HOPE FAMILY NEWS JUNE
Hope Quito, Ecuador - New Worship Venue 
Hope Quito church moved to our new worship place on the 24th May. We had been praying for a bigger place in a centralised location with a low rent since the end of last year. We prayed that God will open the door for us for such a place. We searched for a number of places but the rent was either too expensive or the place was not big enough. The breakthrough came when God sent us a sister, Claudia who started joining us in church in January this year. She offered to rent us her place.
[New worship venue in Quito, Ecuador]
The timing was rather divine because on that particular Sunday in March this year, the regular place we rented, which was a small theatre, was filled with people. My wife, Phoebe and I were thinking in our heart that we had better find a new place soon and on that afternoon, Claudia showed us her place and gave us a good offer. It was an old warehouse and she told us that there were people who were interested in the place but she felt that she could not trust them. She trusted in us and offered to rent us the place at a very low price. We felt quite blown away because we had always been looking around for places but never expected a place offered by a regular visitor. This was beyond our imagination and we thought it must be the work of God. Though the place was rather run-down, I was able to envision that with the help of the brothers and sisters, we could clean and furnish up a beautiful church there.
[HopeKids room & kitchen room in Quito, Ecuador]
I felt excited about the possibility and brought Luis and Carol, who were in our core team, to see the place after our first visit. They, too, thought that it was a centralised location and would look beautiful with some cleaning and painting. Phoebe and I felt that it was a good opportunity to involve everyone in this project to build our own home, to build a sense of belonging. We were also able to envision the faith level of the church rising when we challenge the members to give and help in building the church. The church will no longer just belong to us but to everyone in church. I believe that our church will grow in quality and quantity in the near future as we move in faith.
[Renovating & painting the church in Quito, Ecuador]
So, we accepted Claudia’s offer and the renovation started in April. We mobilised all the members and visitors to help in cleaning and painting the new church place. It was hard work and we spent many days and nights cleaning, painting, choosing materials for the renovation and even hands-on carpentry. Many members gave creative ideas and some of them drew beautiful pictures on the walls of the children’s room. Before we laid the tiles on the floor in the main hall, the members were invited to write down names of people whom they wanted to invite to church and see them come to know God. After writing down the names, we prayed for their salvation, and that our church will grow to be a strong and biblical church, and a place of blessing.
[Care Group fellowship in Quito, Ecuador]
God continued to send people to help us. In the last week of April, God sent a new friend, a first-time visitor to our church. David, who owns an event company, liked our worship service so much that he said that he was interested in attending our church regularly and he wanted to send his workers to help us out in the renovation, for free! This really helped in speeding up our renovation. He also lent us his company truck which helped us very much in the moving of all our equipment to the new place. On the first day of service in our new place on the 24 May, he brought his entire sound and lights team - people and equipment included - sound mixer, amplifiers, lights, microphones and many other different professional equipment to the church. Our first service was like a big party and celebration. Everyone was awed by the changes, grateful to God for all His blessings and many members were inspired to grow.
[Children's Day in Quito, Ecuador]
- We have a full band in church now, complete with drummer, bassist, guitarist and keyboardist. The praise and worship atmosphere has improved and more people are involved in the music ministry.
- The seating capacity of the new church place is 100 people now and we expect more growth in number in the near future. People in church are excited and refreshed by the change.
- We pray that God will continue to send more people to us and use us greatly as we continue to strive, grow and fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples in Ecuador.
Timothy Ho
www.hopesouthamerica.org
Hope LA : Stepping Out of the Boat
Most people resist change, preferring stability in their environment. Yet for me, the decision to leave a comfortable Singapore and move to California, USA has been a fruitful one. Being thrown into the unknown has been a profound experience – one that clearly demonstrates God as the light in my life.
[Derek Lim, Hope Singapore joined Hope Los Angeles for 4 years as a student (Photo)]
I arrived in Los Angeles in August 2005 to pursue my undergraduate studies in University of Southern California. My Singapore leaders encouraged me to look for schools near Hope churches, and I joined Hope Los Angeles. Adapting to a smaller church required adjustments, but more importantly, it presented many opportunities to serve in church.
