The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. ~Psalm 65:8
I am amazed and humbled by all that the Lord has done over the past year in Hope Ministries.
Prayer Ministries
In Prayer Ministries, I am so very thankful for the dedicated team who give their time to come alongside others in the name of Jesus! Whether it’s during Sunday services or if they pray for the online prayer request submissions throughout the week. There has been an increasing number of people stepping forward to serve at the end of Sunday services with the Altar Prayer Team. We continue to nurture a culture of apprenticeship where people who are new to serving with a prayer team, can serve alongside those that have more experience serving. Jesus continues to put the words be ready on my heart. In this way, I continue to pray for additional prayer team members as we pursue the dream of having five pairs of people available to pray at each Sunday service.
Did you know that there is a team of people available to pray for others during extended periods of time? This time is called ‘Prayer for Inner Healing’ which occurs in the Prayer Room (by the café) with two prayer team members (of the same gender) to come alongside the person who has asked for prayer. ‘Prayer for Inner Healing’ will often take a couple of hours as the team works through Scripture-based steps forward. Over the past year, I’ve heard reports on how Jesus is meeting with women and men alike in these prayer times. I have also had the opportunity to participate in praying for men and it’s amazing to see how Jesus quiets hearts with His love and heals them.
In Hope Groups, there are committed men and women walking alongside people and pointing them to Jesus. The landscape of these groups starts by asking Jesus to create a safe space where people feel comfortable to share with one another. We pray that these environments would continue to be Christ-centred support groups where people meet with Jesus.
Celebrate Recovery
Celebrate Recovery is about finding healing and recovery in Jesus’ name. From our hurts, habits, and hang-up’s, CR is valuable for all of us and welcomes all ages to attend. During this past year, the Celebrate Recovery team has continued to skillfully lead this vital ministry with wisdom and compassion. We praise God with how much this community has grown over the past year and invite you to drop by on a Friday to experience this authentic community.
GriefShare
GriefShare provides a room that has been prayed over with the hope that all who attend would experience the warm presence of Jesus. The purpose of this group is as grievers share their stories of loss and heartbreak, the Holy Spirit meets with them. As I have sat in on GriefShare over the past year, I have witnessed how the facilitators lead these groups with deep care and compassion and how intentionally they ask questions. I’ve also noticed how group members minister to one another and encourage each other.
Special Needs Community
The Special Needs Community group gathers monthly from Fall to the Spring and I am thankful for the team of people that Jesus has been growing over this past year. Bev McNab is a leader of this group and has 40 years of vocational experience working with people with special needs. This past Fall, she suggested that we adjust the format of this group and create two spaces. One space to be dedicated to hosting an activity time for people with special needs. The other room provides a space for caregivers to connect and converse. Scripture is the focus in both of these environments and I am thankful for the relationships that Jesus has built up over the past year.
DivorceCare
I am thankful for the team of facilitators that Jesus raised up to host DivorceCare this past fall. Unfortunately after running the group for a few weeks, we collectively made the decision to cancel the group since attendance had dwindled and the group was no longer viable. However, this ministry continues to be important and necessary. I am currently pursuing conversations with people to build up a team of facilitators who will begin hosting this group again in January 2025.
Looking to the year ahead, Jesus is prompting us to start a new Hope Group this coming fall or winter. It will be a support group for people impacted by cancer. I appreciate your prayers as we plan for this group and as I search for people who can serve as facilitators.
This past year, we’ve also gathered a group of people who serve with Hope Ministries to walk through a course called ‘Spiritual First Aid’. This course excels at equipping our serves who strive to bring Hope to the hopeless. The Holy Spirit guides these group conversations which makes sharing times so valuable and encouraging to one another. The next ‘Spiritual First Aid’ is planned for January to March in 2025, to continue equipping and encouraging people. Our goal within the next 5 years, is for everyone who serves with Hope Ministries to walk through this course.
This past March, we gathered a group of people who serve with Hope Ministries for a Soul Care Day at Pastor Stu and Corinne Krogman’s house. It was a wonderful and restful Sabbath as we ate food, sang songs of worship, read Scripture, leaned into silence and solitude, and then came together for lunch to share stories and pray for one another. I greatly appreciate the Krogman’s hospitality and the ability to have this retreat. We are planning on having two more of these gatherings in the coming year, in November and March.
Thank you for your prayers for us as a Hope Ministries team. It is a joy to serve in this way alongside our staff team and all those who serve in Hope Ministries. Psalm 65:5 declares, “You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” To Jesus be all the glory for how He is at work in His church! The Lord bless you!
Pastor Dave
