HIM FAMILY NEWS
HIM Oasis, Bangkok - Thanksgiving Dinner
When Pastor Mayette reached out to the affected families of typhoon Haiyan, she felt God’s conviction to make the Oasis congregation in Bangkok realize how blessed they were. This experience prompted the celebration of “Thanksgiving” in a different way.
The Thanksgiving Dinner held at Amari Hotel, was strongly supported by the presence of Pastor Soradej, Pastor Deacha of Samutprakan and his team, and the representatives of Pastor Prayuth from Well of Life. This is proof that the HIM family never walks alone.
The event started with an overflowing thanksgiving draw sponsored by generous members of the church; followed by creative artists performing a very artistic dance and hand mime using black light. Pastor Mayette gave an exhortation on the way God walked with the church literally with all the HIM pastor’s strong support.
Three powerful testimonies were given. One on God’s faithfulness during typhoon Haiyan’s devastating blow; the other on how a house of an Oasis member was miraculously preserved while the whole neighborhood was affected, and two other testimonies about the way God promoted the lives of the members.
The congregation sang ‘Thank You Lord’ with these powerful and timely words: There’s a roof up above me, I’ve a good place to sleep. There’s food on my table and shoes on my feet… and a fine (spiritual and physical) family. A holy offering of thanksgiving followed.
A Thai guest invited by Pastor Soradej also testified and encouraged everyone to never stop testifying for the Lord. God gave her a dream about Oasis, whom she never knew about until that night. God also showed us much favour that night. A total of 220 people attended the event but the hotel only asked for payment of 200 people!
Pastor Soradej concluded the night with words of encouragement; to keep up the zeal not only in sharing the gospel, but in serving and testifying about God. The Thanksgiving Dinner was celebrated in its true form, a holy day of remembering and of thanking God’s faithfulness.
Written by Liza P
When Pastor Mayette reached out to the affected families of typhoon Haiyan, she felt God’s conviction to make the Oasis congregation in Bangkok realize how blessed they were. This experience prompted the celebration of “Thanksgiving” in a different way.
The Thanksgiving Dinner held at Amari Hotel, was strongly supported by the presence of Pastor Soradej, Pastor Deacha of Samutprakan and his team, and the representatives of Pastor Prayuth from Well of Life. This is proof that the HIM family never walks alone.
The event started with an overflowing thanksgiving draw sponsored by generous members of the church; followed by creative artists performing a very artistic dance and hand mime using black light. Pastor Mayette gave an exhortation on the way God walked with the church literally with all the HIM pastor’s strong support.
Three powerful testimonies were given. One on God’s faithfulness during typhoon Haiyan’s devastating blow; the other on how a house of an Oasis member was miraculously preserved while the whole neighborhood was affected, and two other testimonies about the way God promoted the lives of the members.
The congregation sang ‘Thank You Lord’ with these powerful and timely words: There’s a roof up above me, I’ve a good place to sleep. There’s food on my table and shoes on my feet… and a fine (spiritual and physical) family. A holy offering of thanksgiving followed.
A Thai guest invited by Pastor Soradej also testified and encouraged everyone to never stop testifying for the Lord. God gave her a dream about Oasis, whom she never knew about until that night. God also showed us much favour that night. A total of 220 people attended the event but the hotel only asked for payment of 200 people!
Pastor Soradej concluded the night with words of encouragement; to keep up the zeal not only in sharing the gospel, but in serving and testifying about God. The Thanksgiving Dinner was celebrated in its true form, a holy day of remembering and of thanking God’s faithfulness.
Written by Liza P
Hope Singapore - Project Sparkle
Project Sparkle is a community service initiative by Hope Singapore to serve the people in the community by cleaning and sprucing up their homes. Project Sparkle 2014 celebrates a resounding success blessing our neighbours at Kampong Glam and beyond!
On the first day of work in 2014, 40 staff and volunteers met at the Axis to pack and prepare for Project Sparkle over the weekend. As early as 8 o'clock in the morning on Saturday, 3 teams from the Uni-NS ministry were sent out to specific units that were infested with bedbugs. Even though it was a challenging feat, our brave brothers and sisters did not back out but persevered to the end. The Ablaze, Young Adult and the rest of the Uni-NS ministries gathered in the afternoon to bless the community together, going door-to-door offering their services as well. Some even travelled to Chinatown to bless the elderly with oranges!
More households were blessed on Sunday as our brothers and sisters from the Adults, Indonesian, Filipino and Mandarin services joined in, as did the children from Hopekids! Teacher Shuyan (in photo) from Hopekids shares her thanksgiving as she served: "One of the reasons why I'm still serving in kids ministries is to serve with them when they grow up! My little P1 kid, Angel Tan, has grown up to be a fine young lady who went around with us today to bless the residents with oranges!"
We were blessed in return by the life stories of the residents, the hospitality and love they showed as well. A sister from Adults met an award-winning photographer who travelled frequently to Europe for photo competitions, and was profiled in the papers in the 60's. He also shared with them his stash of photo treasures in his one-room flat! As shared by Cathy, a precious lesson she learned that day was "Don't dismiss the next old man you meet on the street. Everyone has a story to tell."
Regardless of how old we are, which nationality we are, we love because He first loved us and it is a decision we make every day of our lives. Project Sparkle 2014 was a testimony of different parts of the body of Christ serving together. The local media also took notice of our service this weekend. Indeed, Hope Church Singapore had lived out Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven."
Let's continue the spirit behind this initiative and make active decisions to be a blessing to the people around us as we are blessed by our God Almighty!
Written by Phoebe Toh Peiying
Hope Church, Singapore
Throughout the Christmas season in 2013, Hope KK organized two Christmas outreach services with the themes "J.O.Y." and "Glee" respectively, declaring the good news of great joy. There was a crowd of about 250 people who joined us throughout the two special occasions. The message focused on the angel's announcement of the good news of great joy in the town of David that a Savior shall be born. God knows that our greatest need is to be saved, and that is why He sent a Saviour who can save us from our sin. One can truly have the joy of the Lord by receiving the Jesus as his or her Lord and Saviour.
Towards the end of celebration, a response slip was distributed to the visitors. A number of them want to know the joy and peace of Jesus more in their lives. There were 6 salvations and re-dedication of lives to Jesus! The celebration was indeed filled with the joy of the Lord. Even though it was held during the night time and the celebration lasted until 11:00 pm, people were joyful in their fellowship with one another and enjoyed the great food.
In line with this festive occasion, we mobilized our church members to visit one home which houses poor children and one isolated village within the city of Kota Kinabalu. During our visit, we distributed food (rice, biscuit etc) and drinks to the people there. They were overjoyed in their hearts with the care and love shown to them. At the home with the poor children, we were asked to visit them again to mainly teach the children the Word of God to help them grow and mature in Christ.
As for the village we visited, our effort captured the eyes of the public that it went into the local newspaper highlighting that the love of God has actually propelled our church members to care for the needy. This is the salt and light ministry we as a church desire to continue to engage in every now and then, not just during the Christmas season. What the church has experienced has continued to set the stage for what is to come in 2014. It is our desire to see more souls to be saved through personal and mass evangelism, as well as salt and light ministry - making Christ known in our day. Amen and all glory to God.
Written by Pastor Anthony Ng, Hope Kota Kinabalu
Project Sparkle is a community service initiative by Hope Singapore to serve the people in the community by cleaning and sprucing up their homes. Project Sparkle 2014 celebrates a resounding success blessing our neighbours at Kampong Glam and beyond!
On the first day of work in 2014, 40 staff and volunteers met at the Axis to pack and prepare for Project Sparkle over the weekend. As early as 8 o'clock in the morning on Saturday, 3 teams from the Uni-NS ministry were sent out to specific units that were infested with bedbugs. Even though it was a challenging feat, our brave brothers and sisters did not back out but persevered to the end. The Ablaze, Young Adult and the rest of the Uni-NS ministries gathered in the afternoon to bless the community together, going door-to-door offering their services as well. Some even travelled to Chinatown to bless the elderly with oranges!
More households were blessed on Sunday as our brothers and sisters from the Adults, Indonesian, Filipino and Mandarin services joined in, as did the children from Hopekids! Teacher Shuyan (in photo) from Hopekids shares her thanksgiving as she served: "One of the reasons why I'm still serving in kids ministries is to serve with them when they grow up! My little P1 kid, Angel Tan, has grown up to be a fine young lady who went around with us today to bless the residents with oranges!"