During the 4 years in LA, I have led the youth group and served as a worship leader, pianist and vocalist. However, the most important thing that I got through these experiences was the numerous personal encounters I had with God as I served out of my comfort zone.
[Pastor Chai preaching in Hope Los Angeles (Photos)]
Serving in Hope LA has been a unique experience. Not only do I get to grow spiritually with my peers, I also have the opportunity to interact with people from different age groups. I have certainly gained much from their wisdom and sharing. Even taking care of kids and babies became a part of my Sunday service experience. Because the church is smaller, knowing everybody is possible, and that is unique too. It has been a blessing and privilege to serve in Hope LA, and the church has helped me grow spiritually in my walk with God. As I attempted to embrace to a whole new culture and learn to survive independently, it has been uneasy and difficult. But at the end, God showed me His love and his promise in Joshua 1:9, as I overcome many trials with God by my side.
[Derek Lim in Hope Los Angeles (photos)]
LA, like many metropolitan cities in USA, is a melting pot of different cultures and people groups, and it presents opportunities for one to meet people from across the globe. Now that I have just graduated and back in Singapore, I find myself easing into the comfort of being home. Hence, I look forward to returning to LA to pursue a Masters Degree in 2 years. It will be tough stepping out of comfortable Singapore again, but I desire it because I have tasted and seen God’s faithfulness in my life. That is the beauty of missions – to step out and be used by God outside of my culture. Missions takes you to another level of growth in your spiritual life, and I would definitely encourage you to consider it. As author John Ortberg wrote, “If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.”
Derek Lim
www.HopeNA.org
Hope Ealing, United Kingdom
Hope Ealing is a daughter church of Hope London. It was pioneered by a group of Filipino nurses from Hope Singapore. Dexter and Precious are leading this church with Aaron from Hope London overseeing the centre. The Lord had been doing great things in Hope Ealing over the past months.
Video interview with Dexter & Precious
Sunday Service
At a recent service, 60 people joined care group along with children. The leaders are grateful for the privilege to be able to serve God and His people even more. Serving God has, of course, come with its own challenges. There's a greater need to build a stronger leadership team and to invest in the children’s church.Also the growth in the church has put even more pressure on the current leaders, who have young children that require a lot of attention. They also work in a very demanding nursing job.
I am humbled by the faithful and persevering spirit of the Ealing leaders, namely Dex and Precious, Sherwin and Cherry and Angelo and Weng.
Singles Group ministry
We have seen God's blessing in our singles group. We started off with around 4-5 people at the beginning of this year and it has now grown to around 12 people.
Family Group ministry
We also see God's mighty hand moving in our family group. In one event, God specifically called one Filipino family to commit to Hope Ealing.
This family has been serving God faithfully in another church and we have known them for a very long time now. The husband is really talented in playing guitar, is involved heavily in the worship ministry and is releasing a Christian album with his band soon. His wife is involved in many ministries in the other church too and most importantly she's an evangelist (this gifting is most needed in Hope Ealing). They told us that they received a specific vision from God to join us. At first, it really troubled them since they were doing so well in their own church but after praying for many months and consulting their pastor, they received the blessing from their church and have decided to join us. In another event, one Filipino sister discovered the Hope Ealing website and encouraged her family in the UK to join. They are now our regular visitors in home group and Saturday service.
Teenage and Children ministry
We are now starting our teen ministry. There are currently two of them! As for the children’s ministry, it has grown slowly and consistently.
We now have 12-15 kids in the group with ages ranging from a few months to around six years old. Fruitful as always! The worship ministry has also improved tremendously. From what I've heard from the leaders recently, I would say we are on our way to a professional level. They are much more organised and devoted to the development individually and corporately for the glory of the Lord.
"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:7
We are very excited in our spirit; however, do pray for us to be strong and courageous. We aim to do our best, together with everyone in Hope UK churches.
Report by Aaron Chaiithiwet, Hope London
Hope Hong Kong 2009 Annual Camp
The second part of the annual camp was a 2-days camp at Hong Kong Baptist Assembly in Fanling. It was filled with nicely-designed activities and spirit-filled preaching which renewed us physically and spiritually.
