HIM FAMILY NEWS
Hope Germany Festival
Das Festival 2013 organized by HOPE Germany was held at a very big campsite outside the city of Leipzig on 17-20 May 2013. As per our theme “The Way is the Goal”, we used Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae to re-emphasize the importance of Jesus Christ as the way to God the Father and that being united with Jesus and being like him is the ultimate goal. On the first evening, the whole A-Team, HOPE Germany’s leadership team, was on stage together, praising God for the amazing work he has done among us over the last couple of years. This was highlighted by testimonies from the past 12 months, showing what could happen in the future.
On Sunday morning, Matthias, Lisa and Tobias taught the people how theological topics can be approached in house churches and taught to set people free instead of locking them in a doctrinal cage. After the many baptisms in the afternoon, Yvonne, only days away from delivering her third child, preached about how to live the new life in Christ. It was so powerful to see her use her life testimony and the truth of the Gospel to show what a difference God's grace makes. The A-Team was back on stage together on Monday morning, casting vision, leading communion and Kajin teaching important lessons out of the last verses of Colossians. The whole atmosphere was shaped by releasing the first generation of church-planters in Germany to a new and wider scope of work and bringing a new generation into their sphere of influence. That was reflected by new people leading worship on stage, preaching, teaching and leading workshops, forums, special teaching sessions, and ministering to one another during breaks and late at night at the "Wunderbar", the beloved hangout spot.
Besides the main meetings, there was the "Kinderland", the children's program. About 100 children and teenagers experienced a wide variety of biblical topics, fun activities and even self-written worship under the supervision of Diana Müller and her huge team of volunteers. There were sports activities with HOPE Czech Republic taking the winner’s bowl in the soccer competition for the second year running and lots of different playgrounds where parents, friends and whole families hung out in the afternoons.
Last year, God brought a new emphasis into our church movement. We wanted to see God's supernatural power as promised in Mark 16 stronger. Even before the festival started, different teams had experiences with deliverances. During the festival, we saw people being set free and being delivered. In one case, one of the leaders observed the gift of healing growing stronger in one young man's life. It is why he was asked to conduct a workshop about supernatural healing. In his workshop three people experienced spontaneous healings. In the team leaders' meeting at the end of the festival, Kajin asked the leaders to approach other leaders to ask them to be blessed to receive the anointing visible in their lives. The weeks after the festival have shown, a new freedom in the area of prophesy, apostolic work and other gifts have been released.
For a house church movement, meeting once a year for a joint celebration is probably even more important. Like the Israelites, the festival is used to communicate God's vision and the necessary steps to reach this vision. The people are reminded of the foundations of their faith and of details we had not understood or not needed so far, and truly celebrate the victories of the past year.
Hope KL Bible Conference & 20th Anniversary
From 12-14 April 2013, Hope Kuala Lumpur (KL) held its Central Region Bible Conference (BC) with the theme “Forward Together” in conjunction with Hope Kuala Lumpur’s 20th anniversary, “Hope 20 Fest”. 1000 people, consisting of eager members from different Hope churches in the central region and many friends, came for the celebrations. It was a time where people were encouraged and inspired by the word of God; to move forward as a family according to the will of God.
It was truly an overwhelming and inspiring conference with teachings from Pastor Simon, Pastor Kwang Lee and Pastor Moses. Our speakers spoke with great passion explaining the Word of God and sharing their personal journey with God through their many years in Hope Church. The first session on Friday night saw Pastor Simon and Pastor Kwang Lee preaching. They highlighted that vision and love for God are the two most important factors in running our race. The second session was on Saturday morning. Pastor Moses and Pastor Kwang Lee shared how we need to persevere in God. For the third session, Pastor Simon shared how we should move on with Godly idealism and daring to dream for God again.
Sunday was truly a great celebration. There were games and prizes given out along with a blood donation drive. It was a time that marked Hope KL’s 20th birthday where we came together as one family. The Forward Together Bible Conference was a time where everyone was reminded of the importance of running forward with God and staying united as one family in God.
Hope Church Hong Kong 1st Anniversary!
What a fruitful and amazing year in the Lord! He delivered His promise, working from small beginnings. He gave a promise and He provided all the resources and people needed to bring it to pass.
Time after time, we witnessed how He provided us with help through brothers and sisters overseas and miracles in our lives to test our faith in Him and strengthen us through those challenges.
This year, we came together and organized an event to remind us of the great work God has done through and in us. Praise God that we could rent an open hall for a cheap price. Amazingly we had our own band worshipping God for the very first time as well! Although attendance was small, testimonies from various people truly touched our lives. The funny thing was that initially most of our members were not willing to be part of the church planting team. However, somehow and somewhere, all of them felt the call of God to join this church and embrace their role in the family of God. The spiritual growth in every one’s lives is obvious for all to see. We saw a new believer becoming a person of prayer, a believer who escaped their calling of God now taking up the role of leadership and servanthood in this church. When we needed musicians to help us to worship, God brought in new brothers and sisters to form our worship band.
We have learnt and grown together as a team. Though we have made mistakes, we face the situations together and sought God for His guidance. Today, we have about 8-10 committed members and are looking forward to growing even more. Two weeks before the event, we produced a video showing how God gave us a small seed of love and grew it into a tree flowing with the love of God.
We hope this video will bless the many who desire to walk with God on water, to follow His will in their lives. God is able to bring us through His promise even with through the most impossible situation. Because God is Love!
1 John 4:16 (NIV) 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Written by Christine Yeung
What a fruitful and amazing year in the Lord! He delivered His promise, working from small beginnings. He gave a promise and He provided all the resources and people needed to bring it to pass. Time after time, we witnessed how He provided us with help through brothers and sisters overseas and miracles in our lives to test our faith in Him and strengthen us through those challenges.
This year, we came together and organized an event to remind us of the great work God has done through and in us. Praise God that we could rent an open hall for a cheap price. Amazingly we had our own band worshipping God for the very first time as well! Although attendance was small, testimonies from various people truly touched our lives. The funny thing was that initially most of our members were not willing to be part of the church planting team. However, somehow and somewhere, all of them felt the call of God to join this church and embrace their role in the family of God. The spiritual growth in every one’s lives is obvious for all to see. We saw a new believer becoming a person of prayer, a believer who escaped their calling of God now taking up the role of leadership and servanthood in this church. When we needed musicians to help us to worship, God brought in new brothers and sisters to form our worship band.
We have learnt and grown together as a team. Though we have made mistakes, we face the situations together and sought God for His guidance. Today, we have about 8-10 committed members and are looking forward to growing even more. Two weeks before the event, we produced a video showing how God gave us a small seed of love and grew it into a tree flowing with the love of God.We hope this video will bless the many who desire to walk with God on water, to follow His will in their lives. God is able to bring us through His promise even with through the most impossible situation. Because God is Love!
1 John 4:16 (NIV) 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Written by Christine Yeung
