Heres HOPE

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Chapter 1 Relationships Rule AS THE CHURCH SERVED ED THE COMMUNITY, THE WAY PEOPLE VIEWED THE CHURCH CHANGED As Mike says, ‘It was humbling to realise that together we serve in our weakness. It wasn’t rocket science, it was basic stuff: tell the people Jesus loves them and show them his love yourself in ways that people can understand.’ Again, we kept to the same premise – words and action together – extravagant acts of love serving the community, at the same time as preaching the gospel, and working together in relationship. Depending on where it was, there would either be more extravagant acts of love and social engagement or more proclamation. We were passionate about holding the tension of the two, but you couldn’t control it in a local expression. Churches can always do the social engagement part. The intentionality of communicating the gospel is always the challenge. After Soul in the City we were getting invited to do city-wide events all over the place. We thought it was crazy as we began to ask ‘Could we do the nation?’ It seemed a bit too grand as we were just directors of youth ministries. But in the end we thought, if we don’t do it, no one else will. I remember having a cup of coffee with Mike and Andy at Soul Survivor and almost casuallyally saying ‘OK, let’s give it a go!’ One event stands out, which I look back on when I’m tempted to doubt that God called us to this crazy journey. When Mike, Andy and I agreed to go national with what we’d been doing, we asked a friend to pray for us. As he did, oil seemed to come from his hands to anoint us. It was an amazing moment, which I’ll never forget. I can’t explain it, but it gave each of us the assurance that God was calling us and equipping us for the task ahead. 20
08 0 Count us in! We began by drawing on the relationships we had across the UK, asking every leaderer we knew ‘Will you do mission?’ It seems like a bit of a no-brainer really, as they should alll say ‘yes’. Rather than telling us we were mad, and it was never going to happen, people of everyery denomination, stream and ministry started saying ‘count us in’. They had seen the success of mission together in words and action in Manchester and London, and an amazing range of denominational leaders, ministry leaders, several politicians and leading police officers got behind us, giving their backing to a year of mission: doing more, doing it together and doing it in words and action. What if people across the UK were to see the Church as the Bible teaches it is meant to be, reflecting the love and passion of God? We decided to go for it. We couldn’t continue using the Soul in the City name as we wanted villages and towns to take part as well. A research group suggested that ‘hope’ was the key message the Church should bring to the country; so HOPE 08 was born, with the strapline ‘in our villages, towns & cities’. ‘HOPE’ WAS THE key MESSAGE THE CHURCH SHOULD BRING TO THE As three friends we understood the way each other functioned. We had built strong relationships and had worked on significant projects together. We were committed to working with the tension of words and action, and we knew that the world needed to see the body of Christ working together. That was the backdrop for HOPE 08. The range of endorsements received is an indication of the relationships we had built over many years. COUNTRY 21
Page 1 and 2: Here’s ROY CROWNE
Page 3 and 4: Here’s ROY CROWNE
Page 5 and 6: Here’s Foreword 4 Chapter 1 Relat
Page 7 and 8: I t’s a story told at pace - a ru
Page 9 and 10: HOPE TOGETHER GREW OUT OF FRIENDSHI
Page 11 and 12: Cockney ROOTS I was born in Hackney
Page 13 and 14: Moorlands College where Roy trained
Page 15 and 16: Flo is from a farming family in Nor
Page 17 and 18: Words & ACTIONS We learned that bot
Page 19 and 20: Greater TOGETHER We also learned th
Page 21: SOUL in the City B uilding on the M
Page 25 and 26: The Trumpet Call prayer event in Bi
Page 27 and 28: Revive RUGBY On Wednesday 14 Septem
Page 29 and 30: Small is BEAUTIFUL Andy Hawthorne,
Page 31 and 32: HOPE EVALUATION W e commissioned th
Page 33 and 34: Church leaders & presidents of Chur
Page 35: Chapter 1 Relationships RULE 1 2 st

Heres HOPE

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