We were blessed in return by the life stories of the residents, the hospitality and love they showed as well. A sister from Adults met an award-winning photographer who travelled frequently to Europe for photo competitions, and was profiled in the papers in the 60's. He also shared with them his stash of photo treasures in his one-room flat! As shared by Cathy, a precious lesson she learned that day was "Don't dismiss the next old man you meet on the street. Everyone has a story to tell."
Regardless of how old we are, which nationality we are, we love because He first loved us and it is a decision we make every day of our lives. Project Sparkle 2014 was a testimony of different parts of the body of Christ serving together. The local media also took notice of our service this weekend. Indeed, Hope Church Singapore had lived out Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven."
Let's continue the spirit behind this initiative and make active decisions to be a blessing to the people around us as we are blessed by our God Almighty!
Written by Phoebe Toh Peiying
Hope Church, Singapore
Throughout the Christmas season in 2013, Hope KK organized two Christmas outreach services with the themes "J.O.Y." and "Glee" respectively, declaring the good news of great joy. There was a crowd of about 250 people who joined us throughout the two special occasions. The message focused on the angel's announcement of the good news of great joy in the town of David that a Savior shall be born. God knows that our greatest need is to be saved, and that is why He sent a Saviour who can save us from our sin. One can truly have the joy of the Lord by receiving the Jesus as his or her Lord and Saviour.
Towards the end of celebration, a response slip was distributed to the visitors. A number of them want to know the joy and peace of Jesus more in their lives. There were 6 salvations and re-dedication of lives to Jesus! The celebration was indeed filled with the joy of the Lord. Even though it was held during the night time and the celebration lasted until 11:00 pm, people were joyful in their fellowship with one another and enjoyed the great food.
In line with this festive occasion, we mobilized our church members to visit one home which houses poor children and one isolated village within the city of Kota Kinabalu. During our visit, we distributed food (rice, biscuit etc) and drinks to the people there. They were overjoyed in their hearts with the care and love shown to them. At the home with the poor children, we were asked to visit them again to mainly teach the children the Word of God to help them grow and mature in Christ.
As for the village we visited, our effort captured the eyes of the public that it went into the local newspaper highlighting that the love of God has actually propelled our church members to care for the needy. This is the salt and light ministry we as a church desire to continue to engage in every now and then, not just during the Christmas season. What the church has experienced has continued to set the stage for what is to come in 2014. It is our desire to see more souls to be saved through personal and mass evangelism, as well as salt and light ministry - making Christ known in our day. Amen and all glory to God.
Written by Pastor Anthony Ng, Hope Kota Kinabalu
Hope Brisbane - Christmas 4 Kids
It was a bright and warm Saturday morning on 7 December 2013. About 700 people filled the Unidus Community Centre for Christmas 4 Kids. Christmas 4 Kids (C4K) is an annual event organised by Hands of Hope, the community arm of Hope Church Brisbane, to bless the community in the south-west suburbs of Brisbane.
This year's C4K, themed Around the World, celebrated the diversity of cultures in our midst. We saw a total of 227 adults and 254 kids. Kids were well entertained with a wide variety of activities for every age, including laser tag, jumping castle, fishing games, shoot the cans, pin the llama, tic-tac-toe and memory games.
A highlight of C4K was the musical, which portrayed the theme of true joy versus non-lasting joy, an apt theme for this season of festivities. For the first time, families were offered a choice of food from four food stalls, as opposed to only one type of food in previous years. Also, over 30 hampers were given out to families, whether during the lucky draw or personally in their homes. These hampers were kind donations from politicians and members of the church. All in all, it was a fun-filled, love-filled day, with an atmosphere of joy.
Hope Cambodia Christmas Celebration
This year’s Christmas was a very special one for us in Cambodia. It was the first time that our young believers in the community joined us in organizing the Christmas gathering. They helped in tasks from decorating the Christmas tree to leading games and even preparing food.
The party this year was held on 21st December (Saturday), and it was extra special because it coincided with the 1st spiritual birthday of one of our young believers. Some youths came together to make a cake for the birthday girl while others came early in the morning to prepare the food and decorate the place with balloons.
For many of the youths, it was their first time leading games, praise and worship and holy communion for our community gatherings. As such, they were all rather nervous but very excited. Our youths did a fantastic job leading games as everyone warmed up to each other playing games such as hitting ping pong balls using bottles hanging from our necks and apple stacking. After the games, we settled down and had a time of praise and worship before I started sharing the true meaning of Christmas.
We ended the gathering with a time of feasting! TH made Singaporean curry and we had local dishes like char kedao, homemade mushroom tempura and fries. We thoroughly enjoyed the food, the fellowship and the cold weather. The day wasn't over yet though. We finally surprised our birthday girl Linna with a homemade pumpkin cheesecake and as we shared the cake, she shared with everyone testimonies of God's goodness in her life.
Some of our visitors told us this is the first Christmas party they've attended and we pray that as they hear about the love of God for them, a seed has been sown and planted in their hearts. We also thank God for working in the hearts of the young believers to have the burden for the lost. May God continue to work in their lives to transform them to be more Christ-like and be a shiny testimony for Him in their families, schools and work place.
Blessings,
Chloe Chen Huijun Team Cambodia
Jamaica Missions In April 2013, Louis and Caroline Parmentier from Espoir – Quebec (Hope Church Montreal) went on vacation to Montego Bay, Jamaica. The couple who is French-speaking naturally shared their faith with the English-speaking hotel staff, taxi drivers and many were touched. Many repented of their sins and made commitments for Christ. Louis and Caroline kept in touch with nine new believers and started mentoring them over phone. They particularly focussed on four persons. An English-speaking church, Hope Church Hatfield UK offered to help with the follow-up process.
Our church in Montreal felt that is was necessary to go visit the new believers on-site in Jamaica. So we planned a short-term mission trip together with collaboration with Hope Church Hatfield. During November 7th to November 14th 2013, a team of 4 persons (Eldos from Hatfield, Eric, Louis and Caroline from Montreal) spent a week on-site helping Jamaican new believers to start a Christian fellowship. The mission team brought printed resources, Bibles and shared our lives to lead them into knowing God more through the reading of Scripture, praise and prayer. In April 2014, Louis and Caroline intend to visit the new fellowship again during their next vacation.
By Eric Hebert
It was a bright and warm Saturday morning on 7 December 2013. About 700 people filled the Unidus Community Centre for Christmas 4 Kids. Christmas 4 Kids (C4K) is an annual event organised by Hands of Hope, the community arm of Hope Church Brisbane, to bless the community in the south-west suburbs of Brisbane.
This year's C4K, themed Around the World, celebrated the diversity of cultures in our midst. We saw a total of 227 adults and 254 kids. Kids were well entertained with a wide variety of activities for every age, including laser tag, jumping castle, fishing games, shoot the cans, pin the llama, tic-tac-toe and memory games.
The party this year was held on 21st December (Saturday), and it was extra special because it coincided with the 1st spiritual birthday of one of our young believers. Some youths came together to make a cake for the birthday girl while others came early in the morning to prepare the food and decorate the place with balloons.
For many of the youths, it was their first time leading games, praise and worship and holy communion for our community gatherings. As such, they were all rather nervous but very excited. Our youths did a fantastic job leading games as everyone warmed up to each other playing games such as hitting ping pong balls using bottles hanging from our necks and apple stacking. After the games, we settled down and had a time of praise and worship before I started sharing the true meaning of Christmas.We ended the gathering with a time of feasting! TH made Singaporean curry and we had local dishes like char kedao, homemade mushroom tempura and fries. We thoroughly enjoyed the food, the fellowship and the cold weather. The day wasn't over yet though. We finally surprised our birthday girl Linna with a homemade pumpkin cheesecake and as we shared the cake, she shared with everyone testimonies of God's goodness in her life.
Some of our visitors told us this is the first Christmas party they've attended and we pray that as they hear about the love of God for them, a seed has been sown and planted in their hearts. We also thank God for working in the hearts of the young believers to have the burden for the lost. May God continue to work in their lives to transform them to be more Christ-like and be a shiny testimony for Him in their families, schools and work place.