The programme started at 10 a.m. Sister Loretta and the team led us to play some relationship-building games. It was a great time for brothers and sisters of different sub-districts to get to know each other. After lunch, we had a series of exciting outdoor games. Brothers and sisters were divided into four teams and competed for championship. Every member made his biggest effort to contribute to the team. Everyone had great fun, and it is amazing to see the power of teamwork!
After renewing our physical bodies, it was time to renew our spirits with praise and worship. During praise and worship, God reaffirmed to us that nothing could separate us from His love. Many brothers and sisters were touched by the Holy Spirit and experienced a great renewal. The first day of the camp ended with a barbecue dinner during which we could enjoy more talks with one another.
The major programme for the second day was the Sunday Service. After a joyful praise and worship led by Brother Ray, Sister Debbi shared with us how she learned to live a good life testimony of a Christian. She said that she was a hot-tempered person and always complaining. Once she got ill-tempered again and was very rude to her domestic helper. When God's love touched her heart again, she felt remorse and repented. Then she apologized to her helper. Being encouraged by God's Word, "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1-2), Sister Debbi has determined to fear God and serve more.
Through Apostle Paul's instructions to Timothy (2 Tim 1:1-10), Pastor Gavin's preached about renewing our vision in God, in terms of worship, prayer and Word of God, and ministry.
We should renew our vision for worship by embracing a lifestyle of devotion to God. We should renew our vision for prayer and God's Word by expressing our hearts to God and by responding to God's invitation to a holy life respectively. Using the giftings that God has given to us to serve Him and testifying about Jesus are ways to renew our vision for ministry. Let us continue to stretch ourselves and persevere with the vision God has given us. Praise God for such a wonderful time. Let's all be renewed and carry on serving Him wholeheartedly.
Pastor Garvin & Pastor Arlene Toh
Hope Hong Kong (Website)
Church Planting in Kampar, Malaysia
I am Bee Kim, a coordinator of Hope of God Kampar. I would like to share to all of you how God led me and opened doors for me in this mission field. Since 2006, our mission team from UKM have scouted the land. Kampar is a town 45 minutes away from Ipoh and two and a half hours from Kuala Lumpur. The place has one university, UTAR; and one college, TAR College.
Watch Hope Kampar Video
Stepping out by faith in God
In mid-July, 2007, I relocated to Kampar and I found employment at TAR College. At the time, Hope Kampar began with one new convert and one brother (both are UTAR students). We found a house and began our ministry at Taman Perak. Praise God for he had provided a house for us and we used this location to have our care groups and mini service. During this period, we had three people in our care group. After half a year, God brought another brother and sister into our midst. Then our attendance of our care group increased again to five people.
In May, 2008, amazing thing began to happen. God brought another four brothers and sisters in and two new converts. I praise God! I witnessed how God brought people in His house one by one. By the end of 2008, we had around 10 people joining the mini-service and care group weekly.
Easter celebration care group
Recently, Hope of God Kampar organised an Easter celebration care group. Before the celebration, we prayed for God to bring salvation. At the event, we had 35 people joining us for care group. One salvation was added into the kingdom of God. Praise God for that!
To hold onto God’s promises in this journey to build His church has definitely not been easy. However, His promises always help me and renew me. I have learned many faith lessons during my time in Kampar and to depend more and more on Him. I believe that though outwardly I am wasting away, God has added more in me. Thank God!
Reported by Bee Kim, Hope Kampar - Malaysia
Hope Adelaide - Pastor Simon Eng's visitation
Hi, I am in Hope Adelaide. We just finished our Sunday service. I just wanted to say a few words to connect with you guys. Hope Adelaide is filled with people: 70% who are non-Aussies and were not born in Australia. It’s a wonderful, incredible opportunity. For example, for the large African contingent who contains many Liberians, they are our mission on our doorsteps. They are people who can reach out, and train people from African nationalities around Adelaide.
Pastor Simon in Adelaide Video
Leadership training in Adelaide
I also had the opportunity to conduct leadership training with yesterday, Saturday afternoon. The whole day we ministered to people, taught them about leadership and challenged them to continue working together as a team. It was wonderful. We had about 80 to 100 people who attended and it was terrific.
[Pastor Simon at Hope Adelaide - Centre]
The leadership team is growing in different ministries and different core teams are forming. Continue to pray to God that we will be able to really see a solid team rise up. We pray for a solid team to come up and build the church and to be able to hold the church together with the leadership.
