy being surrounded by lots of peers. A lot of times when I hear the label "Southern Baptist", I'm not sure what to expect. But, Roots is the best version of a Southern Baptist church- no racism, sexism, or xenophobia. Roots has a healthy balance of both faith and works. We do not condone legalism, and try to be encouraging instead of judgmental!