Our Story

In the early months of 2012, a group of young adults gathered in a room to pray. A future Thrive board member had felt the urgent need to reach young adults for Christ, and in response, Tim and Karen Cedarland began to invite and lead this group that was to become Thrive.

Thrive formed as a regular weekly ministry in May 2012, meeting at a house in Gig Harbor dubbed "The Cabin." Young adults in the area were welcomed to join for dinner, a time of worship, a message, and discussion groups. As community began to grow and transformation began to take place, Thrive soon outgrew its first meeting spot and in March 2013, began to meet at Harborview Fellowship, allowing room for growth.

Nearly ten years later, Thrive has been blessed to see God build community, raise up leaders, and transform the lives of countless young adults. Hundreds of young adults from Pierce and Kitsap County have come through the doors over the years, from different backgrounds, churches, and denominations. Thrive continues to welcome young adults each week from throughout the South South!

 

Our Beliefs

  • We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

  • We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

  • We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

  • We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in 3 persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

 

Our Board

Thrive is a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

BOARD of directors

Peter Churness

Joe Schneider

Mike Turnbull

Michael Bouterse

Dustin Polley

 
 
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Michael Bouterse
Director

Michael first got involved with Thrive when he began attending in 2012. While studying for his bachelor’s degrees in theology and history at Whitworth University, Michael planted and directed a branch of Thrive in Spokane, WA, and afterward received further ministry training at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics in the U.K. Following the completion of his master’s degree in New Testament through the University of Oxford, Michael stepped into the role of Local Director of Thrive Harbor in the summer of 2017.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys hiking, classical music, and reading great books. He also loves spending time with friends and going on prayer walks!

Michael attends Wilderness Church.

Claire Edwards
Associate Director

Claire started attending Thrive in 2022 and began serving as Associate Director in 2023. A gifted musician, Claire also teaches piano in the greater Gig Harbor area and is a member of the Washington State Music Teachers Association.

In her spare time, you’re likely to find Claire on the top of one of Washington’s many mountain peaks, pursuing her love of mountaineering and the great outdoors.

Claire attends Rosedale Reformed Bible Church.

 
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Tim & Karen Cedarland
Directors Emeritus

 

God used Tim and Karen Cedarland to start Thrive in May of 2012. The Cedarlands entered vocational ministry in 1981 when they began to serve at the Portland Rescue Mission and in prison ministry throughout the Northwest. After moving to Gig Harbor in 1983 they were called to an itinerant ministry, and for over 10 years Tim spent much of his time traveling throughout the US and Canada speaking at conferences, churches, youth camps, and prisons. Thereafter, Tim served for 18 years as pastor of Community Bible Fellowship, a church they planted in 1994 to serve the Gig Harbor/Key Peninsula area.

Although Tim and Karen have now passed the baton of Thrive’s leadership to some of the young adults they discipled, they continue to serve the body of Christ in the Gig Harbor area through clear communication of the truths of God's Word, evangelism, and mentoring young leaders.

Timothy Guenther

Discipleship Team

Alexander King

Tech Team

Tristan Pragnell

Discipleship Team

Ian Jimmink

Prayer Team

Hannah Churness

Outreach Team

Luke Fritsch

Tech Team

Emma Edwards

Discipleship Team

Amanda Cohen

Outreach Team

Conner Dill

Prayer Team

Thrive has branches.

From Thrive’s unlikely beginnings, God has graciously seen fit to birth other ministries. In 2014, a group of six young adults gathered in a basement apartment and prayed that God might stir the hearts of young adults in Kitsap County. Out of this group, Thrive Kitsap was born. Today, Thrive Kitsap continues to gather together on a weekly basis, desiring to fan a flame of love for Jesus and the local church in the hearts of young adults. 

Thrive Kitsap meets in Bremerton on Monday nights at 6:30PM, led by Dustin & Emily Polley.

Thrive hosts a roundtable.

Over the last decade, Thrive has been blessed to get to know other leaders and ministries who work with young adults around the greater South Sound. Recognizing that young adult ministry can often be hard, lonely, and isolating, in 2023 Thrive launched the Young Adult Roundtable as a way to resource and connect together young adult ministry leaders throughout the region.

The Young Adult Roundtable meets once every other month. For more information, reach out to us at team@thriveharbor.com.