The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
Hey Hope,
I have some surprising news to share with you.
This Sunday (August 30) will be our last Sunday meeting at Wilson K-8 School.
Starting Sunday, September 6 Hope Community Church will be meeting at the El Conquistador Resort at 10000 N. Oracle Road – with one worship service 9:30 -10:45 a.m. in the Turquoise Ballroom.
We have been so blessed for nine and a half years at Wilson K-8 School, and we are so grateful for their graciousness shown towards our church. We hope to still serve and support the staff and teachers there. (Keep an eye out for an upcoming project to paint curbs and speed bumps at Wilson coming soon!) And who knows, perhaps we will end up back there someday.
Why the change? Quite honestly it feels like a provision from the Lord we were not expecting. We were contacted by El Conquistador and asked if we would consider having our services at their facility. Covid-19 has completely shut down the conference and convention business, and they are desperate for any business. We let them know what we currently pay at Wilson and they were able to match that exactly. In addition, they are able to provide us with five additional rooms, so we can transition HopeKids back into operation. Classroom availability is not something that Wilson was able to provide right now nor in future days as they are also figuring out the possibility of having kids back on their campus and needing to restrict our access to parts of the Wilson campus. It seems that this move is beneficial for Wilson, Hope and the El Conquistador. We are working out a contract to meet at El Conquistador through December 2021.
On Sunday mornings at El Conquistador, Hope will have our own lobby with restrooms, connected to our HopeKids rooms and the Turquoise Ballroom (which is approximately 11,000 square feet) – so we will be able to social distance in one service. And yes – the seats have cushions. 
In addition, guests of the hotel will see our invitation and possibly come hear the Good News about Jesus Christ. We might also be able to start offering adult classes again prior to service in the weeks ahead. Come early for coffee and donuts.
In addition, the increased WiFi signal at El Conquistador should allow us to live stream the service to those that need to stay home right now because of the pandemic. This won’t happen right away but could be a few short weeks away. In the meantime, we will upload the service after Hope’s service ends (10:45).
This was quite a surprise! We were not expecting it, but I have come to believe the Lord has a season for everything (as the book of Ecclesiastes tells us). I like that God often keeps us on our toes and we never know what is coming next. We are trusting that He will do good things through this. God told the Israelites:
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)
As we prepare for the transition, we know we will need a new influx of servants in the following areas:
HopeKids: Contact Kyria Kelly at kckelly@hopetucson.com
PitCrew: Contact Alex Garcia at azchampcarfan@comcast.net
HopeUshers: Contact Joe Lowery at jobeewon1@gmail.com
TechTeam: Contact Matt Poling at mpoling@hopetucson.com
Pastor Dave Collins recently shared with our ministry team leaders some good advice: “We will need to work well together to pull this off. Let’s go out of our way to give some extra help and show each other a lot of grace. Let’s also be very intentional to be a blessing to the resort staff and guests. And finally, let’s go the extra mile to have ‘all hands on deck’ to greet our folks as they show up to the resort for church. We want people to feel very welcome and like they are ‘home’ even though we are meeting in a different location.”
It is a joy to serve Jesus alongside you all. Let’s keep offering HOPE, growing in COMMUNITY, and being the CHURCH. ~ Pastor Randy
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)
I shared this verse at a recent Sunday service, and it has stuck with me for many days afterwards – probably because I need to learn to follow and experience it. Paul tells us in this passage to make our calling sure by developing these characteristics of a Christian in increasing measure. In a time in our country where it seems we are unable to do much, this is a verse that I think we can all put into practice.
If you have put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, then add to that faith the knowledge of God – not just knowing about God but seeking to know God. To knowledge, we should seek more self-control where we see victory over “self”. What things control you? It’s time to make those things your slave by the grace of God.
To self-control, the Word calls us to add “perseverance”. This is plodding along in continued obedience to the Lord – keep going on that narrow path that few take. To perseverance, we are told to add godliness, and being like God can only come from spending time in the presence of God. How can you enter fully into the presence of God?
To godliness, we are told to add mutual affection – a deep affection for both our family and anyone we come across. Finally, add love – and love is kind, patient, it does not envy, it does not boast… check out 1 Corinthians 13.
How can you keep from being ineffective in this season of history? The Scripture tells us by practically developing our character. May your pursuit of these things be a blessing to you, your family, your neighbors, and your church.
~ Pastor Randy
The most important relationship we have (other than with Jesus) is our marriage, but we are often too busy to proactively work on strengthening our marriages. We have a wonderful opportunity on the evening of September 12 to pause and have a great experience focused on encouraging us in our marriages. Please consider joining us for RightNow Media’s 2020 Marriage Night. This will be a virtual event and we will not all be gathering at one place. We are excited for small groups to gather in people’s homes. Please contact Kendra at kkuntz@hopetucson.com if you are willing to host a group.
