From Fritha Wheeler at the HOPE office.
Hello there!
As you already know, Hope08 was set up to be a catalyst – to encourage and inspire churches to do mission in word and action. Not for one week, not even for just a year but for as long as there are people that need to be reached.
The stories from this year are stunning. Relationships between churches are being strengthened and… people are becoming Christians! But it’s not just about 2008. This is about what has changed and it’s about what’s next – it’s about being united and relevant church for longer than twelve months.
With this in mind, we’d love to know what you’re planning to do at the end of this year. Will you be stopping everything, or are you looking at repeating and developing some of the things you’ve tried out?
If you are then please let us know about it. And if you’re not still let us know about it! We want to provide you with the best possible resources and we can only do that with your feedback.
To help you know what other people are saying, here are some quotes:
Becky Coster, Bedford.
’It has been a good year and we're pleased with where we have got to. From the outset, I had high expectations for the year and looking back, it's has been more about small steps than grand gestures but they are things that can be built on. The churches in the Bedford area have worked together much more than ever before. We've attempted things we haven't in the past. So it has shown us that more is possible.
The biggest event of the year was a RE:ACT fun day which was hugely successful. Without Hope08 this would never have happened’
Jackie Follett, St. Albans
‘We deliberately didn’t call this year hope08 but "Hope For St.Albans" because we knew we wanted to do this long term.’
It's encouraging stuff and there's lots more - do get in touch!
Yours,
Fritha