HOPE FAMILY NEWS

Mission Strategies to reach the World



Serving God can appear to be straightforward; where human plans only complicate our mission. However having good mission strategies enables us to be more effective in our mission endeavours. We should not think that having strategies in our mission is “unspiritual” and not relying on God. God has given us good minds to plan well.

Strategy to make disciples for Christ

Throughout the book of Acts, we see Paul planning strategies and at the same time, allowing the Holy Spirit to adjust whatever plans God sees fit to change. Encouraging Timothy to be circumcised was a strategy to reach certain groups of people.

Even Jesus had a strategy in his mission. He had only three and a half years to complete his ministry.

Therefore, we can notice that he used strategies in selecting the disciples; giving them the necessary experience; then surprisingly, going back to heaven sooner than expected, leaving the work to be completed by his disciples. And it worked!

Strategy for church planting

The imperfect world we live in today has become more complex. We are faced with limited resources to try and reach a vast sea of humanity. Without good strategies, we will accomplish little. We can take stock even today, and realise that even though the church and mission organisations have been trying to evangelise people groups for hundreds of years, the tasks remains unfinished.

" We need appropriate strategies to get the job done, before the end times comes".

Strategise with Holy Spirit

Finally, we must strategise with the Holy Spirit; seeking leading and guidance. He is the counsellor, who knows the mind of God. We are his servants and missionaries working to do His will.

May the Lord grant us success in missions.

Love in Christ

Pastor Simon Eng
Elder of Hope of God International

Hope PJ: Jaymasi, Greetings from Nepal Mission Trip



A group of vibrant members from Hope PJ launched their first Nepal trip on the 13th June of 2008 (Kian Wee, Erin, Soe Kian, Chloe, Rekha, Jin Chuan, Elaine, Bryan Su). Upon landing, Prakash, Lalitha and the team welcomed us and brought us to the church. We met with sisters Nirmala, Indra, Kashi, Sagar, Alisha, Uncle Dhan B. and family.

We managed to take the bus to Thamel for sight-seeing, changing money and ordering Chinese food at Hwa Tai Restaurant. Along the road to Thamel, there were a lot of street-kids mingling and begging for love and money. The dusty and congested road caused us to wear masks whenever we travelled at the town. The honking noises soon became very familiar as we took the bus back to the church; a trip that lasted for nearly 45 minutes. We had our very first local Nepalese Saturday service at Kathmandu. When the clock struck 10.30am, people started to crowd the small tiny room in the two storey building where we stayed. The room was packed with nearly 30 people consisting of families, working adults and some children. Bryan shared an inspiring story about his life being transformed after knowing God and KW preached on the topic in Matthew (when the Gospel is spread in Nepal, it will prosper the nation).




We believe that as God’s children, when we pray, He will move the government and change the nation. Strikes in Nepal have been happening for the past few weeks. This is due to petrol price increases and demonstrations by the local bus company. Most of the transportation network has stopped, roads have been blocked and people are forced to walk two to three hours to get from one place to another. After the service, we shared to the members about importance and urgency of evangelism. We prayed for them to be empowered by Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and many were being ministered. The locals are very eager to learn more about, and be touched by God deeply. God is good! He let us have a taste of the local delicious (Sua-dilo) food prepared by Indra. On Sunday morning, Sagar’s classmate came to join us and he accepted the Lord after the sharing. Praise God!

On 16th June 2008, we rented a local micro-van to Pokhara to visit Tribhuvan University and Pawan’s family. During the journey, there was a minor demonstration due to the passengers’ dissatisfaction with the bus fare hike. We lodged at Hotel Gorkhali Dhee and had a night stroll along the streets. Our dinner was a Western one at an interestingly named hotel: “Once Upon a Time”. During our stay in the hotel, we managed to share the Gospel with Moraj & Ganesh (the hotel owners) and both of them accepted the Lord, Praise the Lord!