Blessings,
Chloe Chen Huijun Team Cambodia
Hope Church Montreal Mission Trip to Jamaica
Jamaica Missions In April 2013, Louis and Caroline Parmentier from Espoir – Quebec (Hope Church Montreal) went on vacation to Montego Bay, Jamaica. The couple who is French-speaking naturally shared their faith with the English-speaking hotel staff, taxi drivers and many were touched. Many repented of their sins and made commitments for Christ. Louis and Caroline kept in touch with nine new believers and started mentoring them over phone. They particularly focussed on four persons. An English-speaking church, Hope Church Hatfield UK offered to help with the follow-up process.
Our church in Montreal felt that is was necessary to go visit the new believers on-site in Jamaica. So we planned a short-term mission trip together with collaboration with Hope Church Hatfield. During November 7th to November 14th 2013, a team of 4 persons (Eldos from Hatfield, Eric, Louis and Caroline from Montreal) spent a week on-site helping Jamaican new believers to start a Christian fellowship. The mission team brought printed resources, Bibles and shared our lives to lead them into knowing God more through the reading of Scripture, praise and prayer. In April 2014, Louis and Caroline intend to visit the new fellowship again during their next vacation.
By Eric Hebert
Hope Europe Leadership Conference
Hope Europe held its annual Europe Leadership Conference from 22-24 November, in a concert hall right in the very heart of Stuttgart, Germany on the theme Knowing God’s Will. With more than 200 delegates from different countries in Europe, we were privileged to have Ps Wilson Lim and Ps Lai Ling Lim from Hope Brisbane as our guest speakers.
Apart from learning from our speakers, one thing we wanted to achieve in this event was to seek God and hear from Him. Therefore, ample amount of time was allocated throughout the programme for the participants to soak in God’s presence and be ministered to by His Spirit through worship and prayer. Many lives were touched by words of encouragement and prophecies. One of the highlights was testimonies from leaders who honestly shared how they had overcome their personal problems. As a result, God restored them and they had been reconnected to Him. We learned form their stories that in order to hear from God, we have to get our hearts right with Him.
Ps Wilson and Ps Lai Ling’s visit to the UK
After the ELC, Ps Wilson and Ps Lai Ling visited four churches in Hope UK, starting with Hope London Central, Hope Hatfield, Hope London West and finishing their ministry in Hope Leeds. Apart from their powerful teachings, they ministered to leaders and members, many of whom were amazed by the precise messages from God that came to them.
Written by Pastor Prakich
Hope Europe held its annual Europe Leadership Conference from 22-24 November, in a concert hall right in the very heart of Stuttgart, Germany on the theme Knowing God’s Will. With more than 200 delegates from different countries in Europe, we were privileged to have Ps Wilson Lim and Ps Lai Ling Lim from Hope Brisbane as our guest speakers.
Apart from learning from our speakers, one thing we wanted to achieve in this event was to seek God and hear from Him. Therefore, ample amount of time was allocated throughout the programme for the participants to soak in God’s presence and be ministered to by His Spirit through worship and prayer. Many lives were touched by words of encouragement and prophecies. One of the highlights was testimonies from leaders who honestly shared how they had overcome their personal problems. As a result, God restored them and they had been reconnected to Him. We learned form their stories that in order to hear from God, we have to get our hearts right with Him.
Ps Wilson and Ps Lai Ling’s visit to the UK
After the ELC, Ps Wilson and Ps Lai Ling visited four churches in Hope UK, starting with Hope London Central, Hope Hatfield, Hope London West and finishing their ministry in Hope Leeds. Apart from their powerful teachings, they ministered to leaders and members, many of whom were amazed by the precise messages from God that came to them.
Written by Pastor Prakich
Hope Taipei Christmas Celebration
On December 21st of 2013, Hope Taipei gathered to celebrate Christmas with a praise and worship concert with the theme "Are you different, today?" 120 people attended the event, including 70 visitors; many of whom were first time visitors. 2 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, and many were stirred in their hearts by the songs, testimonies and the message shared.
The planning and preparation for the event started more than two months earlier. Through a "3 by 3" system of prayer, the whole church was encouraged to pray together and individually for specific friends and family members. A group of 12 brothers and sisters formed a choir for the first time, and practiced for the event every weekend leading up to the event. Most of them have never performed on stage before, but accepted the challenge with great enthusiasm. The choir became a highlight of the event, as they sang and danced joyfully, praising and worshipping God.
The event was held at Star Gallery in Taipei Arena, the largest indoor concert arena of Taipei. Star Gallery is a smaller function room within Taipei Arena but it was the largest room used by the church, and marked a record breaking attendance for our church thus far.
The children's church had their own event at the same time. They watched a musical "Seven Little Lambs", and through the story and the songs, the love of Jesus was shared.
Overall, the event was a great success to the glory of God. The whole church worked together to share the love of Christ and preach the gospel. There is no limit to what God can do through us, as we work together to build His Kingdom. We are hopeful that next year, we will see a greater harvest.
It was a meaningful Christmas for Hope Quito, Ecuador this year. We organized a water baptism for the poor Christian families in Pan de Vida last Saturday as many of them have never taken the Holy Communion or been through water baptism before. Many of our church members have been helping and teaching the Bible to these poor families for the past 3 years. It is such a joy to see the needier Christians grow in God and follow Jesus more.
The next day, we had a Christmas thanksgiving dinner in church. Before the dinner, I gave a Christmas message about the birth of Jesus, and how He is fully man and God at the same time. There was also a child dedication ceremony for 3 children in church. We prayed for the children and blessed the family so that the children can grow up in the ways of God.
Then we had games, Christmas carols and gifts for the children too. One of the highlights was the Christmas turkey roasted by one of the church members, Agus who is a professional chef. He prepared 7 different sauces for the turkey and it was really delicious. We had one of the best Christmas dinner in church.
Blank Christmas cards were made and everyone had one each to write words of encouragement for one another. The church also prepared a special thanksgiving card for my wife, Peiru and I. A thanksgiving video of what God has been doing in our church in 2013 was shown too. The fun-loving Ecuadorians ended the night with music and dance. We thank God that 3 visitors came to know Jesus for the first time that night.
Written by Timothy Ho Shen Teng, Hope Quito, Ecuador
On December 21st of 2013, Hope Taipei gathered to celebrate Christmas with a praise and worship concert with the theme "Are you different, today?" 120 people attended the event, including 70 visitors; many of whom were first time visitors. 2 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, and many were stirred in their hearts by the songs, testimonies and the message shared.
The planning and preparation for the event started more than two months earlier. Through a "3 by 3" system of prayer, the whole church was encouraged to pray together and individually for specific friends and family members. A group of 12 brothers and sisters formed a choir for the first time, and practiced for the event every weekend leading up to the event. Most of them have never performed on stage before, but accepted the challenge with great enthusiasm. The choir became a highlight of the event, as they sang and danced joyfully, praising and worshipping God.
The event was held at Star Gallery in Taipei Arena, the largest indoor concert arena of Taipei. Star Gallery is a smaller function room within Taipei Arena but it was the largest room used by the church, and marked a record breaking attendance for our church thus far.
The children's church had their own event at the same time. They watched a musical "Seven Little Lambs", and through the story and the songs, the love of Jesus was shared.Overall, the event was a great success to the glory of God. The whole church worked together to share the love of Christ and preach the gospel. There is no limit to what God can do through us, as we work together to build His Kingdom. We are hopeful that next year, we will see a greater harvest.
It was a meaningful Christmas for Hope Quito, Ecuador this year. We organized a water baptism for the poor Christian families in Pan de Vida last Saturday as many of them have never taken the Holy Communion or been through water baptism before. Many of our church members have been helping and teaching the Bible to these poor families for the past 3 years. It is such a joy to see the needier Christians grow in God and follow Jesus more.The next day, we had a Christmas thanksgiving dinner in church. Before the dinner, I gave a Christmas message about the birth of Jesus, and how He is fully man and God at the same time. There was also a child dedication ceremony for 3 children in church. We prayed for the children and blessed the family so that the children can grow up in the ways of God.
Then we had games, Christmas carols and gifts for the children too. One of the highlights was the Christmas turkey roasted by one of the church members, Agus who is a professional chef. He prepared 7 different sauces for the turkey and it was really delicious. We had one of the best Christmas dinner in church.
