After celebrating Mother’s Day this past weekend, we’re highlighting a piece written by the Keynote Speaker for our Women’s Summit, Nancy Guthrie. We love her perspective and look forward to having her speak at Hope in August. If you’re a woman and haven’t already signed up for the Women’s Summit, we encourage you to sign up today. If you’re a man, sign up your wife or significant other – she will be wowed! gethope.net/womens-summit

It was literally the Mother’s Day of a lifetime. The only Mother’s Day I would have with my daughter, Hope. She was five months old and because she was born with a metabolic disorder called Zellweger Syndrome, she was expected to live less than six months. So every day was a gift. And I wanted to enjoy the gift of having her for this Mother’s Day rather than focus on the reality that it would be our only one together, which it was.

But perhaps the greatest gift I received was having my eyes opened to the hurting people around me on what, for many, is a very difficult day. As that day approached, I anticipated the mixture of joy and pain the day would bring. I began to think of people around me—people I knew who had lost their mothers that year and were facing the first Mother’s Day without them, those who had lost children and felt the void especially on that day, those I had come in contact with who, like me, had children who would not live until the next Mother’s Day, even those who have never been able to conceive or carry a child successfully.

So I made a list and went to the store to buy Mother’s Day cards. Now with all the Mother’s Day cards on the rack, it is not easy to find a big selection of cards for men who’ve lost their mothers or mothers who’ve lost children, so I had to improvise. But I sent out a big stack of cards that year and every year since.

Some people I didn’t send cards to. Early Mother’s Day morning, I called a woman in my church who had buried her mother who died of breast cancer the month before. I didn’t really know her that well and felt a little awkward calling so early on Sunday, but because I reached out to her that difficult day, we became friends for life. Then at church that morning, I looked over and saw a woman with four small children whose husband had recently left her. I walked over and wished her happy Mother’s Day, telling her that I thought she was an incredible mother to her children. It seemed to matter.

There’s something good that happens to me when I’m able to get my eyes off of my own pain and minister out of it to other people who are hurting. It brings a healing to my heart that could not be found any other way.

I’ve already begun making my list for this year—the woman in our church whose son took his own life, the husband who is doing his best to parent four children and usher them through the grief of losing their mom in an accident, the woman who is saying a slow good-bye to her mother who has Alzheimers, my friend who miscarried several months ago. And somehow, in the midst of comforting others, through the power of the Holy Spirit I believe I’ll be comforted myself.

A couple of weeks ago KidCity hosted an outreach event unlike any they’ve ever done. They called it The Pay it Forward Experiment to give families a chance to see what happens when they live beyond themselves and serve others. Instead of having parents drop off their kids and kids’ friends for an evening of fun, KidCity families were encouraged to invite non-Hope families with elementary-age children to go into the community and live out Philippians 2:3-5 together.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

The stories that came away from the evening were incredible and we hope you’re inspired by them as much as we are.

This sweet boy and his family purchased these flowers for a woman they encountered who wasn't feeling well. It brightened up her day.

Before this family headed out they decked their car out with Philippians 2:3-5 to share the message of living beyond ourselves. We love how excited the kids were about the experiment!

Numerous families stopped by local police and firefighter units to give their thanks for selflessly seriving our community. One of the firefighter units in Cary even sent Hope a thank you note (for being thanked!).

One family returned to a fast food joint they visited the day before to deliver a gift certificate to their server who mentioned he wasn't feeling well. Since he wasn't working they gave it to the manager, who assured it would get into the server's hands. The manager was pleasantly surprised by this family's random act of kindness!

This family worked hard to fill up their Bumper Crop bags.

Love seeing this excited boy's face about helping his Dad pick up litter in a local park.

Some of the families stopped by local laundromats to pay for people's laundry while getting to know them.

Chase Gardner, Pastor of Adult Learning, answers these questions for us.

8,000 people … 3 parking lots … 8 services at 3 campuses … KidCity … First Impressions … Youth Ministry … Singles … College … Monday Night Classes … Men’s Bible studies … Women’s Bible studies … Global Hope … Local Hope … Groups … Finances … Care Classes … Parent Summit …

And the list goes on.

Hope is a big place with lots of people and tons of opportunities to get involved. The scope of what we do can often be intimidating, and figuring out all we offer and plotting a course that’s right for you can be daunting.

The cool thing is that we, as a staff, understand this. We know how hard it can be to wade through the ministry offerings and get plugged in. In fact, we don’t want anyone to attempt this alone. That’s why we’ve created The Path.

