All Resources
Silence and Solitude
I don’t think anyone in the western world would argue with the following statement: “We live in a time of tremendous and immediate access to knowledge, comfort, and entertainment.” For those of us that are followers of Jesus, the following statement is also true: “We...
Small Group Open Chair Model
Whenever possible and healthy for the group, we encourage groups to maintain an “open chair.” This means that the group fosters an attitude of openness to newcomers and maintains an environment that would make a newcomer feel welcome. The group does not need to be...
What Do We Do With Toxic Relationships?
In this episode, the team discusses relationships and why they are worth having. While truly toxic relationships do exist, we now live in a culture quick to label...
The Importance of Friendships: Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Logically and biblically, we might know the call of friendship and community that the Bible has for us. We know all the metaphors for the Church. We have seen the realities that the Church IS a body. It has different functions and designs, but all working together as...
Creating & Maintaining Community in Small Groups
Creating a comfortable and welcoming environment for a small group is vital to the success of the group in general. The reasoning is pretty simple - people return to environments where they feel welcome and accepted. People also feel freer to be themselves in a...
Common Misconceptions About Friendship & How Jesus Shows Us a Better Way
This is an article addressing what I've learned from 25 years of friendship...or, put differently, it breaks down common misconceptions concerning the nature of deep friendships. Misconception #1: It is someone else's responsibility to come and be my friend. We might...
Cutting Into the Onion of Moralism
This article originally appeared on redtreegrace.com. Red Tree is a multi-church ministry effort started by Hope Community Church in order to connect the clarity of God's grace to our otherwise confusing lives and attempts at reading the Bible. When I was growing up,...
Caring for the Panhandler
I’ve been asked numerous times, “What’s a Christian response to panhandlers?” I didn’t know the origins of the term “panhandler”. An ASU study says, “The term ‘panhandling’ derives either from the impression created by someone holding out his or her hand (as a pan's...
Small Groups With Missionaries
As Hope Community Church small group leaders we see our group members experience many major life events and changes. This document contains helpful tips for leading someone called to overseas missions. Please note a few things before reading this document. First,...
Relating to Others During COVID-19
We have all had different reactions to the pandemic. In this short video, Pastor Steve Treichler gives us some guidance in how to relate to those who may think a bit differently than us. He gives five possible reactions to the pandemic, and says that although two of...
Tell Me About Spiritual Disciplines (Part 2)
This is the second of two articles about Spiritual Disciplines. If you haven’t had the chance to read the first article, you can read it HERE. Each discipline is written by a different author, all attendees of Hope. What is Worship? According to Merriam-Webster,...
5 Lessons I Have Learned From My Time Overseas
As the great theologian Bob Wiley said so many years ago, “I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful… I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful… I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful…” For those of you who have not seen What About Bob? (spoiler alert? Not...