HOPE FAMILY NEWS

HOPE ADELAIDE: PS SIMON ENG MINISTRY IN ADELAIDE

Hope Adelaide was blessed to have our international Vice President, Ps Simon Eng come and visit us for the first time just after the Easter OC07 camp!

It was a real privilege to have Ps Simon come and minister to us, and we received a real impartation of the Vision of the Movement to rise up in our leadership and to plant churches throughout South Australia! Personally it was a good time to catch up with Ps Simon and have a coffee with him late Saturday night, and also late Sunday night!

I truly appreciate his selfless devotion to serving God and mobilising churches to do their best for the Kingdom - his heart motive is always weighing activities and resources in order to maximise their utility for the Movement's overall good.

After Pastor Simon Eng left, I felt that I had received an impartation of strategic thinking regarding church activities and priorities, and also a greater shepherd's heart - thank God for Ps Simon, amen!

Pastor Brendan & Helen Kirby
Hope Adelaide

HOPE AUCKLAND CAMP: A SEED CHURCH

The Bible gives a picture of a seed as an illustration of the kingdom of God. Just one small seed has the potential to grow into a big tree, and the birds of the air can come to nest in its branches. It is amazing how a seed has the ability to grow, provide shelter for many creatures and multiply.

A seed church, therefore, is one that starts small but has the potential to grow and multiply until it covers a large area. Hence, to fulfil the Great Commission, we have to plant seed churches in every nation so that the whole earth will eventually be filled with churches of Christ.

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." Matthew 13:31-32

Hope Auckland Christian Church has just recently experienced an incredible annual church camp with Pastor PN.

The camp was held from the 29th of June to the 2nd of July. It was a weekend of wonderful fellowship and encounter from God, especially during times of worship and teaching.

Transform by the Word of God

We had the privilege of hearing teachings on topic of ‘A Seed Church’ from Ps PN. We thank God for the passion, vision and anointing upon Ps PN.

He helped create a fresh perspective for the people in Hope Auckland by encouraging and challenging them to look beyond the small - the "seed", and to look ahead in to God's dream and vision for the church - the "tree" and the potential each individual holds.

The topics covered at the Camp included:

• Significance of a Seed Church
• Understanding the "Seed": Its Growth and Multiplication
• Understanding the Soil
• How to Become An Effective Seed Church

One of his most memorable quotes was, 'A seed is and looks small but it never remains small."

Many members have shared about how their lives have changed as a result of the teachings. The church as a whole has been spurred on and further equipped to persevere and charge forward in pursuing the will of God!"

Fun activities at the camp...

This year, a professional gaming company was hired to run the team games on Saturday afternoon. Every person, including the Childrens’ Church thoroughly enjoyed them, especially the Log Joust where players stood on a beam over a inflatable mattress and jousted with each other using soft “jousts” and “shields” till someone fell off!

Brother Kizito, one of the church’s members from Zimbabwe, also shared about how on the day of camp, his family almost decided not to attend the camp as they feared his son’s asthma would worsen if they left their warm house. However, by faith, they came and despite the cold weather, his son’s asthma actually improved!

Bernard and Angela Soh
Hope Auckland
www.hope.org.nz

HOPE BRISBANE - ABLAZE YOUTH CAMP 2007

The theme for this year’s Ablaze Camp was "Empowered". Speakers included our very own Ablaze International Director Torchie and special guest, Pastor Shirley from Hope Singapore. The camp marked a life defining moment for over 60 Ablaze members who decided to commit themselves serve the Kingdom of God.

At the camp, there were many team building games played such as the traditional Ablaze Camp musical theatre performance night. This was an opportunity for the young people of Hope Brisbane to reveal their acting and dramatic talents on the stage. Many potential actors, singers and dancers from Ablaze were uncovered that night!

There were also workshops titled "Winning in Life" and "Winning with People". There were also a forum about ministry and leadership. These were also offered at the camp to help many of the youth discover practical ways in which they can succeed for God in particular aspects of their lives.

On the first night of camp, Torchie shared about being "Empowered to live for God" and reminded everyone of how the Holy Spirit is with us every moment of our journey with him. This stirred greater faith and hope in the hearts of many of the members.

Pastor Shirley spoke on the second night sharing about being "Empowered to Serve God". She spoke by faith that Ablaze will be an example to young people and youth ministries across Australia and the world. This confirmed what God had spoken over Ablaze through a prophecy earlier on in the year. As well, Pastor Shirley showed a multimedia presentation about the 500 strong youth ministry at Hope Singapore and this convicted many of the members in Ablaze to believe for the same thing to happen in Ablaze. God moved powerfully on this night as many responded, desiring to completely commit themselves to His purposes. The presence of God was so tangible and 5 people were baptised in the Holy Spirit and one person was completely healed from a high fever! PRAISE GOD! Ablaze has now marked this night as 07.07.07, the night we will never forget.