On 17th June, with three rented motorbikes and bicycles, we visited Tribhuvan University for an evangelical session with the local students and fellowshipping with Gee Sun, Bumi, Pawan and his relatives. After a long but exciting journey, we relaxed with a boat ride amidst the beautiful sunset at Phewa Lake. We started out early on the next day at 4.00am to hike up Sarangkot and capture the splendour of the famous snow-blanketed, needle-points.

Prayer needs:

• Pray for a strong core team, an established membership system and God’s provision for the growth of the leadership team. (Prakash, Lalitha, Kashi, Indra, Surya Prakash)

• Pray for wisdom in the new government to lead and build a proper system to bless the community, that the three political parties will pursue a path of consensus.

• Pray for God’s provision for a second-hand van for Hope Kathmandu.

Reported by: Erin Tang, Mission Department Hope KL


Exploration Trip to Paris, France


Hope has touched down in seven countries in Europe. France, being the third most populous country in Europe after Russia and Germany, was our next target. The highlight of my ministry in the month of June was a mission trip to Paris. Accompanied by Aaron from Hope London, my main purpose was to get to know a Frenchman whose brother was in Hope Bangkok, and to visit a Thai Christian family.

London and Paris are well connected not only by air but also by rail. Aaron and I chose Eurostar, a high-speed passenger train linking the UK to continental Europe. The train was scheduled to bring us from the middle of London to the heart of Paris in two hours and twenty minutes. However, after crossing the English Channel, the train experienced technical problems and the situation kept worsening. At one point, the train was only travelling at twenty kilometres per hour and we eventually stopped in the middle of nowhere. All the passengers had to disembark and wait for another train to transfer them to Paris. Everyone looked tired as they stepped off the train and waited. I thanked God that this incident had not occurred in winter; otherwise it could have been tragic. We remained there for quite some time. However, boredom turned into fun when some passengers, including me, took their cameras or mobile phones to capture images of the stationary train and the restless crowd. Finally the long-awaited train arrived and took us to our destination. We arrived in Paris around 2:30 a.m., five hours behind schedule. At this hour there was no Metro, and it took us another hour in a long queue before we got a taxi to our hostel.

France cultural and people

As one of the world’s leading cultural and business centres and a favourite tourist destination, Paris attracts people from around the world; whether to come to work or spend their holidays. Based on my experience from those few days, Parisians are quite friendly and helpful. Although people have become less religious, their outlook on Christianity is still significantly influenced by a Catholic tradition.
I saw many Catholic churches around the city.

Making new friends in Paris

The first person I visited was a Frenchman whose brother is a member of the International Fellowship, Hope Bangkok. He is an author and playwright. Despite his very busy schedule, we managed to meet and have a brief conversation at a theatre outside the city prior to watching the play he had authored. It was the first time in my life that I watched a French play.

What made this trip to Paris so meaningful and memorable was meeting my new Thai friends. During my last visit to Thailand in May, I was told of a Thai family who lived in Paris. I was informed that they were friendly and God-loving Christians who longed for someone to start a fellowship group there. Shortly after I met them, I realised that what I had heard about them was true. Testimony after testimony flowing from their mouths demonstrated how much they appreciated God. I was so touched and my faith was enlarged.

Knowing that Aaron and I were coming to visit them, the family also invited their friends to join us. One of them was a non-believer. Beginning with sharing about our experiences with God, especially His help during tough times, the conversation later turned to the message of Jesus’ love and salvation. At one point I asked the non-believing lady if she wished to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour. She said yes without hesitation. As she was receiving Jesus into her life, tears of joy ran unstoppably down her cheeks. Praise be to God!

Water Baptism after dinner!

Out of their great hospitality, the family cooked so much food that our stomachs could not contain it.

A few hours later I shared with the young believer about water baptism. As she desired to obey Jesus, we filled the bathtub and she was water baptised. And that is not the end.

After I had shared with her about the Lord’s Supper, she received the first communion in her life together with the family who had now become her brothers and sisters in Christ.

