HIM FAMILY NEWS

HOPE LONDON CENTRAL's 14th Anniversary Celebration 

On 21st October 2012, Hope London Central officially turned 14! From a church of very humble beginnings, planted by a small group of Christians with big dreams for London, it has grown to be what it is today - a strong, dynamic fellowship of believers that, despite being from different cultures and walks of life, have managed to form a united and loving community. A church is about relationships, both with God and with one another, and the whole service therefore focused on what God has achieved in people's lives.

To mark the occasion, each life group presented 2-minute video presentations about their unique fellowship that showcased the spirit of God's love in their groups, and testified of God's faithfulness in the lives of the members. The special message of the service, given by Ps. Vincent Ong who was one of the founding members of the church and taken from Ephesians 3:18, inspired and challenged the church to go higher, deeper and wider in their relationships with God and one another in the year to come.

The fellowship continued at an after-service party where members and new visitors alike were welcome to join in. All in all, the day was a wonderful reminder of God's love and faithfulness in the lives of all the people who have been touched through this church.

 Happy 14th Birthday Hope London, we look forward to many more!

Written by Pastor Vincent Ong


HIM Bangalore, India 5th Annual Camp 

There were 31 adults and 9 children participated in the 5th Hope Bangalore Annual Camp from 10th – 13th Nov 2012. The theme was “A Faith Church”. It was the first time we have more brothers and sisters from India than from abroad. It was the first time we have Sunday School running parallel with the camp teaching. It was the first time we have 3 medical doctors and a pharmacist in our camp. 

We are very grateful to Hope Batu Pahat and Hope Johor Bahru who supported us in our annual camp, from chairing to worship leading, from conducting workshops to organising faith building games. Similar with last year, we started the camp with breakfast on the first day and ended with dinner on the fourth day. The difference is that we have more time to fellowship in group meetings and an elaborated time to respond to God on the third night.



Ps Kwong Lie taught us lessons of faith in such a simple yet profound way that a bible college lecturer who participated in the camp for the first time was amazed at the depth and breadth of the teaching. A sister, joining our camp for the first time, commented that it was the best camp she had ever joined, highlighting the sound teaching and the balanced activities for her whole family. A brother, also joining for the first time, was so blessed that he regretted not joining us last year.

God has blessed me and my family with a car just 4 days before the camp, thanks to the love offering from Hope Tokyo and Hope BP. The car was a blessing to many before, during and after the camp. Another miracle was that the monsoon rain ended a few days before the camp. A few brothers and sisters who had difficulty applying leave for camp experienced God’s miraculous providence. God was indeed present in our midst and answered many of our prayers.

With the seed of faith that God planted in our hearts, Hope Bangalore looks forward to grow in quantity and quality.

 Reported by Ps Joshua Wong

HIM Kuching 20th Anniversary 

Hope Kuching’s 20th Anniversary was celebrated last 10th November at Damai Central, with the theme 1Heart1City. Officiated by Ps Simon Eng, the founder of Hope Kuching, the celebration began with the ‘Family Fun Day’ where everyone participated in the various booth games and team field games. Even the Pastors and Coordinators were not exempted from the fun as they competed to make ‘teh tarik’ for their respective spouses.

After briefly resting from the exciting ‘Family Fun Day’, the Hope Kuching family was ushered into the Celebration Dinner. It was during this time that memories of Hope Kuching’s humble beginnings and its 20-year-journey into what it is today were celebrated and reminisced. Both Ps Simon and Ps Denis Lu, Senior Pastor of Hope Kuching, also shared their hearts and casted the vision on the direction Hope Kuching was to continue on.

 More than the food, fun and fellowship from the program line up, this anniversary was indeed a testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness towards Hope Kuching and a reminder of His heart and mission for the church – to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (paraphrase Acts 1:8)

HIM Melbourne Born to Fly Kids Program 

Born to Fly Holiday Kids program was held from 27th September to 29th September 2012 in Brandon Park Community Centre. Surprisingly, we have more than 250 families who were interested in the program. Most of them heard about our program through their friends. With the support of our local council City of Monash, various sponsors, and 80 volunteers, the program hosted average 145 children per day. 

Like previous years, there were a couple of major hurdles that the committee had to face: limited sponsorship and lower number of volunteers. By God’s grace, we have witnessed God’s provision and His blessings upon His people. This year we also see more new volunteers from different community groups and age group. We also have parents, who witness the success of this program, wanting to be volunteers for next year’s program. Our mailing list for this program has grown double. God is truly amazing.

Boldness and cautiousness are the two character traits which are built into our Born To Fly 2012 children’s holiday program. The characteristics and values of boldness and cautiousness were strongly encouraged and were weaved into our various activities such as puppetry, singing, arts & crafts, skits, games and creative performances! The original ideas for art & crafts, designs, songs and skits were all contributed from dedicated and creative volunteers.

After the performances by our little participants, there were present prizes and certificates. Ziggy (our Mascot) was also on hand to announce the names of all the outstanding kids that performed well in learning and displaying the character qualities as they received their awards from Cr Charlotte Baines, from City of Monash Council. Well done all participants of Born to Fly Kids 2012 for flying with us, we hope to see you soon again - and this is your captain speaking, Elena over and out!

For more information about Born to Fly, visit our website www.borntoflykids.com