HIM FAMILY NEWS
Hope Seattle, North America with Ps Ben & Ps Dinah
On Wednesday morning the 6th March 2013 Pastors Ben and Dinah arrived in Seattle to visit Hope Seattle church. They spent the day with my husband and I. Then they joined our combined care group after having dinner together at the church venue. After worship, Pastor Ben taught from II Cor 3:16-18 on Christian identity.
Pastor Ben encouraged us to humble ourselves before Christ (v.16). This act of humility allows Christ to remove our veil. Something beautiful happens when this is removed - we see the glory of God in Christ. He then encouraged us to behold Christ (v.18). This is taking a good, hard long and contemplative look.
Two things will happen when we take those two steps. First, we will be reflecting the glory of His face like a mirror reflecting light. Second, we will be at the same time be continuously being transformed into the same image of Christ. As we gaze upon Christ, the glory increases more and more until the coming in person of Jesus himself. At this point, Pastor Ben asked us to close our eyes and he led us in prayer.
Pastor Dinah ministered to us in prophecy. Then it was our turn. We sprung a surprise and celebrated Pastor's Ben birthday (though belated). Next they spent time with members till late though they were so jet-lagged. Our pastors spent the whole Thursday with three of our church leaders till late in the night.
Then they had to fly off very early on Friday morning to meet up with all the North America leaders in California. We are all encouraged by their pastoral visit. It is great to have our Regional Pastor fly all the way from Singapore to strengthen the church and meet up with all of us. We thank the Lord for great shepherds like them.
Warinda Bongkokmart, Seattle. (Warinda is the wife of Pastor JR)
On Wednesday morning the 6th March 2013 Pastors Ben and Dinah arrived in Seattle to visit Hope Seattle church. They spent the day with my husband and I. Then they joined our combined care group after having dinner together at the church venue. After worship, Pastor Ben taught from II Cor 3:16-18 on Christian identity.
For starters, he differentiated between identity and image. Clark Kent is the image but Superman is the identity. Even Moses wore a veil to conceal a fading glory. The radiance on Moses' face was caused by time with God. He had a glow but a temporary one. This glory would fade away when he was absent from God’s presence (v.7).
Pastor Ben encouraged us to humble ourselves before Christ (v.16). This act of humility allows Christ to remove our veil. Something beautiful happens when this is removed - we see the glory of God in Christ. He then encouraged us to behold Christ (v.18). This is taking a good, hard long and contemplative look.
Two things will happen when we take those two steps. First, we will be reflecting the glory of His face like a mirror reflecting light. Second, we will be at the same time be continuously being transformed into the same image of Christ. As we gaze upon Christ, the glory increases more and more until the coming in person of Jesus himself. At this point, Pastor Ben asked us to close our eyes and he led us in prayer.
Then they had to fly off very early on Friday morning to meet up with all the North America leaders in California. We are all encouraged by their pastoral visit. It is great to have our Regional Pastor fly all the way from Singapore to strengthen the church and meet up with all of us. We thank the Lord for great shepherds like them.
Warinda Bongkokmart, Seattle. (Warinda is the wife of Pastor JR)
Breakfast with Love - A Community Event, Singapore
On February 2 2013, Hope Church Singapore, in collaboration with the Kampong Glam Community Centre, celebrated Lunar New Year with the elderly residents of Kampong Glam at our monthly Breakfast With Love (BWL) event. It was a joyous time indeed! The smiles on the elderly participants’ faces were evidence of yet another successful affair – all the volunteers’ hard work in decorating the hall and running the activities were duly rewarded!
However, when the programme is over, one may ask: Why would the church commit so much time, manpower and effort to a “secular” event? To answer the above question, we only need to recall Pastor Jeffrey’s message to our church to reap the harvest!
Last year, God generously placed our church at Textile Centre, which is near Kampong Glam where there is a significant population of elderly living in one-room flats. Not long after that, He gave us the opportunity to bless the elderly residents with the friendship of young adults, prizes and breakfast through BWL.
All these could not have been by chance. God has literally placed a field, richly ripe for the harvest, at the very backyard of Hope Church Singapore! As a volunteer of BWL for a year now, and writing from a personal take, this is really a platform from which we can befriend and reach out to the elderly residents of Kampong Glam. Some of them have also visited our church. Every smiling face at BWL is a potential soul to be won for the Kingdom of God!
However, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Although God has already brought the harvest to the church’s backyard, more harvesting remains to be done! I strongly believe that BWL is part of God’s plan for our church and encourage more volunteers to join in reaping the harvest.
Written by Lai Kwan Wei
Christmas 4 Kids at Unidus Centre, Brisbane
Christmas 4 Kids (C4K) is the signature event of Hands of Hope, the community arm of Hope Church Brisbane. C4K has been running in the South-Western suburbs of Brisbane since 2003, and this year, for the very first time, it was held at Hope Church’s very own facilities - Unidus Community Centre!
C4K was extra special this year with ‘The Musical’ spectacular, a ‘broadway style’ musical performance by our very own Hope Church volunteers. The Musical presented the nativity story in a colourful, fun and engaging way – the kids loved it!
C4K was partly funded by Hope Church as well as the local council (Brisbane City Council). Hope Church congregations generously donated over 30 hampers which were given directly to some families on welfare, and to families who attended C4K.
We are thankful for the ongoing support from local community agencies who attend C4K with heaps of goodies for the kids. We are also thankful for the local polititians who donated hampers, provided small grants, and took time out of their busy schedules to attend C4K.
Moving into Unidus gives Hope Church more of a local presence, which means we have more opportunities to be an ongoing blessing to people in the area. We are planning a number of activities in the coming year, including an after-school Homework/Tutoring program for kids/teens, dance workshops, sporting activities, and more.
Written by Lisa Cheung
However, when the programme is over, one may ask: Why would the church commit so much time, manpower and effort to a “secular” event? To answer the above question, we only need to recall Pastor Jeffrey’s message to our church to reap the harvest!
Written by Lai Kwan Wei
Christmas 4 Kids at Unidus Centre, Brisbane
Christmas 4 Kids (C4K) is the signature event of Hands of Hope, the community arm of Hope Church Brisbane. C4K has been running in the South-Western suburbs of Brisbane since 2003, and this year, for the very first time, it was held at Hope Church’s very own facilities - Unidus Community Centre!
C4K was extra special this year with ‘The Musical’ spectacular, a ‘broadway style’ musical performance by our very own Hope Church volunteers. The Musical presented the nativity story in a colourful, fun and engaging way – the kids loved it!
This year, 400 people from the local community attended the event. Because Hope Church congregation has finally ‘moved into the local neighbourhood’ by holding ongoing church services and other activities at Unidus, we are now finally able to connect with the local community on a more ongoing basis. Many bridges and connections were established with children and families at C4K this year – they were all invited to attend our Christmas service and other events. Some volunteers held an outreach Christmas BBQ which was attended by 3 pre-believing families who were very touched by their gestures.
C4K was partly funded by Hope Church as well as the local council (Brisbane City Council). Hope Church congregations generously donated over 30 hampers which were given directly to some families on welfare, and to families who attended C4K.We are thankful for the ongoing support from local community agencies who attend C4K with heaps of goodies for the kids. We are also thankful for the local polititians who donated hampers, provided small grants, and took time out of their busy schedules to attend C4K.
Moving into Unidus gives Hope Church more of a local presence, which means we have more opportunities to be an ongoing blessing to people in the area. We are planning a number of activities in the coming year, including an after-school Homework/Tutoring program for kids/teens, dance workshops, sporting activities, and more.
Written by Lisa Cheung
