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Dear New Hope Family,
We’ve certainly been on a wild ride during the first half of this year. Yesterday, at our Staff Meeting we reflected on the good things God has done since January. Discipleship has been God’s word to us and there has been a tremendous response. Below are some of the things we talked about and thanked God for…
- By the end of July we will have had almost 75 people go on Short Term Mission trips since the first of the year. I like to say that short-term mission trips are discipleship on steroids! People have to trust God for finances, get out of their comfort zone, and serve others. What a great recipe for spiritual and personal growth. - Multiple marriages have been rescued from certain disaster this year. - People are stepping into dreams that have either been dormant or just never realized. - More people are finding the freedom and abundant life the Holy Spirit wants to give them. - Our community is being impacted through New Hope in multiple ways; the poor are being fed and clothed, people are stepping into positions of influence in the city and the school district, and people in the city government are asking us to help them be more effective.
Discipleship is a two edged sword. On one hand it is about my personal walk and surrender to God. On the other, it is about giving my life for the sake of others. Learning to serve, reach out, and make a difference in the world around me. Here are some ways we will be engaging the world in the second half of 2011.
We’ll be kicking off August with Vacation Bible School. This is an incredible way to bless families and share Jesus with children in our community. I want to encourage you to invite your neighbors and friends to bring their kids to Pandamania! You can register at www.newhopechristian.org under Upcoming Events or on Sunday mornings in the lobby.
Labor Day Weekend, Sunday September 4th we will be hosting a community-wide event at New Hope. This will be a Fall Kick off like none other. We’ll have food, games, fishing, live music, volleyball, water slide and much more. The purpose of this event will be to provide a fun and family oriented event for the whole community. Our hope is that everyone who is part of New Hope will invite friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to come that day and just enjoy themselves. But we especially want to reach out to those Jesus said others would overlook…the hurting, the poor, the broken, and the needy. Let’s invite these people to join us and give them some relief from their suffering. In the process, we hope that the love of Jesus shines through our lives and they are pointed to him!
Breaking ground…we plan to break ground on Phase 1 of The Bridge Building sometime this Fall. Although we don’t have an exact date we are getting close and will announce something in August.
3rd Service - we believe that this fall and the beginning of next year will produce some significant growth numerically and since most of the year we are at maximum capacity we want to be ready. As we move toward the beginning of 2012 we will be getting ready for a 3rd service to accommodate the growth.
Lastly, I want to say that in the midst of an extremely sluggish economy we have had an incredible first half both spiritually and financially. God has blessed New Hope. Thank you for praying for God to do all he desires. Thank you for giving sacrificially so that all these things can happen. Thank you for loving people like Jesus would. You are a powerful expression of the heart of God and I am so thankful to be part of your life.
Deeply grateful,
Upcoming events…
Youth Camp - July 10-16
Alaska Mission Trip - July 16-24
VBS - August 1-5 Fall Kick-off - September 4 (Labor Day Weekend)
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