Event Details:
Saturday, September 12
4:00-7:30 p.m. (our time)
$15 per person/$30 per couple
To register for the event click on the link below:
https://events.rightnowmedia.org/attendee/site/2506
Discipleship Corner
“My fruit grows on other people’s trees” is a quote I heard at a leadership conference. I love this idea! I want to live in such a way and invest in others so much that they produce fruit for God’s Kingdom. Yes, we should all have the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23), there should be evidence that we belong to Jesus (Matthew 7:20). I just love the idea of us helping others grow. If no one knows my name, but I have invested in others, I’ve intentionally discipled others that become World Changers for Jesus, I would be so pumped! Remember, our lives are not about us. Our lives are about bringing glory to our Heavenly Father and being a blessing to others, making disciples of others, serving others. Let it be said of me and you that, “My fruit grows on other people’s trees”
Go Get ‘em, Pastor Dave
Introducing....
Kyria Kelly - Director
children@hopetucson.com
Hello, Hope Community Church! I am so excited to be stepping into the role of HopeKids Director and would like to share a bit about myself and some general hopes for the future with you. My husband and I moved to Tucson 3 years ago (he from the Bakersfield, CA area and me from the Cincinnati area), and we absolutely love it here. We both graduated from Cedarville University in Ohio in 2017; I majored in Graphic Design and minored in Photography and Bible. The Bible minor was the best thing to ever happen to me, aside from my salvation.
I have been involved in kids’ ministry in some way or another since I was in middle school, including assisting at VBS, serving in nursery and toddler rooms, and generally being a fill-in person wherever needed. At Hope, I have filled the role of Cubbies Director at Awana, helped with check-in on Sunday mornings, acted as Director on Duty, and instructed/assisted in the toddler class. I love sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with kids and I am looking forward to working alongside parents to disciple them throughout the week. While I have met many families and volunteers involved in HopeKids, there are many more I would love to get to know (and am excited to get to know everyone better)! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for anything at all, and I hope to be reaching out to you on a more personal basis soon.
September Birthdays:
Jack Brown 9/2
Avery Schwarz 9/8
Claire King 9/9
Milan Daniels 9/10
Titus Alexander 9/13
Sterling Hawley 9/13
Holly Odle 9/13
Theodore Carlson 9/17
Azalea Reddoch 9/19
Titus Ayantola 9/21
Madison Nall 9/21
Samuel Fitzpatrick 9/22
Maverick Alexander 9/23
Abigail Fitzpatrick 9/24
With the move to El Conquistador, we are reopening HopeKids classes – woohoo!! We are making some changes, so here is what you can expect as we return:
- All volunteers will be wearing masks. We will wash our hands before entering classrooms and after exiting, and we will be using hand sanitizer between activities.
- All kids will use hand sanitizer between activities. Masks are optional for kids. In older classes, we will encourage social distancing with spaced seating; we will not be attempting to space kids in nursery-preschool classes.
- All parents will be asked to screen their kids before checking them in to confirm they are not showing any symptoms of illness. If you’re not sure if your child is showing symptoms, please err on the side of caution and keep them at home.
- Since we now have 5 classroom spaces, we will be providing the following classes:
- Nursery (Newborn – 18 months)
- Toddler (18 months – 2 years)
- Preschool (3 & 4 years)
- Kindergarten – 2nd grade
- 3rd-5th grade
- 4th-5th grade will now go to their classroom for the entire service. To help us with safety, we will have parents drop off and pick up their 4th-5th graders at their classroom with the 3rd graders.
- We will not be able to provide water in classrooms. Please plan to send your children with water bottles, especially in nursery-preschool classes, where we will provide pre-bagged goldfish and cheerios for snacks.
Thank you for assisting us with a smooth opening! I am so excited to see you again!
We are working on a starting date and schedule for AWANA for this year. Hold on, and we’ll send you a “Save the Date” notice when plans are all ready! We miss you guys!!
Thanks again HopeKids for decorating placemats. We dropped off around 110 of them for the residents at Mountain View Retirement Village!
Kevin Mason
Youth Pastor
kmason@hopetucson.com
So thankful to serve with each of you! We have been blessed by the Colemans, Marshalls, Braeutigams, and the Lovelands for their willingness to host HopeYouth sites during the months of July and August. Praise God!
I am excited to announce that Summit Ridge has reopened! We will transition back into the building with only Middle School so that we can maintain safety during this Covid time. I am so thankful that we have been able to stay faithful in meeting together.
Sundays, September 6th, 13th and 27 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Middle School Girls & Boys at Summit Ridge Community Church (505 W. Hardy Road)
High School Girls & Boys at the Colemans
(1630 W. Montebella Place)
Sunday, September 20th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Hope in the Park
(Riverfront Park – 551 W. Lambert Lane)
God is so good! Please continue to pray that HopeYouth will be a ministry that pleases the Lord and encourages students to look more like Jesus every day.
Contact Information:
Website:
www.hopetucson.com
Administration:
info@hopetucson
Pastor Randy:
rbrainard@hopetucson.com
Pastor Dave:
dcollins@hopetucson.com
Pastor Matt:
mpoling@hopetucson.com
Pastor Kevin:
kmason@hopetucson.com
Mailing Address:
2114 W. Grant Road, PMB 87
Tucson, Arizona 85745
Phone:
520-400-1483