On the final day, Pastor Shirley shared about being "Empowered to Succeed". She challenged the youth to press on in prayer and faith in God despite the circumstances. Both Pastor Shirley and Torchie urged the youth to let go of things that may hinder their walk with God and to fully pursue living for Him. Praise God for the many hearts that responded and dedicated themselves to serving God!

People have said that this year's Ablaze Camp has touched and changed lives like no other previous camps. God is evidently preparing his young people for greater things ahead!

This year's Ablaze Camp, Empowered 2007 will mark a moment of commitment that many of us will never forget.

HOPE PERTH - SIGNS AND WONDERS CHURCH

This year’s annual camp was amazing! The total attendance for the camp was over 110 people - the biggest WA Camp ever. In an atmosphere of expectation to learn more about signs and wonders, Hope Perth Christian Church together with Hope Busselton Christian Church and Hope Katanning Centre united to attend the annual camp. Pastor PN, along with his wife Ps Sunee Srithawong, was invited as our honourable speaker. They really blessed and encouraged us during the camp.

Imparting vision to young people

We had a Youth Camp to kick off the exciting program with young graduates and students from High School and University having a day of fellowship, encouragement and challenging one another. Pastor Stephen shared his heart to the young people to have strong vision in their personal lives rather than just day dreaming.

Hope Games United

The next day, “A Signs and Wonders Church” camp followed the youth camp. The program started with “Hope Games United” so that we could foster team unity and support for one another in a competitive but fun atmosphere. People from all ages: kids, youth and senior, all jumped into the big field and joined in all the fun.

Worship Concert

In the evening, the great time took place! “Worship Concert” was a night that none of us will ever forget. The seniors came to the front together and they all danced, jumped around and made joyous music to the Lord. All of us experienced what it feels like to be a “true worshiper” where God could minister to the church and individuals. We could say that the Worship Concert succeeded in its goal to lift the church to an atmosphere of praise and worship.

Australian Bush Dance

The Wittwer family, like last year, led us in the Bush Dance – a popular local Australian dance. It was such a success that we look forward to having it every year. No one could leave the floor which was filled with happiness and joyfulness. Even Pastor PN and Ps Sunee and the seniors join the dancing with us!

Powerful teaching at the camp

Apart from the fun and games, all the campers also focussed their hearts towards the powerful teaching and preaching held at every session. No one wanted to miss any of them.

• Why do we have Signs and Wonders?
• Discerning whether Signs and Wonders are from God?
• Signs and Wonders and Quantitative Church Growth
• Factors enhancing Signs and Wonders
• How Signs and Wonders happen and How Churches should respond.

Lives impacted by the power of God

As well we had a special hour between sessions called “Experiencing God’s Power” where attendees received ministering into their personal lives. Some received baptism in the Holy Spirit, some were delivered from their pasts, and some saw their faith increased while others received God’s direction for their lives. Praise the Lord!

The most important thing is that we have great testimonies of people's lives being touched by God and also seeing a lot of new believers come to know God more and experience His power in their lives.

It was truly a memorable camp for all and we hope that this camp will make the WA vision for the Great Commission even stronger.

Pastor Stephen & Hannah Pitavanik
Hope Perth, Australia (Website)

HOPE HOBART - FIRST MISSIONS TRIP TO LAUNCESTON

Praise God for our 2nd Anniversary on Sunday. After the church anniversary, 12 of us from Hope Hobart went to Launceston for our church's first mission trip from Wednesday - Saturday.

Below are some highlights from our trip:

One of the non-Christians (Sophia) who came along to the mission trip accepted Jesus into her life during our evangelism training where the gospel was presented and people were learning how to share their faith and the gospel message. While Sophia went out with us for evangelism that very morning, she boldly shared her faith and testimony as to why she made her decision to accept Christ.

We also did prayer walk and evangelism at the city of Launceston and at the University of Tasmania campus situated also in Launceston. We were encouraged with our ‘spiritual babies’ who went out and boldly shared the Gospel, many for the first time, on the street. One Korean new believer found it difficult evangelising on the street when he encountered rejection, but found it easier to share the gospel in Korean to his housemates.

God also gave us the boldness to praise and worship Him in the middle of the park near Launceston and we also prayed for the city together. A new and stronger team was built during the trip as people spent time together and participated in great fun team-building activities leaving everyone which brought much laughter and fun. Praise God that all the young members want to get involved with mission again! Four of our new believers are keen to get water baptised and to bring friends to, and help out with Hope Hobart events such as O Week & Alpha etc. On Sunday, we saw them put their words into action, with one believer bringing 3 new visitors.

Hope Hobart Church (Video)