Blank Christmas cards were made and everyone had one each to write words of encouragement for one another. The church also prepared a special thanksgiving card for my wife, Peiru and I. A thanksgiving video of what God has been doing in our church in 2013 was shown too. The fun-loving Ecuadorians ended the night with music and dance. We thank God that 3 visitors came to know Jesus for the first time that night.
Written by Timothy Ho Shen Teng, Hope Quito, Ecuador
Hope Chicago Christmas Celebration- After Much Prayer
Hope Chicago Church celebrated Christmas on Dec 15th, 2013, with the theme "The Meaning of Christmas". Our guest speaker for this event was Pastor Ben and Pastor Dinah from Singapore who came to visit us once again. God touched many lives to join our event. We had 104 people at our celebration. At the response, 10 persons came forward to accept Christ as their Saviour and Lord that day.
It all started with prayer. In early September, the Lord stirred up the hearts of our brothers and sisters to seek more of His face. Since then we devoted more of our ministry time to prayer. Several prayer campaigns were launched in our church. This includes 21-day Daniel Fast, prayer walk, prayer drive, and our intercessory prayer on Sat mornings (Upper Room Team).
Through prayer, the atmosphere in the church started to shift. We began to experience more of God's presence in our worship service, our life groups, and our intercessory prayer sessions. God also released visions and word of prophecy through our Upper Room team. We also witnessed healings in our midst. One sister in the church had uneven arm lengths which caused chronic back pain. Her right arm was a half-inch shorter than her left arm. When we laid hands on her and prayed, her right arm began to visibly extend until it was even.
Evangelism was ignited in our church. As we planned for the Christmas celebration in November, we set the goal of 100 attenders. This was far beyond our past Christmas services highest attendance of 50 people. So this was a step of faith. Our team passionately invited friends to come. Our new believer whom God healed her uneven arms had 23 guests present.
Our brothers and sisters literally prayed for each guest a week before the event. On Sat morning the Dec 14th, Pastors Ben and Dinah joined in prayer with our Upper Room Team. During intercession, Pastor Dinah encouraged us through the scripture in Ephesians 3:20 -"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us". Our team were encouraged by the Word and believed that Christ is able to do more than what we ask of Him.
Our Christmas celebration on Dec 15th was so special as we reached new heights of overcoming the 100-people barrier for the first time. Our prayer had been answered. The majority of guests came at 10:30 am for the service and two-thirds stayed till almost 5 pm for lunch and afternoon programme. Many non-believer guests responded to the powerful and clear Christmas message by Pastor Ben. Ten persons committed their lives to Christ. A couple who are supervisors at Thai Consulate Chicago told us they were impacted by the Christmas message and now want to explore Christianity.
It also brought us joy knowing that our 50 non-believer guests had the opportunity to hear the Gospel message for the first time. We believe that the seed of the Word of God will not return to Him empty. Glory be to the Lord. Thanks Pastors Ben and Dinah for coming to visit and bless Hope Chicago Church
Pastor David Nattawut (Hope Chicago Church)
Hope Seattle Evangelism Training
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Witnessing in Seattle
Hope Seattle church has been so blessed by our brother Eric Hebert from December 6th to December 23rd 2013. He came all the way from our Montreal church to teach and equip us on evangelism. The purpose of this three-week campaign was to build up towards July 2014 North America Annual Convention which will be focused on outreach.
Eric imparted to us the excitement and enthusiasm on seeing people get saved. In the past two weeks there were about 60 people that we evangelised to on the street, even in this cold and rainy season. Many trainers have been equipped and now more people are eager to share the Gospel. Praise God.
By Warinda Bongkokmart
In the past two weeks Hope Seattle church members went in pairs to the streets to reach people and share the message of Christ. New Testaments were given to the people we met. Extensive training for church members included practical sessions on the streets where they practiced what they learned. The objective was to encourage church members to develop an everyday evangelism lifestyle by equipping them with a clear and efficient way to explain God’s salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. From the very first week, we saw results and once again God proved His faithfulness: “The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed” Mark 16: 19.
By Eric Hebert
Our very first Hope Peninsula Conference (HPC) was held in the historical town of Malacca from 28 November to 1 December 2013. More than 1055 adults and 200 children from Northern, Central and Southern region of Malaysia packed the historic hall called “Dewan Hang Tuah” for four days of the convention. The main theme of the convention was Harvest. This convention touched on God’s Harvest, God’s workers and harvesters. It was a great time for our hearts to be lit with the passion to be harvesters, disciples and children of God in our country.
During this convention, we saw four men of God speak with such passion and hunger for the Harvest. Pastor Simon Eng launched the HPC through a preaching about God’s heartbeat for His harvest. On the second day, Pastor Denis Lu shared the importance of being harvesters who labour for souls. On the third day, Ps Moses shared the importance in sowing in the right things to reap His harvest. It was truly a privilege to have Dr. Greg Paek from Global Partners to preach two sermons from his heart about the church exhibiting the power of God and being missional wherever we are.
Besides the great historic walks and local treats and cuisine, this convention truly blessed the hearts of many, igniting the flames to be a true disciple and a labourer for His harvest.
Last but not least, let us read the exhortations from our pastors as we embark on a our journey of harvest with the Lord!
“Harvest is about souls, because souls are lost and God's heart cries out for souls to come back to Him. God sends us out. God sends us as His people, as His church to see that the harvest would have an opportunity to really come back to God. God's crying out for souls to return back to Him because He has a heart of compassion. I urge us as God's people, as the church, let's really look at the harvest and believe God. Go out there and evangelize. Let's believe God that souls will come back to Jesus.”
Pastor Simon Eng, HIM President
“I hope you had a great time at HPC and I believe that this is an important time for us, not only to hear what God has to say to us and from this, God is opening for us His wonderful plan. So as you go back home, it is a time for us to move into the harvest. Let's believe that it is possible with God because God is backing you up all the way and so all the best until the next time we meet.”
Pastor Denis Lu, Regional Pastor, Eastern Region
“We believe this is the time for Malaysia. I know Jesus is the Lord of the harvest and He is sending us out to reap. Let's believe in the days to come, that we shall see all our churches experience breakthrough, experience growth, for God's grace has come upon us. Let's arise for our country, for God's Kingdom to spread the Gospel, believing the harvest will be upon our churches.”
Pastor Kwong Lie, Regional Pastor, Southern Region
“I want to congratulate all of you for the last four days and three nights. I believe it has been a life-changing experience as all the harvesters from the different churches came and gathered here in this historical city of Malacca. I want to really encourage and pray that as we go back to our local churches, bring the message of God in your heart, because God has put you to be His ambassador right where you are. Notice that when God calls us to serve Him in His purpose, He will empower us with His anointing, with His Holy Spirit and the ability that comes from Him. I want to really pray that all of you will find your purpose in God, continue to serve in your local church and be fruitful right where you are. We can change the world! We can change the lives of people for eternity. Thank you once again for giving your life to the Lord and serving together in this big family in Hope Church. God bless all of you.”
Pastor Moses Wan, Regional Pastor, Central Region
First Hope Peninsula Conference Philippines
Hope Brisbane sent a team to Vietnam for medical mission from 14th September 2013 to 21st September 2013. The team consisted of 2 General Practitioners, 1 Orthopaedic Surgeon, 1 Pharmacist, 1 Physiotherapist and 2 Registered Nurses.
This is the second team from Brisbane to be sent to Vietnam. Dr Luke Soong’s team who went last year helped prepare the way and assisted us with our preparations. May Cheung (Missions Coordinator) and Chen Chee Foo (Team Leader) got us ready to beat with one heart beat. As a result, our team worked tremendously well together as we cared for each other and our patients. Great company all round!
Fundraising for medicine
The team raised over AUD10,000 from friends, family, colleagues, medical businesses, professional networks and patients. This was mainly through direct giving and our “Spring Roll Drive” which sold 1170 spring rolls.
The medications bought include: Paracetamol, multivitamins (both adults and children), vitamin C, band-aids, antibiotics, deworming tablets, and many others. Some generic items were put into the gift packs for the villagers. A total of 1300 gift packs were given away. Each gift pack had 9 band-aids, a sheet of 10 Paracetamol, a sheet of Multivitamins, and Vitamins C for both adults and children. Milk was also given to the children with the children's gift pack.
