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

Building Hope ~ Sharing Faith

HOPE is working towards a year of mission in 2014 – the whole Church, reaching the whole nation for a whole year – together in word and action.

Easter marked a turning point as we move towards 2014 - a year of mission.
Reports have been coming into the Hope Office from all different denominations that churches have taken to heart the challenge to be outward-facing, welcoming and serving local communities. All over the country churches are using key mission moments like Easter to share the hope we have in Jesus in relevant ways. Thousands watched The Passion in city centres including Brighton. See www.soulbythesea.info  Churches gave away Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns with invitations to Easter Sunday services – and churches were packed. Roy Crowne, HOPE’s Executive Director says, let’s continue to serve and pray for the people who heard about Jesus for the first time this Easter. Keep asking God for that amazing harvest he has promised (Galatians 6:9-10).


HOPE – The Heartbeat of Mission in a rural context

‘Congratulations on the publication of The Heartbeat of Mission – what a good resource for churches of all kinds to use,’ says Canon Dr Jill Hopkinson, National Rural Officer for the Church of England. More than 18,000 copies of the book have gone to church leaders and families at Christian events over Easter. Get a copy for your home group here. If you’ve already got a copy, don’t keep it to yourself. Pass it round the different ministry leaders in your church, so everyone can catch the vision and plan for mission in 2014.

HOPE posters

Have you had a copy of the HOPE poster yet and have you seen the latest HOPE video? Thousands of posters are being distributed by ministries and denominations. The aim is for every church to display the poster and show the video so Christians around the country can catch the vision for 2014 and a year of mission. HOPE practitioners have been sent copies of the poster which folds out from a brochure explaining HOPE’s vision. Contact the office if you can distribute the poster to the churches in your area.

Mission Moments

HOPE is highlighting significant mission moments in the calendar and building towards a year of mission in 2014. The aim is to keep mission on the church’s agenda throughout the year – working together, being good news with words and actions in a rhythm of mission that builds on what we already do as part of the church year. Find out more here.

YOUR LOCAL STORIES

Put your story on the map. To help view the spread of Hope a map has been started. HOPE is about local churches making a difference in villages, towns and cities. Send your news so your story can be added to the HOPE map.

Planning New Year’s prayer in Cornwall

Christians in Cornwall started the first week of 2013 with a 24/7 prayer week. Young people wrote out prayer requests and blessings on a huge scroll which was then sent to Plymouth and on into the rest of the nation. Already they are planning for the end of the year and a New Year's Eve watchnight prayer gathering. Find out more here and let Hope know what you are planning.

Mission Academies & Hope Resources

An evening to find our more about Hope Revolution with

Phil Timson -Tuesday April 23^rd  

Similar to the event we hosted as a team earlier this term Urban Saints are hosting an evening with Phil Timson from Hope Revolution at Godstone Baptist Church at 7:30pm – 9:30pm. It’s a great opportunity to find out more about Mission Academies - http://www.hope-revolution.com/ . The address is Godstone Baptist Church, Godstone Hill, Godstone, RH9 8AJ, as part of this evening dinner is included so they will need to know and dietary requirements, if you could confirm your attendance to Richard.h.winborn@gmail.com – attendance needs to be confirmed by April 12^th

Currently the YES team are looking at how we can support and encourage mission academies across Sussex. www.yesonthenet.org.uk

Resources to help you spread HOPE

This Easter sees the launch of HOPE’s resources to prepare the UK church for 2014 and a year of mission.

HOPE 2014 & the Rhythm of Mission is a 3-minute promotional video you can download from our website to inspire and inform others in your area, so churches can prepare together to do more in mission in word and action.

HOPE: together in word & action is our new brochure which folds out to a poster about HOPE and 2014. We’d love to see this poster displayed in every church in the country. Already we have requests for more than 100,000 brochures. Contact us to tell us how many copies you can use to promote HOPE in your area.

