HIM FAMILY NEWS JUNE 2011

Hope Norway Gathering

The 1st of January saw Hope Follo host a gathering at Klommestein in Drøbak. Tor Håbrekke was the host of the night and the highlight of the night was the preaching of Marcus Rose from Hope Berlin. The topic was about how to grow in faith and be faithful. It was a relaxed evening and everybody enjoyed each other’s company. Marcus taught us again on Sunday. He preached on the topic: “Is church your life or your hobby?”

Sadly, our friends from Hope Haugesund had to leave during the meeting to catch their flight, but we had the opportunity to bless them before they left. We felt so privileged to spend the weekend with them. Approximately 60 people gathered and it was so nice seeing friends: old and new, gathered together. Helene T. Engebretsen (Hope Follo)

Hope Norway Youth Event - Free At Last

Once again we filled the gym at Dyrløkkeåsen School. It was an amazing party, with over 100

participants. This year most of them came from Drøbak. The highlight this year was the JP band. They played to an amazingly high standard, after only three months of training. We want to give a huge thanks to all our good helpers, and especially to Ole Paulshus, who gave up his time for free and came with even more activities this year.

(Bent Marken, Hope Follo)

Hope Indonesia Camp; Mission Driven Church

The Theme of this year Hope Indonesia Camp was "Mission driven church". We had great time together with 200 plus people at D'Agape resort in Ciawi, indonesia. There were delegates from Hope Jakarta, Hope Bandung, Hope Magelang, Hope Jogja, Hope salatiga, Hope semarang, and Hope Malaysia.

We felt so grateful for this camp because there were many new and fun activities for everyone to enjoy. The praise and worship at the camp was awesome. It was very encouraging to hear inspiring church planting testimonies from different part of Indonesia and the world. They testified how God gave them a "Mission" for church planting and seeing the kingdom of God established in their respective locations.

Pastor Kwong Lie was the main speaker of the camp. His personal testimony and powerful sharing inspire everyone to give their lives to serve God and fulfill the Great Commission through being "Mission Driven Church". Everyone went home to their respective cities with a greater vision to impact Indonesia and the world for Christ. All glory to God and thank God for a wonderful camp!

Hope Philippines’ Local Camp 2011

We all know that prayer is an essential part in every Christian’s life, so to give more emphasis on this, this years’ theme is to become a “House of Prayer” just like how Jesus Himself said that the church should be.

In line with this, the local Filipino camp for 2011 was decided and given title “Call Unto Me” aiming to help all those attending improve in their prayer lives, to have a deeper understanding of what prayer really is, and to grow deeper in their relationship with God.

We were truly blessed with the teachings that our dear speakers, Pastor James Loke and Pastor Soradej Meesaengtham, imparted to us during this three-day period. These included teaching about why God answers prayers, reasons for unanswered prayers, preparations for prayer, praying in tongues, fasting and prayer, and a powerful corporate prayer. All of them were truly informative and I’m sure that these are very applicable to all of our lives.

Also, on the second day, there was special time when we invited the Holy Spirit to come and fill everyone who was present. Those who were already baptized in the Spirit were filled once again, and those who haven’t were filled and soon, baptized. The presence of God was definitely eminent during this wonderful time.

Of course, there were other fun activities such the Hope Games which I am sure everyone enjoyed. There were games such as basketball, chess, volleyball, table tennis, and Minute to Win It. These, of course, brought more excitement to everyone, and it also helped bring out the spirit of sportsmanship and camaraderie among all those playing. In the end, the Red team emerged as the over-all champions, but it isn’t about winning, after all. It’s about coming together with our brothers and sisters in Christ and glorifying God with all that we did regardless of who “won” and who “lost” because we are all winners in Christ.

There was also an allotted time for each Care Group to be able to bond and have their fellowship hoping to build their relationship with one another. Also, since the theme is all about prayer, there were also more times given so that all campers would be able to just pray and have their time with God. This year’s camp was yet another wonderful experience as we had over 240 participants. Many were able to meet God and know Him more, meet new friends, get to know old ones, and continue building a true “House of Prayer” that calls unto God.

By Sharee Bernardo

Hope Auckland, New Zealand Camp

Over the first weekend of May, all of Hope Auckland piled excitedly into cars and buses to make our way back to Carey Park for this year’s annual camp. The theme this year was “Passion: The Flame Within” and who better to come teach us about it than Ps. Jeff Chong of Hope Church, Singapore! As expected, Ps. Jeff brought with him his wit, food-related humour and challenged us (with accompanying hand actions and singing) to return to the basics in the same way a jazz pianist rehearses their scales.

With stunningly perfect weather, early morning mass Zumba with a professional instructor, the debut of a new Praise and Worship leader, the re-introduction of workshops (Purity Revolution, Conversational Mandarin, Public Speaking and Cake-Decorating) and a Praise Party, it was one of the most memorable camps we have had to date. Our Praise Party was just that – a giant, prophetic, joy-filled party with every one of our worship leaders leading, which flowed into a powerful time in the presence of God.

If there were any way of summarising that night, it would be this: God showed up and people’s lives were rocked. A particularly touching and significant moment happened when the entire church gathered around the core leadership team and prayed, blessed and covered them as one family. We are still witnessing the overflow of what God did at camp and we are so grateful and excited for all that is to come! God bless!

Written by Steph Soh

HIM Thailand Camp - Passion

The 2011 HIM Thailand Conference was the second national gathering of all the HIM Thai churches. In attendance from the north were the Chiang Mai, Lampang, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Song churches; and from the south, the Hat Yai and Trang churches. For the first time, the Yala and Pattani churches from the south; and churches from Thonburi in Bangkok and Oasis Church, which is comprised predominantly of Filipinos living and working in Bangkok, also joined us this year.

Everyone came together with joy to celebrate and worship God, to hear His voice, and receive inspiration for service. The theme of the conference was "Passion". The speakers from HIM International were Ps. Simon Eng, President of HIM and Senior Pastor of HIM Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Ps. Wilson Lim, Church Elder and Senior Pastor of HIM Brisbane, Australia. Other speakers included Ps. Choochart, President of HIM Thailand; Ps. Aomsilp and Ps. Chaiyapruck, Church Elder, HIM Thailand.

All thanks to God for the love and commitment between the leaders and members in Thailand. Attendance at this year's conference totaled more than 1,300. People were challenged in the area of missions and in developing their gifts; signs and wonders and healings occurred. Altogether, the church was proud to be a part of what God is doing in Thailand and was encouraged to continue serving God more.

Written by Pastor Premreudee Khlongwanich, Manager, HIM Thailand