A total of 1011 patients in 4 days medical clinic
Places in which the Medical Clinics were held over the four days included:-
1. Phước Mỹ Trung, Mỏ Cày Bắc in Bến Tre, total number of patients seen were 245.
2. Châu Thành District in Bến Tre Province - 242 patients were treated.
3. Gò Công Đông (Tiền Giang Province) - 217 patients were seen.
4. Cù Lao Đất Island, An Hiệp, Bến Tre, total of 307 patients were seen.
In total 1011 people were treated, with the majority of them being adults. Over the 4 days, 385 tests for blood glucose were done. Some new cases of diabetes were diagnosed, some less than optimal control of glucose levels were detected. 1 pregnancy test was done, and a suspected pregnancy was confirmed. A few Urinary Tract Infections were confirmed by the urinalysis strips.
The medical team received 4 appreciation awards
The Team received 4 appreciation awards from different locations, appeared on the local TV news, and newspaper. At the last location, the Regional Pastor, Pastor Dung, was asked to address the crowd at the opening ceremony of the clinic, with the presence of the government officers. This had not happened before. The team was told that they were wanted back in the future!
Our team of seven people were supported by eight local Vietnamese people who provided logistic support, networking, security, interpreter services, and hard manual labour as we loaded and unloaded patient gift packs and medications. Best of all, they knew where to find delicious Vietnamese food! Great friendships were developed as we served the Lord together.
"The trip exceeded our expectations as God answered prayers every day, from the small stuff like the weather to the huge stuff like Pastor Dung being allowed to welcome the patients on Day Four. It was completely exhausting emotionally, spiritually and physically. We had feasting as well as famine. We had scary toilets. We had green urine. We had a severe drenching on the ferry. We had complex medical needs where we felt totally inadequate. We had sweet elderly patients thanking us. What an adventure!!! We hope that God continues to stir in our hearts and your hearts this desire to reach out and share the love of God in this practical way'. Testimony by Dr Linh Cheung
Hope Philippines Church celebrated its’ 16th Anniversary on August 11, 2013, with the theme “Connect with Jesus.” Our guest speaker for this event was Ps. James Loke from Singapore who came and visit us once again. God touched many lives to join our event, we were over 350 in our celebration. There were many who came to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord that day.
As Christians, we become sons and daughters of God, therefore co-heirs with Christ Jesus. However, as we live our daily lives here on Earth, we sometimes veer away from the palm of God and engage ourselves in worldly activities. At this point, we tend to lose focus on God and instead focus on things we love to do such as work, studies, business, families, friends etc.
Our theme “Connect with Jesus” reminds us that God’s grace was sent out to save us from our sins. Christians are saved from the eternal damnation when Jesus Christ died for our sins on the Cross. We then renew our love for God by dedicating our lives for Him and to Him. We were born to do the will of our Lord God, by reconnecting with Jesus, we are reminded of that purpose.
Written by Renee, Hope Manila
Hope Cambodia First Water Baptism Ceremony
On 9th of November marks a milestone for Hope Cambodia as we held our first water baptism ceremony with six Cambodian believers taking the step of faith and obedience to be water baptised.
The event coincided with the visit of some families from Hope Church Singapore who gamely offered to help out and join the event. Everyone, including parents with their young children in tow, woke up early to set up chairs, decorate the place with balloons and help fill the inflatable pool with water. What a sight to see a line of fathers and young children form a human chain to pass buckets of water from the tap to the pool while the mothers mop up after them!
There was an audience of about 50 altogether, a delightful mix of Singaporeans and Cambodians. Two of our baptisees, Socheata and Linna, even invited their mothers to witness the event. When they first received Christ last year, their mothers were not approving. On this day, however, their mothers were present and proudly listening to their testimonies. Socheata’s mother even went home after the event and happily told her neighbours about Socheata’s baptism! The local Cambodians and Singaporean brothers and sisters had a great time getting to know each other, and encouraging each other. A really delightful mix of the (spiritually and physically) young and old!
One of the young believers, Sodath also shared his testimony of how God gave him purpose in his life. Just a few months ago, he was still getting into gang fights and was caught by the police twice. He had also skipped school for about 2 years then. But now after knowing God, he has decided to leave the gang and has started going back to school since October. He even shared about Christ to his gangster friends as he has a great burden for them, whose life he now knows has no purpose without God.
Indeed in a Buddhist country where Buddhist culture has a very strong presence, we thank God for His amazing work in the lives of these young believers who have such child-like faith. From just telling their classmates that they are Christians and being laughed at / ostracized, to being able to invite their friends and even their mothers to witness them take the step of faith and obedience to be water baptised and hearing them share their testimonies. We are just in awe of God. Indeed we have a great and wonderful God! May God continue to use this community of believers to extend His Kingdom to the ends of Cambodia and beyond! God bless!
Chloe Chen Huijun Team Cambodia
Matthew 28:19-20
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Hope Chicago Church celebrated Christmas on Dec 15th, 2013, with the theme "The Meaning of Christmas". Our guest speaker for this event was Pastor Ben and Pastor Dinah from Singapore who came to visit us once again. God touched many lives to join our event. We had 104 people at our celebration. At the response, 10 persons came forward to accept Christ as their Saviour and Lord that day. It all started with prayer. In early September, the Lord stirred up the hearts of our brothers and sisters to seek more of His face. Since then we devoted more of our ministry time to prayer. Several prayer campaigns were launched in our church. This includes 21-day Daniel Fast, prayer walk, prayer drive, and our intercessory prayer on Sat mornings (Upper Room Team).
Through prayer, the atmosphere in the church started to shift. We began to experience more of God's presence in our worship service, our life groups, and our intercessory prayer sessions. God also released visions and word of prophecy through our Upper Room team. We also witnessed healings in our midst. One sister in the church had uneven arm lengths which caused chronic back pain. Her right arm was a half-inch shorter than her left arm. When we laid hands on her and prayed, her right arm began to visibly extend until it was even.
Our brothers and sisters literally prayed for each guest a week before the event. On Sat morning the Dec 14th, Pastors Ben and Dinah joined in prayer with our Upper Room Team. During intercession, Pastor Dinah encouraged us through the scripture in Ephesians 3:20 -"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us". Our team were encouraged by the Word and believed that Christ is able to do more than what we ask of Him.
It also brought us joy knowing that our 50 non-believer guests had the opportunity to hear the Gospel message for the first time. We believe that the seed of the Word of God will not return to Him empty. Glory be to the Lord. Thanks Pastors Ben and Dinah for coming to visit and bless Hope Chicago Church
Pastor David Nattawut (Hope Chicago Church)
Hope Seattle Evangelism Training
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Witnessing in Seattle
Hope Seattle church has been so blessed by our brother Eric Hebert from December 6th to December 23rd 2013. He came all the way from our Montreal church to teach and equip us on evangelism. The purpose of this three-week campaign was to build up towards July 2014 North America Annual Convention which will be focused on outreach.
Eric imparted to us the excitement and enthusiasm on seeing people get saved. In the past two weeks there were about 60 people that we evangelised to on the street, even in this cold and rainy season. Many trainers have been equipped and now more people are eager to share the Gospel. Praise God.
By Warinda Bongkokmart
By Eric Hebert
First Hope Peninsula Conference Philippines
Our very first Hope Peninsula Conference (HPC) was held in the historical town of Malacca from 28 November to 1 December 2013. More than 1055 adults and 200 children from Northern, Central and Southern region of Malaysia packed the historic hall called “Dewan Hang Tuah” for four days of the convention. The main theme of the convention was Harvest. This convention touched on God’s Harvest, God’s workers and harvesters. It was a great time for our hearts to be lit with the passion to be harvesters, disciples and children of God in our country.
During this convention, we saw four men of God speak with such passion and hunger for the Harvest. Pastor Simon Eng launched the HPC through a preaching about God’s heartbeat for His harvest. On the second day, Pastor Denis Lu shared the importance of being harvesters who labour for souls. On the third day, Ps Moses shared the importance in sowing in the right things to reap His harvest. It was truly a privilege to have Dr. Greg Paek from Global Partners to preach two sermons from his heart about the church exhibiting the power of God and being missional wherever we are.
Besides the great historic walks and local treats and cuisine, this convention truly blessed the hearts of many, igniting the flames to be a true disciple and a labourer for His harvest.
Last but not least, let us read the exhortations from our pastors as we embark on a our journey of harvest with the Lord!
