Easter
This month is Easter. I am so excited to walk through together all that Christ did on our behalf during this week. On April 2, we remember the Triumphant Entry (Palm Sunday) where Jesus, even though He knew what was coming, rode into Jerusalem. We will be having a picnic after church on that Sunday (4/2) to have good fellowship and food together. Then Friday night, we will remember Good Friday, when Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross. It was on this day, Jesus spoke the words about our salvation with His dying breath “It is finished.” Join us on Friday night (April 7) for Good Friday Service. Then finally on Easter morning, we will gather to remember Jesus conquering sin and death as He came out of the tomb, just as He said He would.
On that Easter morning, we will worship Him by giving to the vulnerable. Jesus told us that when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, invite a stranger in, clothe the naked and care for the sick… we are serving and worshipping Him. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40) This year, we will be serving Christ in five specific ways…
Africa: Dignity Pads and Pastor Support: Unite4Africa and our missionary Okongo Samson help pastors in rural Africa with microbusinesses to support their families, but because of drought, many are struggling. Some of these funds will help pastors' families. The other part will provide dignity pads for young ladies. Many young ladies in Africa stop going to school during puberty age. This program helps young ladies stay in school and helps break the cycle of poverty.
Philippines: Sponsorship for Students, Solar, Garden Fence: The school for tribal Aeta children needs funds to feed these extremely poor people and provides education as well. In addition, the kids have a garden that goats have been trampling. These funds will build a wall around the garden to provide more healthy food for kids. The school also is located in an area of unstable and expensive power, so they hope to install some solar devices.
Ukraine: Bread, Food, Water Program (ECMI) and Thrive: Our missionaries Doug Gotcher and Derrick/Vicka Nissley are working with local churches and pastors in Ukraine to help those struggling with hunger, thirst, and basic needs as they continue to flee active war areas. Funds will provides things like food, diapers, water, and home repair supplies.
Global Fingerprints - Tabitha House and Food Intervention: The Congo is the rape capital of the world. Unfortunately, many young ladies have children and have never been educated. The Tabitha house provides a home for young ladies and their children to learn to read and learn job skills. We are also doing food boxes for some kids in need of emergency immediate nutrition.
Turkey Reach Global: Our church association has missionaries in Turkey and pastors whose homes and the homes of the churches were destroyed in the recent earthquakes. There is much suffering. These funds will go to these pastors to help the church provide for those hurting folks.
~Pastor Randy
Women's Ministry
Suzi King, Director
sking@hopetucson.com
Thank you to all the women who came out to serve at our March outreach! We were so blessed to partner with Corzazon Ministries to help our brothers and sisters at Iglesia Centro De Sanidad church!
On Saturday, April 8 we are offering a jewelry making workshop led by local artist Beth Seng.
Beth will be sharing the art of paper bead making. Participants will have the opportunity to design and create original beaded necklaces from start to finish.
The $20.00 registration fee includes all materials and lunch. Come fellowship and learn this fun and creative skill.
Women's Bible Study
We will be offering “What Love Is” by Kelly Minter. This 7-session Bible study centers on the letters of 1, 2, and 3 John in the New Testament, which were written to encourage followers of Jesus to remain faithful to the truth. You'll be challenged to look at contrasting themes such as walking in the light instead of darkness, truth versus lies and deception, loving God more than loving the world, and the meaning of true fellowship and community rather than shallowness. This study reveals not only the heart of John but also the heart of Jesus. You will be encouraged to remain faithful to the truth of the Gospel. There will be a weekly personal Bible study and a weekly meeting to include discussion, fellowship, and a video lesson from Kelly Minter.
This study will be on Thursdays from 9:00 -11:00 a.m. in the Hope Community Room at 3130 W Overton Road. We begin on April 6 and will meet weekly (except May 11) until May 25. We would love for you to join us! Please let us know if you would like to participate ASAP so we can order books. Books will be about $20. Contact Sheree Dennee at dsdennee@msn.com or 520-403-9939 to register.
Tech Wisdom - Understanding the power, influence, and dangers of technology and learning how to use it wisely
In Proverbs 1, the voice of Wisdom tells us that the simple minded are killed by their turning away from her, and their complacency destroys them. BUT! Whoever listens to her will dwell secure, be at ease, without fear of disaster.
The voice of wisdom speaks loudly to us with every device we use, with every image, video, or song we allow into our homes, and with every screen we put in front of our childrens’ eyes. The question is, will we listen? Will we allow our family to struggle and suffer what could be lifelong consequences? Or will we resist complacency and diligently pursue wisdom with tech? If we do pursue wisdom, the Lord promises we can dwell secure, be at ease, without fear of disaster.
Join us at Hope Community Church as Pastor Matt shares his experiences, failures, and successes, as well as the grace and wisdom he has received from the Lord along the way. We’ll dive into a wide range of topics, including understanding technology, its benefits for us, its dangers and risks, how we can use it wisely, and what the Bible has to say to help us along the way. We’ll also go over some current technology and practices that can help you manage this difficult arena. Finally, we’ll have some time for Q&A.
Wait, why is the Worship Pastor teaching us about tech? 😊
Matt has been married to his wife, Allison for 20 years. They have 2 kids, Madelyn (18) and Nathan (16). Madelyn is a freshman at Arizona Christian University in Glendale, and Nathan is a sophomore here in Tucson at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy.
