We are all on a mission God is on a mission to build his kingdom as Jesus builds his church. At Hope we emphasise that every Christian is called to mission, to join in God’s work in building his kingdom wherever he has called us to be. We support each other in this work through prayer and encouragement.
Hope’s ‘Mission Partners’ We currently also support about 15 ‘mission partners’, brothers and sisters who are carrying on Hope’s work outside the church, and in some cases in other areas of the world.
We support them all with extra prayer; and some we support in other ways, dependent on need. For the most part we add in some financial support – these partners are listed in our annual budget and all financial reports. Some work with gospel-hardened Westerners (e.g. the UCCF; L’Abri in Greatham). Some need support in a culture that is growing and thirsty for the gospel (L’Abri Brazil). Some would not be funded at all for their day jobs, but are working, as for the Lord, in parts of the world that have not heard the gospel clearly for many centuries, if at all.
We are grateful to God for the privilege of being able to support these partners in God’s mission. Mission partners who can’t meet with us regularly are shown on the screen on Sundays before the service starts. There is regular news about them in our monthly Prayer Diary and in our reports on the life of the church at each AGM.
Short-term mission Each year we set aside a sum to help support members in short-term mission projects. This often involves helping young people on gap-year projects, but support is open to anyone of any age. We budget to provide up to 40% of the total costs of the project.
Local community projects As Jesus invited us to pray daily ‘your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’, God calls us to acts of service to assist the flourishing of the people and communities around us. We currently support the King’s Arms, which is a charity that offers youth work and services for young people in Petersfield and Alton, and Crossover youth club in Liss.
We also support members who are involved in street-pastoring and prison ministry.