Looking ahead to Advent

Christmas will soon be here!  We will attempt to celebrate the most amazing story of promise, hope, and love. But often our attempt to celebrate the birth of our Savior turns into season of stress, traffic jams, and endless shopping lists.  And when it’s all over, many of us will simply have presents to return, a larger than normal credit card debt and feeling like we missed something.  Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

This year I’m hoping to lead our congregation in a challenge that has the potential of making Christmas a world-changing event again!  Advent Conspiracy (AC).  Here are a few details of what to expect:

WORSHIP FULLY.  Christmas marks the moment where God’s promise was fulfilled and love took form, tiny fingers and all. It is a moment that deserves our full attention and praise. We put Worship Fully as AC’s first tenet because we believe the level of our involvement at Christmas is based entirely on how much we are celebrating Christ’s birth. He deserves celebration; one that is creative, loud and directs every heart His way.

SPEND LESS.  Quick question for you:  What was the one gift you remember getting for Christmas last year? Next question:  What about the fourth gift? Do you remember that one? Truth is many of us don’t because it wasn’t something we necessarily wanted or needed.

Spending Less isn’t a call to stop giving gifts; it’s a call to stop spending money on gifts we won’t remember in less than a year. America spends around $450 billion dollars during the Christmas season, and much of that goes right onto a credit card. By spending wisely on gifts, we free ourselves from the anxiety associated with debt so we can take in the season with a full heart.

GIVE MORE.  We know what you’re thinking. “Wait, didn’t they just say I should spend less, and yet here they are telling me to give more? What gives?”   The most powerful, memorable gift you can give to someone else is yourself. And nobody modeled this more than Jesus. So what does this look like for you? Tickets to a ball game or the theater? A movie night? The main point is simple: When it comes to spending time with those you love, it’s all about quality, not quantity.

LOVE ALL.  It all boils down to love. Love from a Savior. Love to a neighbor in need. By spending just a little less on gifts, we free up our resources to love as Jesus loves by giving to those who really need help. This is the conspiracy three churches began a few years ago, and has since grown to an international movement where thousands of churches have raised millions of dollars to love others in life-changing ways.

There are so many ways to live your own AC story.  Throughout the coming month here at Hope, opportunities will be presented for ways you can apply the concepts presented in Advent Conspiracy.  Expect your heart to be changed as you focus on Christmas from perhaps a new and different perspective.

Pastor Gary

Embracing our future

Graduations, layoffs, and retirement often give rise to a questions seldom asked by those of us with fully-packed routine lives.  Life for most of us seems to click along with crowed days and evenings diminished by spent minds and tired bodies.  Other than those who have been laid off from work, or graduating from school, or anticipating their retirement, seldom do we stop and ask questions like, “What’s next for me?” or “What do I want to accomplish in the next five years?”  The demands of the present often eclipse the greater questions of destiny and planning for greater accomplishment in one’s life.  The urgent as well as the mundane of our lives often receives more of our creative energy than ruminating on the future. 

So I found myself refreshed by a task recently assigned at one of our Search Team meetings.  As we prepare to receive applications from candidates inside and outside our church we’ve been crafting a Congregational Information Form utilizing standard questions provided by our denominational leadership office.  I was assigned to bring a draft for the last question which pushed me beyond describing who we are and what we’re like to what we might become.

                                                      What changes or trends do you envision for the congregation over the next five years?

In a few paragraphs what might I share with a potential Minister of Community Life that would engage their heart and enlist their imagination?    It is for the same reason that I share my thoughts with you.  God bless us as we embrace the future.

Recently Hope Community Church began retooling for the next decade developing:

 • a new leadership structure

 • a new mission statement:  ~ Receiving Hope through Christ ~ Growing Hope in Community ~ Sharing Hope with Others ~

 • a new motto:   ~ Growing Hope One Life at a Time ~

 • a new emphasis on the five purposes of God:      ~ Worship ~ Discipleship ~ Fellowship ~ Ministry ~ Outreach ~

 • a renewed understanding that community must become central to our existence and mission.

These tools have brought fresh energy and a renewed commitment to deeper community and more intentional outreach and ministry.  God is helping us to develop greater involvement in our communities with greater connection to our immediate geographical community.  In recent years we’ve welcomed numerous new families and individuals from within a few miles of the church.

Since its beginning HCC has been a collection of young families.  As the congregation has aged many of these children have continued to worship with us as young adults.  In the next five years we envision these young adults as well as young families assuming greater involvement and leadership at HCC.  With many young couples and families attending the church we’re experiencing growth in the number of children now attending HCC; a trend we anticipate will increase.  This past fall we completely reorganized our children’s programs increasing excitement and participation. 

The church just completed a spiritual growth campaign called 40 Days of Community.  Prior to the campaign we had 4 functioning small groups.  During the campaign groups increased to 14 with 85% of the congregation participating.  We’ve discovered that most people desire greater connection to God and others.  We anticipate that involvement in small groups will continue to increase as we give additional staff time and increased emphasis on participation.