Tuesday 14 May 2013

Preparing to be people of Hope

Roy Crowne, HOPE’s Executive Director writes: We’ve been bowled over by the demand for HOPE – The Heartbeat of Mission. Denominations and groups of churches have bought copies for church leaders, which is great! Now we are asking you to pray with us, that the words on those 224 pages get fleshed out in action. Wouldn’t it be amazing if churches seize this moment to work together, as never before, to show people in our country what Jesus is like? Now is the time to make plans for mission together in word and action in 2014. Start the conversation in your church and with the churches in your area. And pray, as Jesus prayed to our heavenly Father, that the world will know him and know that they are loved by him (John 17:23). Pray that they will know God’s amazing love through what we do together, as well as what we say.



Big Lunch
Eight and a half million people took part in Big Lunch and Big Jubilee Lunch events last year and churches were at the centre of Jubilee celebrations in hundreds of communities. Lots of churches have told exciting stories about how they have built community, got to know neighbours, and how the Jubilee was a catalyst and inspiration for more community engagement and mission. Read here to sign up for your free Big Lunch pack, with posters, invitations, a planner and more at www.thebiglunch.com

Blessing your community
Are churches in your area responding to local needs, standing in the gap – both in prayer and action? In HOPE – The Heartbeat of Mission there are 18 ideas from The Cinnamon Network on ways to serve your community – each backed with £2,000 of start-up funding. Order your copy of HOPE - The Heartbeat of Mission here.

Do you have a World War I story to share?
August 2014 will mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I. This will be an occasion for much national reflection and remembrance. HOPE is working with key Christian ministries to support local churches with resources to serve their communities, marking this key moment in history and pointing to Jesus. If your family or church has a story about the impact of the Bible, prayer or Christian faith on those who served in, and lived during World War One HOPE would like to hear from you. Email HOPE -  email it to us.

Micro-loans for church job schemes
The Faith in Enterprise Award Fund has been launched at the Houses of Parliament to help congregations create jobs for local people. This £200,000 fund of micro-loans of £2,500 to £7,500 is backed up by access to mentors. Find out more here.

Growing mission moment

More people are going to church at Christmas a new report shows. The Church of England Annual Statistics for 2011 show that 2,618,030 people took part in an Anglican Christmas service in 2011, 14.5% more than attended in 2010. That’s great news as HOPE encourages churches to use key dates in the Christian calendar like Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Harvest as part of a rhythm of mission. Find out more here.

Across the country Churches are gearing up

Birmingham venue for youth summit

God’s Bride Ministries stages its 7th Midnight Oil Summit at Birmingham Symphony Hall from 18-20 July. The 3-day conference brings together 3,000 12-30year-olds. The goal: to equip a united and ethnically diverse group of future leaders to become an effective financial, social, political and evangelical force in their communities. The Midnight Oil Summit includes prayer, worship, ministry, city-centre outreach and on-going mentoring opportunities. Read about the amazing vision of Midnight Oil Summit founder Seth Pinnock and download the poster here.

Bristol Noise
The May Day Bank Holiday weekend saw around 850 volunteers from more than 50 Bristol churches putting faith in action, transforming local communities and praying on the streets. This year’s event, the 12th year for ‘The Noise’ in Bristol, began with ‘100 Days of Prayer’ to prepare for a weekend of serving their city. Read more here.

Who Cares? Norfolk’s 2014 mission plans unveiled
Plans are well under way for Norfolk’s ‘Who Cares?’ mission in 2014, with more than 30 churches involved already. Thousands of young people from the Newday youth festival will be helping Norfolk’s churches to connect with their communities. Preparations step up a gear in August 2013 when Norfolk church leaders and their teams get together for the ‘One Big Launch Event’ to pray, plan and prepare for 2014. Find out more here www.who-cares.org.uk

Peterborough churches respond to welfare reforms
Christian leaders in Peterborough gathered last month to find out about the government’s welfare reforms, how people in Peterborough will be affected and how they can respond.

Derby prepares for community engagement in 2014
Roy Crowne is the guest speaker at a day conference hosted by the Bishop of Derby in June. Roy will be speaking on ‘Community engagement: Jesus’ model of ministry’ and ‘Participating in God’s mission’. Members of the HOPE leadership team are available to speak at your events to inspire and teach in preparation for 2014. Contact the HOPE office to arrange a date (phone 01788 542782).

Salford Mission Academy
HOPE’s Mission Academies are training young people to take a lead in mission in 2014. The Salford Hope Revolution has a pilot Mission Academy with churches in Salford coming together with their young people to work out what mission looks like in their region! Read about what’s happening on their Facebook page here.


The Chichester Diocesan YES team are also making plans to set up Mission Academies  
Contact them direct for more information yes@chichester.anglican.org