“Harvest is about souls, because souls are lost and God's heart cries out for souls to come back to Him. God sends us out. God sends us as His people, as His church to see that the harvest would have an opportunity to really come back to God. God's crying out for souls to return back to Him because He has a heart of compassion. I urge us as God's people, as the church, let's really look at the harvest and believe God. Go out there and evangelize. Let's believe God that souls will come back to Jesus.”
Pastor Simon Eng, HIM President
“I hope you had a great time at HPC and I believe that this is an important time for us, not only to hear what God has to say to us and from this, God is opening for us His wonderful plan. So as you go back home, it is a time for us to move into the harvest. Let's believe that it is possible with God because God is backing you up all the way and so all the best until the next time we meet.”
Pastor Denis Lu, Regional Pastor, Eastern Region
“We believe this is the time for Malaysia. I know Jesus is the Lord of the harvest and He is sending us out to reap. Let's believe in the days to come, that we shall see all our churches experience breakthrough, experience growth, for God's grace has come upon us. Let's arise for our country, for God's Kingdom to spread the Gospel, believing the harvest will be upon our churches.”
Pastor Kwong Lie, Regional Pastor, Southern Region
“I want to congratulate all of you for the last four days and three nights. I believe it has been a life-changing experience as all the harvesters from the different churches came and gathered here in this historical city of Malacca. I want to really encourage and pray that as we go back to our local churches, bring the message of God in your heart, because God has put you to be His ambassador right where you are. Notice that when God calls us to serve Him in His purpose, He will empower us with His anointing, with His Holy Spirit and the ability that comes from Him. I want to really pray that all of you will find your purpose in God, continue to serve in your local church and be fruitful right where you are. We can change the world! We can change the lives of people for eternity. Thank you once again for giving your life to the Lord and serving together in this big family in Hope Church. God bless all of you.”
Pastor Moses Wan, Regional Pastor, Central Region
First Hope Peninsula Conference Philippines
Hope Brisbane sent a team to Vietnam for medical mission from 14th September 2013 to 21st September 2013. The team consisted of 2 General Practitioners, 1 Orthopaedic Surgeon, 1 Pharmacist, 1 Physiotherapist and 2 Registered Nurses.
This is the second team from Brisbane to be sent to Vietnam. Dr Luke Soong’s team who went last year helped prepare the way and assisted us with our preparations. May Cheung (Missions Coordinator) and Chen Chee Foo (Team Leader) got us ready to beat with one heart beat. As a result, our team worked tremendously well together as we cared for each other and our patients. Great company all round!
Fundraising for medicine
The team raised over AUD10,000 from friends, family, colleagues, medical businesses, professional networks and patients. This was mainly through direct giving and our “Spring Roll Drive” which sold 1170 spring rolls.
The medications bought include: Paracetamol, multivitamins (both adults and children), vitamin C, band-aids, antibiotics, deworming tablets, and many others. Some generic items were put into the gift packs for the villagers. A total of 1300 gift packs were given away. Each gift pack had 9 band-aids, a sheet of 10 Paracetamol, a sheet of Multivitamins, and Vitamins C for both adults and children. Milk was also given to the children with the children's gift pack.
Places in which the Medical Clinics were held over the four days included:-
1. Phước Mỹ Trung, Mỏ Cày Bắc in Bến Tre, total number of patients seen were 245.
2. Châu Thành District in Bến Tre Province - 242 patients were treated.
3. Gò Công Đông (Tiền Giang Province) - 217 patients were seen.
4. Cù Lao Đất Island, An Hiệp, Bến Tre, total of 307 patients were seen.
In total 1011 people were treated, with the majority of them being adults. Over the 4 days, 385 tests for blood glucose were done. Some new cases of diabetes were diagnosed, some less than optimal control of glucose levels were detected. 1 pregnancy test was done, and a suspected pregnancy was confirmed. A few Urinary Tract Infections were confirmed by the urinalysis strips.
The medical team received 4 appreciation awards
The Team received 4 appreciation awards from different locations, appeared on the local TV news, and newspaper. At the last location, the Regional Pastor, Pastor Dung, was asked to address the crowd at the opening ceremony of the clinic, with the presence of the government officers. This had not happened before. The team was told that they were wanted back in the future!Our team of seven people were supported by eight local Vietnamese people who provided logistic support, networking, security, interpreter services, and hard manual labour as we loaded and unloaded patient gift packs and medications. Best of all, they knew where to find delicious Vietnamese food! Great friendships were developed as we served the Lord together.
"The trip exceeded our expectations as God answered prayers every day, from the small stuff like the weather to the huge stuff like Pastor Dung being allowed to welcome the patients on Day Four. It was completely exhausting emotionally, spiritually and physically. We had feasting as well as famine. We had scary toilets. We had green urine. We had a severe drenching on the ferry. We had complex medical needs where we felt totally inadequate. We had sweet elderly patients thanking us. What an adventure!!! We hope that God continues to stir in our hearts and your hearts this desire to reach out and share the love of God in this practical way'. Testimony by Dr Linh Cheung 
Report by Bin Sim Law (Register Nurse)
Hope Philippines 16th Anniversary
Hope Philippines Church celebrated its’ 16th Anniversary on August 11, 2013, with the theme “Connect with Jesus.” Our guest speaker for this event was Ps. James Loke from Singapore who came and visit us once again. God touched many lives to join our event, we were over 350 in our celebration. There were many who came to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord that day.
As Christians, we become sons and daughters of God, therefore co-heirs with Christ Jesus. However, as we live our daily lives here on Earth, we sometimes veer away from the palm of God and engage ourselves in worldly activities. At this point, we tend to lose focus on God and instead focus on things we love to do such as work, studies, business, families, friends etc.
Written by Renee, Hope Manila
Hope Cambodia First Water Baptism Ceremony
On 9th of November marks a milestone for Hope Cambodia as we held our first water baptism ceremony with six Cambodian believers taking the step of faith and obedience to be water baptised.
The event coincided with the visit of some families from Hope Church Singapore who gamely offered to help out and join the event. Everyone, including parents with their young children in tow, woke up early to set up chairs, decorate the place with balloons and help fill the inflatable pool with water. What a sight to see a line of fathers and young children form a human chain to pass buckets of water from the tap to the pool while the mothers mop up after them!
There was an audience of about 50 altogether, a delightful mix of Singaporeans and Cambodians. Two of our baptisees, Socheata and Linna, even invited their mothers to witness the event. When they first received Christ last year, their mothers were not approving. On this day, however, their mothers were present and proudly listening to their testimonies. Socheata’s mother even went home after the event and happily told her neighbours about Socheata’s baptism! The local Cambodians and Singaporean brothers and sisters had a great time getting to know each other, and encouraging each other. A really delightful mix of the (spiritually and physically) young and old!
One of the young believers, Sodath also shared his testimony of how God gave him purpose in his life. Just a few months ago, he was still getting into gang fights and was caught by the police twice. He had also skipped school for about 2 years then. But now after knowing God, he has decided to leave the gang and has started going back to school since October. He even shared about Christ to his gangster friends as he has a great burden for them, whose life he now knows has no purpose without God.
Indeed in a Buddhist country where Buddhist culture has a very strong presence, we thank God for His amazing work in the lives of these young believers who have such child-like faith. From just telling their classmates that they are Christians and being laughed at / ostracized, to being able to invite their friends and even their mothers to witness them take the step of faith and obedience to be water baptised and hearing them share their testimonies. We are just in awe of God. Indeed we have a great and wonderful God! May God continue to use this community of believers to extend His Kingdom to the ends of Cambodia and beyond! God bless!
Chloe Chen Huijun Team Cambodia
Matthew 28:19-20
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Pastoral Visit to Hope Peru 2013
The visit by Pastor Jeff and Timothy was really a blessing. We had the opportunity to share two memorable days with them in the presence of God and His community. On Saturday, we had a fellowship time. We went to a nice place in Ñaña, Chosica. We played games that we hadn’t played for a long time. We played soccer, volleyball, sang praise songs to the Lord on a sunny day and Timothy played the guitar for us.
The following day, Timothy shared an important message about WHAT A REAL CHRIST’S COMMUNITY IS ABOUT. We learned that “Church” is not a building where everybody sit formally and follow rituals only. We learned that the Church IS ALIVE! That’s the kind of Church community God desires for us. Timothy also shared his testimony on how he came to join Hope Singapore and how he decided to be a blessing to others instead of being blessed!