Matt has been a Director of Information Systems for more than 20 years, as well as a software engineer for about 5. And of course, as most of you know, he is currently the Worship Pastor at Hope Community Church, where he and Allison have been serving for over 8 years. His 25 years of tech background have taught him about how technology works, while his 18 years of parenting have both humbled and encouraged him as he and Alli have labored together in managing tech within their own home. As a pastor, he has also had a front row seat, if you will, to seeing how tech is affecting the way we think about ourselves, each other, God, and truly all of life. While there is no silver bullet for this issue, Matt has learned a few things that he loves to pass on to whoever would like to dive in with him.
Rock Nest Ranch - Yard Sale
Saturday, April 1
9:00 - Noon
At Hope Community Church
3130 W. Overton Road
Spring cleaning? The Rock Nest Ranch Team needs your donated items to raise money for our plane tickets to Canada. Drop off your items at Hope Community Church on Friday, March 31 from 4:00-8:00 p.m. & Saturday, April 1 from 6:00-8:00 a.m. THANK YOU! Questions - call Beth at 520-349-6574.
Mark your calendars for this important service day! We would like everyone to be involved!! Check with your Home Group leaders to see what your group might be doing. If you are not in a Home Group you can jump into a project with another. Watch for sign-up sheets soon!
Kyria Kelly, HopeKids Director
kckelly@hopetucson.com
We are excited to see how our students multiply their money for our Easter offering. If your children have products to sell, plan to bring them to church on Palm Sunday, April 2nd, or to the park for the picnic afterward.
This month, we will be introducing a joint worship class time for our Kinder-5th grade students on the 5th Sunday of the month, April 30th. We hope to continue this on every 5th Sunday from here on out. Parents, you’ll drop off and pick up your children from their normal classrooms. In between, the classes will combine for worship through singing, interaction with missionaries and ministry leaders, and games. Preschool will also get to interact with the missionaries and ministry leaders in their own classroom. We can’t wait to see you there!
VBS is also rapidly approaching at the end of May! Keep a lookout for student registration sometime in the latter half of this month. For now, if you would like to be part of VBS but are unable to volunteer, we have a donation list through Amazon and would greatly appreciate your support: Donate here!
Finally, we would just like to remind everyone to pick up their children promptly after the service. Our dear custodian, Jeanne, works so hard to get the building cleaned up in the brief period between when classrooms empty and when we have to be off the property. Let’s help her help us by honoring her time and fellowshipping outside.
May you all have a wonderful day today (and every day) in Christ!
~Kyria
April 2 (Family Sunday): Living Like Jesus; 2 Peter 1
April 9: Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection; Matthew 26–28, John 20
April 16: Ananias and Sapphira; Acts 4–5
April 23: Stephen’s Sermon; Acts 6–7
April 30: Worship Sunday
April Birthdays!
Caleb Brown 04/03/2017
Kayla Turkington 04/03/2015
Adaeh Smith 04/04/2017
Julian Knutson 04/05/2016
Levi Hunt 04/12/2015
Boaz Fleming 04/15/2021
Marlena Bellars 04/15/2018
Lola Colella 04/19/2019
Alice Papajohn 04/20/2017
Tytus Phillips 04/24/2014
Hazel Arnold 04/24/2017
Mackenzie Schwarz 04/25/2012
Violet Arnold 04/26/2019
Quinley Hunt 04/29/2018
K-5 Nerf Night!!!
Kids are growing in their faith at Awana and having a BLAST!
Awana Grand Prix - 2023
Congratulations to Our Hope Awana Club Winners:
Henry Rockhold: 1st Place in Design
Wren Bernard: 3rd Place in Design
Tanner Hunt: 1st Place in Speed
Adaeh Smith: 2nd Place in Speed
The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May designated by our US Congress when people are asked to turn to God in prayer for our national and local governments, churches, families and other areas of influences in our culture.
The theme this year is pray fervently in righteousness and avail much from James 5:16.
Please come join us on Thursday, May 4 as Hope Community Church hosts the National Day of Prayer from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in the Community Room.
Bring your family and friends!
Kevin Mason, Associate & Youth Pastor
kmason@hopetucson.com
“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28-29)
Growing in maturity continues to be our focus this year. As each group works through the Discovery Series, we pray that God would sharpen us and feed us wisdom that allows us to grow closer to Him.
We also believe that being in a home group is vital to grow as a Christian. If you are interested in being a part of a home group, please email me at kmason@hopetucson.com.
Important Date: Saturday, April 22 - Hope Serves (more info to come)
Our vision in Men’s Ministry is to train and build up men in godly masculinity. We desire all men at Hope to be rooted in a Biblical identity and to embrace their role as leaders in the Kingdom.
Important Dates:
Tuesday, April 4: Men’s Genesis Study at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room
Saturday, April 15: Men’s Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in the Community Room
Tuesday, April 18: Men’s Genesis Study at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room
HopeLife welcomes all young adults at Hope Community Church. We would love to have you join us at our weekly Saturday study at 7:00 p.m., where we are currently working through the book of James. This is a great place to grow in faith, community, and serving God together. Contact Carl Vereen at carlvereen@gmail.com for more information.
April 1: Bible Study
April 8: Passover Seder and Dinner
April 15: Special Guests
April 22: Bible Study
April 29: Bible Study
HopeYouth is working through the Discovering Series - Issue 3 this month. Parents please read pages 20-25 and discuss with your kids.
April Calendar for Youth Group:
Saturday, April 1- Fundraiser Car Wash at the Church property from 9:00 to Noon
Sundays, April 2 & 9 - NO Youth Group
Sundays, April 16, 23 & 30 - Youth Group from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Community Center
HopeYouth Kickball Night at the Park!
Hope Seniors Lunch - Sunday, April 16
Following the Worship Service in the Community Room
Contact Bob Whren 904-887-7019 or Merrillee Whren 520-304-6773 for details.