Blessings from God

After returning from France, I contacted Eurostar regarding the delay and they kindly compensated us by offering us a full refund on the ticket plus a free return ticket. This is so amazing, isn’t it?

I am looking forward to visiting Paris again to share the Word of God with these wonderful people and strengthen their faith. Please join me in praying for them, believing that a group in Paris will be strongly established very soon.

Please write to Ps Prakich if you have any contacts in Paris (Email: prakicht@yahoo.com)

In Him We Trust,
Pastor Prakich Treetasayuth

Hope London Family Fun Day




Hope Church London recently organised a Family Fun Day as part of our 10 year anniversary celebrations. It was a truly novel and exciting event because it brought together our London and Ealing congregations, be it students, working adults or families. [View more photos]

The event took place in London Regent’s Park and we were blessed with glorious sunshine for the whole day. The park also had the benefit of a running track and members and visitors were invited to take part in our racing activities. The crimson t-shirts bearing our 10th anniversary logo were worn by most of our participants and were in lovely contrast to a background of bright blue sky. It was a great opportunity for people to show off their (in some cases, previously undiscovered) athletic skills. Relay races helped to build team spirit, as did our tug of war game. Children also had a wonderful time participating in the kid’s race and face painting.



Later in the afternoon, winners were awarded medals to make this a really memorable event. All in all this was a very colourful day, filled with laughter and excitement. Moreover, we had quite a number of visitors and we are now thinking that Family Fun Day should be an annual key summer activity for our church.

Pastor PK & Kim Tse
Hope London, United Kingdom (Website)


Hope Manila Special Events


Water Baptism


“Have you decided to follow Jesus?” Eight people from different sub-districts and a pioneering care group from Cavite came and professed their faith to follow Jesus on July 2, 2008. Pastor Soradej and his wife sister Eunice prayed for the water candidates that day.

We had various ages, from the young to the elderly who were water baptised that day. Many groups were excited as they prayed fervently for their brothers and sister to follow God’s command. We praise God for such event!

Independence Day :“Free Indeed”

Early June brought joy to the Hope Family in the Philippines as God did so many surprising things. Our Pastor Soradej and his wife, sister Eunice has been challenging and motivating every leader in our church about praying to reach our church goal of 200 people this month. They have been teaching us faithfully to believe in the power of God to grow the church. God indeed showed His faithfulness as our prayers were answered. On June 8, 2008 we reached beyond our goal, having 205 attendees in our special service. Our speaker for this special event was sister Eunice who shared to us that we are Free Indeed! There were 17 new believers who came to know God that day. We thank God for answering our prayers. We are looking forward to many more miracles that He will do in our family.

Acoustic Night: Professional and Duo Sub-District


July 16, 2008 held a very special night for both our professional and duo sub-districts. This event was held in our church. Preparation was made by the various care groups. Unity brought the family together and made sure that the event would be a huge success. This also opened doors for members of care groups to show their talents in singing acoustic songs. This brought joy as many new faces and people attended this event. Many people participated during the night, as we saw even our very own sub-district leader, Sister Pacita Hong serve the guests and also, earlier on, she prepared the food for everyone. Sister Eunice, our Pastor’s wife, showed up to the event and warmly greeting everyone at each table. Thank God for such an event!

Money Matters Seminar


“Do you know how to manage your money?” Last June 29, 2008 gave an opportunity for our family to learn about managing our finances. Our speakers for this seminar were Pastor Soradej, his wife sister Eunice and sister Pacita Hong. Many people were blessed by what our leaders had shared with us that day.

Pastor Soradej and Eunice
Hope Manila, Philippines


Hope Hong Kong 16th Anniversary




The theme of Hope Hong Kong’s 16th church anniversary was titled "Stepping Up ". It was held at the new church new venue: the “Tsuen Wan Hope Centre”! Before the start of the service, sisters from SD3 gave us an amazing dancing performance. Their impactful performance showed their passion and hard work in serving the Lord in expanding His realm. The performance stirred up a lot of excitement among the congregation, preparing our brothers and sisters for the following Praise and Worship session for our Lord Jesus Christ.



