Together4Bristol : Help spread the HOPE vision

Young people taking a lead in mission

The Big Weekender from 3^rd-5^th May 2014 is a Bank Holiday weekend to focus on mission. Hundreds of youth groups up and down the country are making creative mission plans. Sign up at hope-revolution.com/bigweekender and post Big Weekender videos at hoperev2014.com

Help spread the HOPE vision

A number of HOPE practitioners (pictured below) gathered in London last week to pray, plan and pass on inspiration and ideas about making HOPE happen in local areas. Many of the 500 HOPE practitioners around the country are volunteers: Pastor Morola Hayden of the RCCG Harvest Fellowship in Rugby is the new volunteer HOPE practitioner for her town. A few areas have appointed a salaried staff-worker: Manchester is the latest city to allocate funds to support a HOPE practitioner following an offering taken at a Manchester church leaders’ event. Practitioners help to connect churches in mission, spreading the HOPE vision in their area. We need more! The dream is 5,000 areas taking part in Hope14. It’s not too late to sign up here to be a volunteer HOPE practitioner in your area.

What’s it all about?
This week a van driver making a delivery to the HOPE office said ‘I’m seeing these HOPE banners all over the place – what’s it all about?’ Link your local mission to the national campaign using the HOPE logo. Banners and other HOPE resources are available from CPO.
www.cpo-online.org.uk

Always be prepared
‘A home group spent time learning to share their faith naturally and confidently. Bill and Jean, a couple in the group, then went on holiday and realised that the people on the table next to them were talking about God, but were obviously not yet Christians. The woman turned to Jean and asked for the salt, so Jean took her courage in both hands and asked if they could join the conversation. Bill and Jean shared their faith without embarrassment, remembering what had been learned in their home group.’
This is one of the stories in Sharing Jesus – a new resource from HOPE and Share Jesus International to help Christians to put their faith into words as part of Hope14. Find out more and order copies here.

Doing more, together, in word and action
Students, young people and churches are working together as part of Hope14. In Norfolk, 6,000 young people at the Newday festival will support churches in their Hope14 mission plans. Churches in the New Forest are to get the help of 170 Moorlands College students as they put faith into action during Hope14, and Cliff College students will be supporting mission in Cumbria. We are stronger together than apart!

Kindness and generosity in Lent
We love it when HOPE partners have their own spin on the HOPE vision – helping churches to share hope, together in words and action. This Lent, whether you're a family, church, small group, workplace, school or youth group, 40acts Together provides you with resources to guide and challenge you to live generously, beginning 5^th March 2014. Sign up here and you'll receive the daily 40acts challenges when Lent begins, as well as a unique link to download 40acts Together group resources.
Also, the #Do1NiceThing Lent Challenge at www.do1nicething.org.uk has loads of creative ideas to equip people with a different #Do1NiceThing activity every day to make our communities nicer places to be.

It’s fantastic to hear how churches are spreading hope – email us: office a_t hopetogether d_o_t org d_o_t uk to share how Hope14 is shaping up in your area. Please forward this enews to others.

Love from the HOPE team