A great part of my job is taking people out for a cup of coffee and hearing their stories. It also gives me a chance to hear people’s impressions of Hope. What brought them here? What keeps them coming back? If I had to boil it down to a couple comments that people often give me it would be the following:
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- We keep God central in all that we do. It ain’t about us; it’s about him!
- We take the Bible seriously and take time to preach, teach, and explain it. Apparently, this is a rare thing in many church communities.
- We take culture seriously working hard to find connecting points with people who are just “kicking the tires” of Christianity.
- We have created an atmosphere of authenticity. People are willing to be honest about where they’re at in their walk with Christ.
- We have created a place where people feel welcome. We joke that “Community” is our middle name. It is. But, we hope it is also a part of who we are and what people experience when they meet us.
Perhaps you see above the one or two or five reasons that has kept you coming back to Hope.
As Hope starts a new year and new faces appear, it can be difficult to maintain a sense of community and ethos of authenticity. A few people cannot do it. The staff cannot do it. It takes all of us.
I want to invite each of you to play a role in preserving community at Hope. I want to invite you to be the first to extend a hand and say “hello”. I’ll let you in on the questions I’ve used:
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- What’s your name?
- Where are you from?
- How’d you hear about Hope?
- How long have you been coming to Hope?
- What keeps you coming back?
- What do you do with most of your time?