HOPE – the Heartbeat of Mission is HOPE’s best-ever collection of tried-and-tested mission ideas. Denominations, dioceses and groups of churches working together have ordered thousands of copies to make sure that every church leader is inspired and equipped to do more together in mission in words and action in 2014. Before it was printed the Methodist churches had ordered 2,500 copies to give to leaders; they upped their order to 3,500 copies when they saw the book. The Revd Ian Bunce, Faith and Society mission networker of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and a member of the HOPE leadership team, said, 'It's a significant resource bringing together hundreds of missional ideas in an accessible way. I think its life will be beyond that of HOPE, as churches use it for ideas.'

HOPE – The Heartbeat of Mission is packed with resources
• Practical inspiration - 150 different tried-and-tested mission ideas that have worked
• Funding sources - 18 community projects backed with funding of up to £2,000 to start each new church-led initiative
• Mission practice - words and action linked to an annual rhythm of mission running through the church calendar

Buy copies of HOPE – The Heartbeat of Mission from the HOPE shop. A single copy costs £5.99 (plus P+P).  Order 20 or more for just £3 a copy.

Prayer
HOPE’s daily prayer calendar is on the Hope website. Churches have committed to pray daily. Contact us to receive the prayer calendar by email at the start of each month.

Vision & Action

Heartbeat of Mission – out now!

Foodbanks and village fairs, Passion plays and parenting courses – churches are getting out into communities, being good news. HOPE – the Heartbeat of Mission, which rolled off the presses earlier this week, tells hundreds of stories in 220 pages packed full of tried-and-tested mission ideas. More than 15,000 copies were pre-ordered by denominations keen to equip churches. There are inspiring, creative ways to work together at the heart of local communities sharing Jesus’ love through words and actions, plus funding sources to start new projects. The book will be launched nationally in Easter week. Buy your pre-launch copy now from the HOPE shop. Denominations, Dioceses and groups of churches can enquire about a bulk discount

Pause for thought from HOPE Leadership team member Ade Omooba

The greatest apostles and prophets that Christ used are people who had revelations for their season. They knew what God was doing and plugged into it. God is willing, today, to reveal to us what he is doing in our season. We have to pray and know his focus and what he is asking us to do. We are his children and the ones he will use when he makes a great move. Our starting point is to have an impact locally. We cannot communicate with media and government if we do not first serve people on a local level. Without prayer first there is no substance to our action. What excites God is when you take action on what he reveals to you. We need the revelation so that each one of us finds our place in his plan: fit into that place, function in that place and be fruitful in that place.

Vision without action is just a dream

Action without vision merely passes the time

Vision with Action changes the world

Let’s change the world!

More stuff on Mission Academies…

Youth leaders gathered at the start of the month for a pilot Mission Academy facilitators’ training event for the south. In the coming year it is hoped that 80 Mission Academies will be launched nationwide helping hundreds of young people to develop a lifestyle of mission. The event was exciting as youth leaders shared their stories and encouraged each other. The Newham and Canning Town Mission Academy have seen their young people develop a passion for praying for people on the streets.

A prayer encounter story. Mission Academy video

Passionate about Easter

Churches are joining together to host Easter celebrations or put on public performances of The Passion - a great way to prompt questions about why Jesus died. In 2012 plays were staged in Andover, Glasgow, Romford and Preston.

Public Passion Plays this year are happening in Leicester, London and Brighton.

For Brighton & Hove check out www.soulbythesea.info

Quick Easter mission ideas inspiration on celebrating with an outward-looking Easter.

And here are some tips on communicating the Easter message

Young People - Building Hope & Sharing Faith

HOPE Mission Hubs 2014

On Thursday 28^th February Ali Campbell, Adviser for work with children and young people in the Diocese of Chichester hosted an event at Church House, Hove to hear news of an exciting youth project.

Phil Timson, Youth Director for Hope is seeking to mobilise and encourage the church – not just to do a short mission week, but to engage throughout the year in missional activity. 

Across the country Mission Hubs are being set up which will seek to draw in young people and key youth workers to give them some basic skills and a support structure. They are based on a cell type model with a central hub and surrounding satellites.