We were encouraged to be a blessing to others, to love others, to have one same love for the church. After that wonderful message, we received more of the Word of God through Ps. Jeff who shared with us on becoming a TRUE CHRISTIAN. God has not called us just to be mere believers but also to become DISCIPLES and DISCIPLE MAKERS! He shared his testimony on how he faithfully served in the church by shifting the speakers and folding bulletins. He told us that “the hand is connected to the heart” meaning that all that our hand touches, our heart feels! We were challenged to serve faithfully and feel for the church in everything we do! He also encouraged us to be disciples and disciple makers, to spend time with our fellow brothers and sisters and FEED THEM WITH THE WORD OF GOD!
Written by Andrew Teoh, Hope Peru
Hope Kuching Mission Trip to Pontianak, Indonesia
There is so much to share about our mission to the city of Pontianak. We want to share the burden in our hearts to go forth from Sarawak to the nations to fulfill the Great Commission.
After our marriage in 2006, our first child came along within a year. The thought of mission became a distant dream. Then, three more years into our marriage, we had our third child and the prospect of mission just seemed impossible. But our God is a God of all possibilities.
A year later, God impressed upon our hearts to look beyond Sarawak to our neighbouring country. That was when we decided to visit the city of Pontianak, Indonesia. Our first mission trip was with a group of working adults fromHope Kuching. We decided to charter a van to visit Pontianak. It was an unpleasant 8-hour ride on rough and bumpy terrain. We were so glad that our three children took the entire trip with ease. This is how we knew that God had shown His favour to us during the mission trip.
Our mission exploration trip was over 5 days and our team was mobilised to reach out to our seed contact, to touch those in the orphanage and old folks’ home. At the end of the mission trip, we were so excited in our spirit by God’s blessings and we eagerly shared our experience with Hope Kuching members. Out of this sharing, the prayer momentum over the land of Pontianak began to build up until today. Amazingly, within the last 2 years, our key contact in Pontianak have been blessed with a Parenting Course as well as Life Group gatherings and visitations to Orphanages. These were only made possible with the many different homogeneous groupings supporting mission trips to Pontianak.
On our recent trip in October 2013, the senior family in their 60’s joined us. The Senior Family unit, embracing the spirit of Caleb, has proven that age is no barrier to conquering the land for God. In fact, God in His great wisdom has prepared challenges so unique for us to experience. These experiences included being detained by immigration and the police. This is how one senior family member, Uncle Chan, described the encounter:-
“ On our way to the equator, after crossing a bridge, all of the sudden, a traffic policeman over took our car and flagged us down. Daniel showed him his document and driving license. Then, he asked Daniel to follow him to the police station. We started praying in tongues in the car. I prayed in my heart the same prayer when Daniel was held back at the immigration department. The bridge that we were travelling on was only open for motorcycles. This was because 2 months before, a passing ship had accidentally knocked the pillars and the bridge was then under repair.... We had been praying inside the car for about 20 minutes, when Mina and Mrs Lai went into the police station. The traffic police wanted to file charges and fine Daniel but there was an officer of a higher rank in the office. With prayer and petition to the Lord, the higher-rank officer's heart was softened and finally let Daniel off. Then Sis Mina and Puan Lai said "Terima Kasih Tuan" (thank you, Sir) to the officer, Praise the Lord. Everything went well and we knew that God's hand was upon this trip. We have stronger faith after each incident.”
Even though the obstacles kept presenting themselves each trip, we believe that they will only strengthen our faith. We are glad that God’s burden to go forth from Sarawak is not just for us but involves many aspects of our Church, the brothers and sisters in Christ in Hope Kuching and our key contact in Pontianak. Praise and glory to God for His wonders and we urge you to keep the city of Pontianak in prayer. We will be going on another mission trip to Pontianak from 6th -8th December with a group of working adults. We would like to see the seed group to be strengthened and continue to meet so that eventually, we will be able to plant a Hope Pontianak.
Daniel and Mina, Hope Kuching
The visit by Pastor Jeff and Timothy was really a blessing. We had the opportunity to share two memorable days with them in the presence of God and His community. On Saturday, we had a fellowship time. We went to a nice place in Ñaña, Chosica. We played games that we hadn’t played for a long time. We played soccer, volleyball, sang praise songs to the Lord on a sunny day and Timothy played the guitar for us.
We enjoyed a delicious “Pachamanca” (an underground meal), prepared by the faithful women of our Hope Lima Church! Our pastors enjoyed the food very much, as it was their first time trying this delicious Peruvian dish. This outing helped us to create an even stronger bond among the church members and visitors. All of us in the community were very blessed.
The following day, Timothy shared an important message about WHAT A REAL CHRIST’S COMMUNITY IS ABOUT. We learned that “Church” is not a building where everybody sit formally and follow rituals only. We learned that the Church IS ALIVE! That’s the kind of Church community God desires for us. Timothy also shared his testimony on how he came to join Hope Singapore and how he decided to be a blessing to others instead of being blessed!
We were encouraged to be a blessing to others, to love others, to have one same love for the church. After that wonderful message, we received more of the Word of God through Ps. Jeff who shared with us on becoming a TRUE CHRISTIAN. God has not called us just to be mere believers but also to become DISCIPLES and DISCIPLE MAKERS! He shared his testimony on how he faithfully served in the church by shifting the speakers and folding bulletins. He told us that “the hand is connected to the heart” meaning that all that our hand touches, our heart feels! We were challenged to serve faithfully and feel for the church in everything we do! He also encouraged us to be disciples and disciple makers, to spend time with our fellow brothers and sisters and FEED THEM WITH THE WORD OF GOD!
We were truly impacted by the teachings and testimonies of our pastors. We could see that their lives were transformed by Christ. We are so thankful to Ps. Jeff and Timothy! May God bless them so that they can continue travelling around the world to encourage our brothers and sisters EVERYWHERE! May God enlighten them more as they continue to share His Gospel that brings salvation and transformation of lives!
Written by Andrew Teoh, Hope Peru
Hope Kuching Mission Trip to Pontianak, Indonesia
There is so much to share about our mission to the city of Pontianak. We want to share the burden in our hearts to go forth from Sarawak to the nations to fulfill the Great Commission.
After our marriage in 2006, our first child came along within a year. The thought of mission became a distant dream. Then, three more years into our marriage, we had our third child and the prospect of mission just seemed impossible. But our God is a God of all possibilities.
A year later, God impressed upon our hearts to look beyond Sarawak to our neighbouring country. That was when we decided to visit the city of Pontianak, Indonesia. Our first mission trip was with a group of working adults fromHope Kuching. We decided to charter a van to visit Pontianak. It was an unpleasant 8-hour ride on rough and bumpy terrain. We were so glad that our three children took the entire trip with ease. This is how we knew that God had shown His favour to us during the mission trip.
Our mission exploration trip was over 5 days and our team was mobilised to reach out to our seed contact, to touch those in the orphanage and old folks’ home. At the end of the mission trip, we were so excited in our spirit by God’s blessings and we eagerly shared our experience with Hope Kuching members. Out of this sharing, the prayer momentum over the land of Pontianak began to build up until today. Amazingly, within the last 2 years, our key contact in Pontianak have been blessed with a Parenting Course as well as Life Group gatherings and visitations to Orphanages. These were only made possible with the many different homogeneous groupings supporting mission trips to Pontianak.
On our recent trip in October 2013, the senior family in their 60’s joined us. The Senior Family unit, embracing the spirit of Caleb, has proven that age is no barrier to conquering the land for God. In fact, God in His great wisdom has prepared challenges so unique for us to experience. These experiences included being detained by immigration and the police. This is how one senior family member, Uncle Chan, described the encounter:-
“ On our way to the equator, after crossing a bridge, all of the sudden, a traffic policeman over took our car and flagged us down. Daniel showed him his document and driving license. Then, he asked Daniel to follow him to the police station. We started praying in tongues in the car. I prayed in my heart the same prayer when Daniel was held back at the immigration department. The bridge that we were travelling on was only open for motorcycles. This was because 2 months before, a passing ship had accidentally knocked the pillars and the bridge was then under repair.... We had been praying inside the car for about 20 minutes, when Mina and Mrs Lai went into the police station. The traffic police wanted to file charges and fine Daniel but there was an officer of a higher rank in the office. With prayer and petition to the Lord, the higher-rank officer's heart was softened and finally let Daniel off. Then Sis Mina and Puan Lai said "Terima Kasih Tuan" (thank you, Sir) to the officer, Praise the Lord. Everything went well and we knew that God's hand was upon this trip. We have stronger faith after each incident.”