After welcoming each other, Brother Allen led the congregation into a powerful Praise and Worship session. Many brothers and sisters danced wholeheartedly and lifted up their hands in giving praise, thanksgiving and worshipping the Lord. Brothers and sisters were reminded throughout this session that we should stay strong in expanding the kingdom of God.




Life-changing testimonies

The congregation then settled down for a pre-recorded video in which Sister Agnes (SD5), Sister Jonalyn (SD6) and Brother Giano (SD3) testified about their experience in "stepping up" for Christ.

Agnes shared with us that she has been lost for a number of years when the Lord brought her back through her brothers and sisters in Christ. Through this time, Agnes realised the importance of being grateful of God's daily blessings. Now she is working hard to spread the Gospel to the others, especially her husband. Filled with joy and hope, Agnes said that she would like to step up even further by bringing more family members and friends to know and serve Christ.

Jonalyn said in her testimony that she was once stubborn and self-centred and did not know how to seek God's approval. After receiving Christ, her life was completely changed. She realised that God always has a purpose in her life. Now, under the joy and peace of the Lord, Jonalyn has learnt to develop a close with brothers and sisters and friends. More importantly, she realised the need to seek her shepherd's advice and to obey before taking any action.




Pastor Gavin shared with us that in order to step up in our lives; we should accept our challenges, defeat our enemies, avoid the dangers, grab the opportunities and develop a biblical attitude to press on towards the goal to win the prize of God. Like building the kingdom of God, we cannot stop half-way! Thank God for nine people who responded to Christ and accepted him into their lives.

Pastor Gavin & Pastor Arlene Toh
Hope Hong Kong


Hope Perth Camp: A Growing Church


Pastor Stephen gave the church this year’s theme: “The Year of Empowerment!” And we could see the empowerment from God come to strengthen the life of each one of us and the church as well. “A Growing Church” brought Hope Perth together with the other Hope centres in WA to come to have good time in fellowship, fun and teaching.

There were around 104 of us from Hope Perth, Hope Busselton, Hope Joondalup and Hope Mandurah. The camp lasted two days and two nights; all of us could tell we grew not only through the spiritual teaching, but also with the aerobic exercises, bush dance, campfire and hope games and during free time too. We had such a great time in praise and worship and during the worship concert. We have learnt to grow in a balanced manner, and we are still continuing to grow in our normal daily life after the camp.




This year, Our Hope Camp had the privilege of having Pastor Wilson and Lai Ling from Hope Brisbane. As the theme of our camp for this year was “A Growing Church”, Pastor Wilson preached with great vigour on how we can be fruitful Christians, and not just grow in quantity but in quality in many aspects too. Pastor Lai Ling delivered the teaching for the youth about growth in the Romantic Choice at the Youth Camp and followed by teaching about growth in unity.

Pastor Nigel and Sandy with their family from Busselton also added to our blessings. We started off the first night with an Aussie bush dance led by Pastor Nigel. Also it was tremendous fun to mingle and worship along with a group of young talented fellow Aussies.




Pastor Lai Ling ended the camp on a good note saying that it was a very well organised camp, where everyone supported and encouraged one another willingly. She feels the spirit of family, unity and warmth and is very happy to have spent her time counselling and teaching us.

We would like to give many thanks to Pastor Stephen and Hannah who organised this year’s camp and for their outstanding leadership in really encouraging our church to grow in all areas. Every step we take is moving closer to experience God’s hand upon us. We also want to appreciate the Camp Committee. They have done such a great job for this year’s camp!

We ended the Camp with an engaging media presentation “Mission Possible” brought to us by our dedicated Media Team. The camp’s theme next year is “An Evangelistic Church”. Come along and join this mission with us in 2009 Hope Perth Camp!

Pastor Stephen & Hannah Pitavanik
Hope Perth, Australia