HOPE FAMILY NEWS - DRAFT

HOPE NORTH AMERICA PASTORS REREAT - CHICAGO

We had our Hope NA pastors retreat in Chicago on Nov 16-18, 2007 just before Thanksgiving. Hope Chicago church was the host church for this weekend. The theme was Ministry 2008-2010. This was only the second time this retreat was held in the city of Chicago. Leaders from the Hope US and Hope Canada participated. Here are some photos and some of the things Hope Chicago people and Hope NA church leaders said about the weekend.

View Pastors Retreat Photos (Website)

[Pastor Ben KC Lee teaching at Pastors Retreat]

Read testimony from the Pastors Retreat...

"Crystal and I were blessed by meeting brothers and sisters at Chicago. It was a pleasure to meet Roger again and to exchange words of encouragement. Meeting Hope Chicago's worship team was amazing. We thank God for meeting our new friend Ryan from Hope Chicago and of course, Pastor David & Malay are awesome. We thank God for their excellent spirit."

Pastor Chai & Crystal, Los Angeles

"It was nice seeing all of the Hope church pastors this past Sunday in Chicago. Sunday was the last day of the Hope NA pastors' retreat. First, I was touched that they would come from all over North America to learn from each other & to hear what God was doing in their churches. During the prayer time in the Sunday service, Pastor Ben asked all of the people from Hope Chicago to come forward so that the Hope NA pastors could pray for them. It was great to be prayed for & to receive a fresh word from God. At the service, we listened to a powerful sermon from Pastor Ben on thanksgiving. All of us there, both from Chicago & the visitors, finished the weekend with renewed strength & power from God to go forth to do his will."

Roger L. Robinson, Chicago

“I'm so thankful to God that I can join the Sunday service during the Pastors’ Retreat weekend in Chicago. It is a privilege for me to fellowship with our pastors and get to know them more. I would like to thank God that my boss allowed me to take a vacation and fly from New Jersey to come to Chicago at this time. From this retreat, I can see the cheerful and grateful spirit in serving God in Hope NA pastors.

I'm so thankful to God that I had the privilege to join the worship team of Hope Chicago last weekend. When we practiced the worship songs on Saturday afternoon, I was filled with God's presence and was touch by the Holy Spirit even during the rehearsal. When we worshiped God on Sunday morning, God's voice confirmed me again that He will use me to advance His kingdom in Hope Chicago next year. God spoke to me "to let go of the unbelief, step out in faith and then i will see the miracle from God." That's encouraged me so much.

In the sermon, Pastor. Ben taught me to focus on Christ. "If we don't have God in the center of our lives we will lose the focus." and I was stunned by the story that Pastor Ben shared about Pastor David and Malay when they stepped out by faith to move from Portland to plant the church in Chicago and saw God's provision in their apartment searching. I'm so thankful to God that I can be the part of His mission in Hope ofChicago.”

Ratchata Hongsoon, New Jersey

“This is my first time attending the NA Pastors' Retreat in Chicago. I felt particularly blessed among the presence of other Hope NA Pastors and their families. I was particularly encouraged to see the devotion of each pastor and their dedication of their entire family to the Hope movement. As a new parent myself, I was looking for guidance on serving God with my new family. Trying to balance church, family, and work has been quite a handful for me. But by seeing how the Hope NA Pastors live and lead through unity with their family which really gave me a Godly model to mold my family thoroughly.”

David Lee, Portland

Hope Chicago church was glad to have hosted this retreat. We are glad the Hope NA pastors had a successful retreat. We are also glad that our people were greatly encouraged.

David & Malay of Hope Chicago
Hope Chicago (Website)
Hope North America (Website)

MINISTRY IN HOPE JOHANNESBURG

It was wonderful to once again meet up with the brothers and sisters of Hope Johannesburg church. The last time I visited them was in April 2007 for their Church Camp. From October 29 to November 12, my wife, my daughter and I stayed in Johannesburg.

The objective of this trip was to take care of Hope Johannesburg while the church’s leaders Henry, Lerato, Elvis and Mpho left to visit Hope Singapore and to attend the Hope International Leaders Conference in Thailand.

It was a two-week trip. I spent most of the time catching up and fellowshipping with the leaders in the car to make the most of our limited meeting time. I would pick Mpho and Henry from their respective homes and drive them to the airport for their flight to Singapore. Lerato had to delay her flight to Singapore for a few days because she had to settle work and business matters. It was a great time for my wife, Kristine, as she saw Lerato for the first time since January. It was a time to reminisce fondly about the past and for renewing and strengthening friendships.

We visited Elvis’ home at Cosmo city while he was in Singapore and caught up with his wife Noluthando. We also prayed for their baby girl Siyam, who had been coughing for a month and gave Noluthando some financial assistance to seek medical attention for her daughter.

The two weekend services were good for our fellow brothers and sisters as they were ministered and strengthened through the word of God and received personal encouragement. One brother was so touched that he asked for the sermon script for further study. Kenneth, who had not been to church or kept in contact for a long time, came to church last Sunday. We prayed for him for a job since he had been unemployed for the past few months. We also prayed and believed God to heal his wife who was being treated for tuberculosis in Swaziland. We encouraged him to keep in touch with the rest of the church members so that he could receive help, support and spiritual strengthening.

We spent individual quality time with members of the core team, and with care group leaders. We encouraged them to be team players and to take the initiative to serve and be supportive of each other because the church is like a soccer team. In the field, from the goalkeeper to the striker, every member have to continually communicate with each other and remind each other; sometimes needing to scream and shout to tell each other to watch out for the opponent’s attack to the goal.

We encouraged Henry and Elvis about labouring for God. In order to do this, they need to remain close with God and inspire the people to do likewise so that God can fill them with God’s vision for South Africa, Africa and beyond. Although this process is hard work, it will be such a joy for the church.

Thank God for the trip and the privilege of being used by Him!

Pastor Johanes, Hope Church (Singapore)

Hope Johannesburg: A Pastoral Church Camp

We held a camp from November 30 to December 3 called “A Pastoral Church”. There were 30 people attending the camp with special speaker, Pastor Jeff Chong from Hope Singapore. We learned about the roles and responsibilities of looking after God’s flock and working deliberately for spiritual growth until we all reach unity in the faith.

View Church Camp photos (Website)

Ps Jeff Chong took the opportunity to disciple our leadership team and ensured that most of the teaching was done by Pastor Henry. We thank Ps Jeff Chong for his vision and faithfulness in giving so generously of his time.

We thank God that the same sisters who were water baptised, also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Henry & Lerato Sebata, Hope Johannesburg