The Path is an intentional six week process that helps individuals find out what role they can play in Hope’s mission and vision, and is comprised of three classes:

1. Discovery: Lead/Teaching Pastor Mike Lee teaches this one-time, three-hour class . During the three hours we go over the history of Hope, the heart behind our vision and mission, and open up the floor for some Q&A time. After the class, you have the opportunity to become a mission partner. If you haven’t gone through it yet, the next Discovery is on May 5th. If you’ve taken Discovery in the past, like two or three years ago, we encourage you to take it again. A lot has changed since then.
2. Core: This is a four week class that happens during a weekend service. We’ve made it so that childcare is provided and you don’t have to be here an extra day of the week. Simply attend a worship service then head to Core. It’s taught by Gary Vet, Chase Gardner, Donnie Darr, and Derek Sisterhen. We’ll discuss God’s plan for the church and for you, and the many ways you can use what God has given you to help Hope accomplish our vision.
3. Shape: This is a 3 hour class that helps you identify your spiritual gift. Not only will you uncover how your uniquely designed to serve God’s Kingdom, but you’ll also meet with a Shape Guide. During this meeting you’ll plot a course for how you can begin to serve Hope and what classes or ministries you can get involved in for your spiritual growth.

Did you see what just happened? An average Hope attender just went from walking around wide-eyed and confused to being a committed and integral part of reaching the Triangle and changing the world.

Mr. Derek strikes again! Make sure to come back each week as Hope’s Stewardship Ministry Director, Derek Sisterhen, gives us the skinny on various topics related to finances … God’s way. The stewardship series kicks off with the first post below.

Simplify.

If you’re like me, you’ve heard a lot of people throwing that word around on the heels of The Great Recession. For some it’s a mantra. They’ve responded to the economic upheaval of the last few years by purging their stuff, spending less money, and pioneering other fancy buzzwords like “staycation” and “recessionistas” (which, in case you didn’t know, are people who embrace frugality, but don’t want to be labeled as cheap).

I looked up “simplify” in the dictionary and it says this, “to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier.” But, doesn’t this definition imply that our lives were perhaps too complicated and too complex? We are talking about deconstructing something we, ourselves, previously built, aren’t we? We worked really hard for that, didn’t we? Why would we do that?

Jesus tells us in Luke 12:15, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

We live in a culture that bombards us with the message that we are what we own (or what we’ve financed, but that’s another conversation for another day). Here is Jesus telling his followers 2,000 years ago that their identity is not equal to the aggregate of their stuff and experiences. Apparently the desire to acquire isn’t all that new.

So, what are the benefits of simplifying? We save some money, because we’re buying less and have less to maintain. That’s a positive, isn’t it?

What if in simplifying we also found ourselves focusing less on what others have (that we don’t), and more on what we’ve already been blessed with? Perhaps we’d be more satisfied with how God already provides for our true needs, and we’d be willing to supply those in need around us.

Live what you learn. Keep it simple.

Byron McMillan, Director of Local Hope, discusses the Local Hope ministry, specifically Hands of Hope and why we need every person at Hope to be involved in this impacting event. Check out Byron’s personal blog, Ordinary Radical.

We believe that God has uniquely placed Hope Community Church in this place, at this time to bring our community into a life-transforming encounter with Jesus Christ. The ministry of Local Hope is developing relationships and opportunities for us to directly meet the real needs of people in the Triangle area.

Local Hope is designed to provide information regarding these opportunities so you can select a place to serve. We encourage you to follow a simple formula as you consider serving. First, pray about your availability and where God may want to use you. Second, explore these options by talking with us and getting your feet wet. Third, commit by selecting an area to serve and serving for a period of time, whether for a project or with ongoing involvement.

You will find as we undertake this mission several significant things will happen. Some of those are:
• Helping those in need
• Helping us understand the world’s needs
• Connecting us with others in service
• Connecting us with new people who need Christ
• Making Jesus visible
• Bringing us closer to the heart of God

At Hope Community Church our vision is to be a body that exudes a passionate heart for our community demonstrated by tangible acts of love and compassion.

Twice a year, Local Hope will organize churchwide community service events called Hands of Hope. You’ll be able to serve alongside thousands of Hope people on hundreds of projects out in our community and discover what a difference a day makes. Our next one is Saturday, May 19 from 8am-2:pm. Signs ups began this past weekend, so go ahead and register today for Hands of Hope!