Even though the obstacles kept presenting themselves each trip, we believe that they will only strengthen our faith. We are glad that God’s burden to go forth from Sarawak is not just for us but involves many aspects of our Church, the brothers and sisters in Christ in Hope Kuching and our key contact in Pontianak. Praise and glory to God for His wonders and we urge you to keep the city of Pontianak in prayer. We will be going on another mission trip to Pontianak from 6th -8th December with a group of working adults. We would like to see the seed group to be strengthened and continue to meet so that eventually, we will be able to plant a Hope Pontianak.
Daniel and Mina, Hope Kuching
Hope Malaysia Central Region Camp
Central Region Camp at Best Western Prima Inland Sea Resort at Port Dickson from 2-4 August 2013. The theme of the camp was J.O.Y. ,which was an acronym for Jesus, Others and You. The camp saw more than 400 adult participants, 57 children and 31 toddlers joining this camp from all the daughter churches of the Central Region of Malaysia. It was a remarkable time where participants were united and filled with joy.
The first session on Friday night started off with Ps Simon’s sharing about Jesus as the source of joy in our lives. We were reminded to surrender all areas of our lives that are not in joy to God. On Saturday, Ps Moses shared with us the importance to abide in Jesus, only in being faithful that we will experience fruitfulness in God. In the evening session, Ps Simon shared about the aspect of O, Others. He shared the need to understand people’s needs and struggles especially when there is transition in their lives. On Sunday, Ps Simon concluded the camp with Y that stands for You, which encompasses our own lives and the need to improve in managing ourselves wisely in order to experience Joy.
This camp was a truly exceptional camp where we had the opportunity to engage with people of the same age group or current stage in life to discuss about four parameters; Characteristics, Intrinsic Values, Challenges and Needs. This session took place on Saturday afternoon. The groupings included high school students, university and college students, working adults with less than 5 years of experience, working adults with less than 10 years of experience, family group less than 3 years, family group less than 10 years and last but not least, the golden eagles which consists of senior family members. It was a great time of connecting with one another and also discovering things unique to each group. The results of the discussion from each age group were then presented to the entire camp so that everyone can better understand each other’s needs and challenges.. A take-away from this activity is that different stages of life require different methods and form of care to allow people’s needs to be met.
There were also fun activities where we unwinded and connected with one another. For example, after each session at night, participants gathered at a specially prepared supper place called JOY’s Kopitiam to talk and enjoy each other’s company. We were also treated to song performances from different participants. On Saturday afternoon, we had a telematch and dance activities. Free time was also allocated for us to enjoy water park facilities with our life groups and families. Overall, the JOY Camp lived up to its name where JOY was instilled in all of us and we were reminded that Jesus is our true source of joy.
From the car park to the main entrance, a map on the ground highlighted the different milestones in the life of our church. God has been truly faithful to us for the last 20 years. The morning started with a powerful time of prayer as we committed the whole service into the hands of our Lord. We then moved into a little pre-service segment where four entertaining hosts took us into a time of fun, laughter, and games as well as bringing us on a history journey of our church for the past 20 years.
10am and our 20th Anniversary service officially began. The orchestra performed two spectacular numbers – How Great Thou Art and Cornerstone. The worship team then led us into a powerful time of praise and worship. Pastor Lance and Pastor Joshua stole the show the minute they walked in to host. They shared their experiences over the past year at church and entertained us with some catwalk action – parading their very cool t-shirts.
The highlight of the service most definitely was the mini-production that the Events team put together. This production opened with a bang as up to 10 percussionists together with the band, performed an amazing rendition of the song, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. We had a couple of song presentations tied in with two very inspiring life-changing testimonies. Through this production, it was evident that the church exists to bring about support and encouragement for individuals to fully experience God and have their lives restored in Christ.
Pastor Wilson then sealed the service with a message on the parable of the mustard seed emphasizing the power of just one seed that if planted well, will grow into a strong tree. Each seed represents a life and it is evident through the testimonies shared that when seeds are planted well, we will reap the fruits.
The service ended with a big celebration of balloons being released from the ceiling as the band led us into yet another time of praising God. This was certainly an event of the year for us here at Hope Church Brisbane. God is indeed faithful and we look forward to all He has in store for us in the next 20 years. To God be all the glory!
Written by Sara Leong
Hope Church, Brisbane
Hope London 15th Anniversary
On a spring evening in 1998, four believers met together in a small London flat to worship the Lord and to seek his guidance as they took the first step in spreading the good news of the Kingdom through the vision of the Hope movement. This was the first meeting of Hope London church and 15 years later, on the weekend of the 9th and 10th November, three of those pioneers were united again in the city.
Founding pastor PK Tse and his wife Kim, now living and serving in Hong Kong, joined Hope London’s current pastor, Vincent Ong and over a hundred friends old and new, for a weekend of celebrations. In the intervening 15 years, over a thousand people have passed through Hope London; many coming to know Christ for the first time there. On the Saturday evening in a hotel restaurant overlooking the River Thames and Tower Bridge, the current members of the family enjoyed fine food, a special address from Ps. PK, drama, comedy and musical performances, ceilidh dancing and the company of dear brothers and sisters.
The theme of the weekend was “Because of You,” and the festive atmosphere continued on Sunday with a special celebration service in The Old Cinema at the University of Westminster, which Hope London currently call home. In addition to an extended time of praise and worship, and message from Ps. Vincent, several life groups had made videos showing how church life extended beyond the activities on Sunday. Of course, there was also the customary birthday cake!
Testimonies throughout the weekend told of how people from many countries and backgrounds had found a welcome home in Hope London; with recurring themes of loving fellowship, renewed hunger to serve God, opportunities to develop gifts, and encouragement to step beyond one’s comfort zone in serving.
Truly none of this would have been possible without genuine love for God and others in the hearts of the members, and the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit every step of the way. That He has enabled ordinary people to plant and cultivate this small seed into a dynamic, vibrant and growing church must give encouragement to Christians who are called to church-planting and leadership; as well as to Hope London as they eagerly look forward to their next 15 years.
Hope Brisbane 20th Years: Our Hope His(tory)
Founding pastor PK Tse and his wife Kim, now living and serving in Hong Kong, joined Hope London’s current pastor, Vincent Ong and over a hundred friends old and new, for a weekend of celebrations. In the intervening 15 years, over a thousand people have passed through Hope London; many coming to know Christ for the first time there. On the Saturday evening in a hotel restaurant overlooking the River Thames and Tower Bridge, the current members of the family enjoyed fine food, a special address from Ps. PK, drama, comedy and musical performances, ceilidh dancing and the company of dear brothers and sisters.
Excitement filled the air as streams of people walked into the premises of UNIDUS Community Centre on a cool morning on 22 September 2013. Wearing shirts with the year each individual first joined the church highlighted in neon, friendly car park attendants and ushers greeted us with much warmth and friendliness. It was simply amazing seeing how some people have been a part of church since we started in 1993 and are still faithfully serving in this House, believing in the vision of the church.
10am and our 20th Anniversary service officially began. The orchestra performed two spectacular numbers – How Great Thou Art and Cornerstone. The worship team then led us into a powerful time of praise and worship. Pastor Lance and Pastor Joshua stole the show the minute they walked in to host. They shared their experiences over the past year at church and entertained us with some catwalk action – parading their very cool t-shirts.
Pastor Wilson then sealed the service with a message on the parable of the mustard seed emphasizing the power of just one seed that if planted well, will grow into a strong tree. Each seed represents a life and it is evident through the testimonies shared that when seeds are planted well, we will reap the fruits.
The service ended with a big celebration of balloons being released from the ceiling as the band led us into yet another time of praising God. This was certainly an event of the year for us here at Hope Church Brisbane. God is indeed faithful and we look forward to all He has in store for us in the next 20 years. To God be all the glory!
Written by Sara Leong
Hope Church, Brisbane