Pastor Brendan and Helen are terrific in the way they have given of themselves, how they make themselves available and keep giving and giving and giving. Brendan is just doing two, three days in his job, serving the Lord together with the other teams. They’re just getting there.
[Pastor Simon at Hope Adelaide - Payneham Centre]
Church Planting in City Centre
Dr Eddie Fong, who has started a new city centre, is beginning to build up attendance to 30 people now. We now see an opportunity where new leaders are coming in. I talked to him last night and he was saying the spirit in the group is really good. So I told him to move to the next phase: building leaders.
So there are good things, wonderful things happening in Hope Adelaide. We prayed and ministered to the people. God is among us here in Hope Adelaide. The church is targeting to grow. I set them a goal to grow beyond two hundred people and with this momentum; I believe they can get there.
God Bless you!
Pastor Simon Eng
President of HIM
Hope Auckland Church Camp
Hope Auckland had its annual church camp from May 8-10 this year. We had a record attendance of 74 adults and 18 children. Our theme for the camp was “Uncover…God’s Plan for the Ages”. Our camp speaker, Ps Ian Foley, systematically, clearly and powerfully walked us through the whole bible to uncover God’s plan for mankind during the weekend.
View Church Camp Video
Despite the rather wet weather, this did not dampen the spirits of the people. The teaching sessions were dynamic with many people responding to altar calls after the sessions. Many people were ministered and received the touch of God. Some shared how camp has been a turning point for them.
The Opening ceremony showcased the talents of the church members and we were surprised to discover some hidden talents. Worship sessions were dynamic and we were privileged to have Corinna Teh from Hope Melbourne Waverly lead one session.
Fellowship was also good. There was much laughter especially from the Family group people during meal and free times. On Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day as well and all the mothers were given a special lunch service with a mother’s day gift too. The children too had their own powerful encounters with God.
On the final session, 10 children received Christ, five received visions and eight were baptised in the Holy Spirit.
The camp started with three goals: for people to have a greater understanding of the bible in its entirety, for increased fellowship across and within life groups, and for people to encounter God. In all, every goal was achieved!
Pastor Bernard & Angela Soh
Hope Auckland, Zealand
Hope Brisbane Afternoon Service
Hi! I’m Wen’an from Hope Brisbane Christian Church Afternoon Service. I think it’s been amazing over the last 12 months seeing how God has blessed us and encouraged and inspired us at the same time.
Church Planting in Ipswich
I think that not too long ago, I spoke to different ones that we will be launching out a new centre, and last year, we had a small team that physically relocated to this town called Ipswich, which is about 40 minutes away from Brisbane. This group has been growing steadily and God has been adding different ones into their midst, and right now, their life-group is averaging around 15 people and we also have a number of people who would take the effort to drive up to Brisbane and join us for our service. It is our prayer that we will start a service in Ipswich this year. So pray with us as we continue to trust God and to look to Him for His providence.
[Church planting in Ipswich, Queensland]
Pastor Wenan Video Interview
Fulfill His Great Commission in Queensland
As we desire to fulfill His Great Commission in Queensland, we also see that God has blessed us as well as He has grown the service from strength to strength. Right now, we are facing a very interesting challenge: we’ve run out of seating. We’ve outgrown the seating capacity of the current hall where we’re meeting right now, and the university has not given us any other larger rooms. As a result, we have launched a simulcast room where every Sunday we have close to 70 people meeting in another location, but at the same time enjoying the same service. It’s been a challenge doing so and God has blessed us with different ones who have experienced God through this whole journey and process and we really thank God for all that He has done. Right now, we’re seeing more than 300 on every single week and we thank God for what He has been doing.
[Hope Brisbane Afternoon Service]
It is our desire that we do not just see the service grow, but to see it growing strong, we see it growing right in God and it is our hope that through the service, God will bring different ones into His house, help different ones to mature and to fulfill the call that He has given them.
Do continue to pray for us, we have many young people with us, we have many young working professional with us, and all that we ask is that God will lay His seeds of faith, hope and purpose in our life that we will finish strong in this race He’s given us. So we ask for your prayer and we thank you for all, God bless.
Pastor Wenan Zhu
Hope Brisbane Afternoon Service