This training and equipping would have a three fold thrust:

a)     What already is – i.e. looking and reading their patch,

b)     What could be – dreaming dreams and thinking of creative ways in which the Gospel can be shared in word and in action,

c)      What will be – i.e. getting on down and doing it, giving it a go.

Ali asks….

• Would you love to see young people inspired for mission and sharing the Gospel?
• Would you pray for this initiative (informed prayer is great!)?
• Whilst you may not work with young people, might you know those who do and can you pass the message on and inform them of what is happening?
• Would you support this initiative as we try and see at least TWO mission hubs kick off in Sussex – but wouldn’t it be great to have more!?

If you were unable to make this gathering but would like to know more let Ali know as there are plans to host a follow-up meeting for those that want to work together and pray into what might happen across Sussex in 2014 . . . .

Telephone: 01273 425694 | Mobile: 07818 574693 

Email: ali.campbell@chichester.anglican.org
Twitter: www.twitter/alicampbellyes

 www.yesonthenet.org.uk           YES, You Equipped to Serve

 

 

 

HOPE DURING LENT ~ REALISED DURING EASTER

Investing in young people
72% of Christians surveyed in a recent Evangelical Alliance survey said they had made a decision to follow Christ before they had reached 20 years of age. Statistics like this underline the importance of effective youth mission. Read about how HOPE is working to support young people through Mission Academies and how HOPE Revolution is making 2013 a year of unbroken prayer as we build to HOPE 14.

Outward looking Easter
Christians in villages, towns and cities nationwide are joining together to host Easter festivals or put on public performances of The Passion in the heart of their communities.
• The Passion will be performed in Trafalgar Square, London, on Good Friday, 29 March 2013 at 12 noon and 15:15.
• In Coventry they spread the Easter story through song, dance and prayer in the city centre. Last year they polished shoppers’ shoes in a modern re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.

• In Brighton ‘Soul by the Sea’ is mounting ‘The Passion of Christ', 2pm The Lawns St Peter’s Church at the heart of the city, Good Friday, Easter Eve and Easter Sunday. www.soulbythesea.org

 • In Cambridge local Christians surprised residents by giving away free mince pies at Christmas - watch a video of residents’ reactions.  What about giving away Hot Cross Buns or Easter eggs on your local streets this Easter? Mission doesn’t have to be a major song and dance; just simple acts of love. What are you planning?
Lent and Easter resources from the Evangelical Alliance.
Easter mission Ideas

HOPE’s biggest and best resource
Next month you will be able to order HOPE – the Heartbeat of Mission and members of the HOPE leadership team will be available to provide training for churches in your area, in preparation for HOPE in 2014.

Norwich 2014 and Norwich Mission Academy
The Bishop of Norwich brought the city’s church leaders together at the end of 2012 to talk about mission. As a result, Norwich churches are now preparing for HOPE 2014 and young people are taking the lead. Norwich Mission Academy had their first weekend together from 2-3 February sparking fresh ideas to build community and open up conversations about Jesus. Latest from Norwich

Church turn-around sparked by youth mission
How did a church threatened with closure, in a downtrodden part of Cambridge, grow from a congregation of six to 60 in less than a month? The dramatic turn-around was sparked by a regional youth mission backed by HOPE Revolution and followed by dedicated evangelism and community work. Story: A church renewed

Pass on news of what’s happening in Sussex as we build hope and share faith!

gordon.banks@chichester.anglican.org

01273 425686

HOPE 14 ~ MISSION HUBS

 Hope 2014  Mission Hubs



Thursday February 28^th  10.00am - 1pm Church House, Hove



Come and hear from Phil Timson about the Year of Mission being planned for 2014 as part of the ongoing "Hope" initiative - YES, are pleased to be able to facilitate this gathering and act as host on the day - but, this is an event for ALL - please pass on to your contacts and join us! 

 For more information on "Hope" check out Hope Revolution

You can sign up for this event at...

http://sussexhope2014.eventbrite.com/

 or email... ali.campbell@chichester.anglican.org