HOPE 2008

HOPE 2008 at Christ Church Alsager
Throughout 2008 we will be joining with thousands of other individual churches across Great Britain and beyond in an initiative called Hope 2008. The vision is to see the whole church reach the whole nation for a whole year, and that this be a catalyst for such ministry beyond 2008. The church year is already split into certain obvious sections, and the Hope programme takes good advantage of these natural sections. A breakdown of the year is as follows:
Fresh Hope	Taking place in the early weeks of the year. As people make New Years' Resolutions, we can support people in those choices. We will be running two parenting courses and a smoking cessation course for teenagers.
Big Hope	This covers Lent and Easter. Paul and Toby are discussing ways that they can make Easter a more visible event in local schools.
Hope Where You Live	This predominantly takes up the summer block. It is about practically caring for our local community and its residents. Fence painting, garage clearing, dog walking etc - these are ways that we can serve our community. It is also about taking part in the various events, both Christian and non-Christian throughout the summer. We will again be going to Christian festivals and inviting people along to those. This year we will also be taking part in the Alsager Carnival, both in terms of having a float, but also in the clearing up afterwards.
Hope Explored	Enquirer courses such as Alpha often start around September time. The Hope vision encourages Christians to make a positive impact in their local community in the summer, and then have the opportunity to explain about the faith in the autumn. We will be running the Alpha Course again. The Gift of Hope Christmas. This is the time when we seek to make our Christmas celebrations very visible in the community, seeking to put Jesus back into the Christmas celebrations of local families.
And then … In 2009 we start all over again!
The original vision for Hope 2008 came from the heads of 3 of the biggest Christian youth organisations in the country getting together and having a coffee (more about that in the January magazine). The vision was for young people, under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, to transform our nation. That vision caught on for 'big' church, and now things have become much bigger than anybody could have realistically envisaged. It is youth led, but it is also for everybody and anybody who is a member of the church. So, what can you do? This is a very exciting vision. It is fully supported by all denominations. If you are able to take part in things then please do speak to Joëlle, Paul or Toby. More details will follow about the various events later.