A Christian man, named Jossy Chacko, was traveling through North India and asking the villagers if they had ever heard of Jesus Christ. Some had heard about Jesus, while others had not. One group of men said: “No, we’ve never heard of Jesus. What is it? Something you buy? If it’s a person, we’ve never heard of him. People in Delhi may have heard of him. Perhaps they could tell you where to find him.”
Jossy quickly shared the Gospel with the men, about the God who loves them, and sent His one and only Son to die for them. One of the men in his early twenties listened closely but then his eyes filled with anger. “Stop! Are you trying to tell us that Jesus is the only way to God?” “That’s right,” said Jossy. “There is no other way to God except through Jesus.” “Why hasn’t anyone told us this before? You are too late. My father died three months ago, and he never heard this truth. Where have you been?”
This was one of the events that led Jossy Chacko to set a goal of planting 100,000 churches in North India – which his ministry is attempting to do now. Here are some principles Jossy shares about their effort to fulfill the great commission in North India.
- Leave your comfort zone. You cannot take steps of faith inside your comfort zone. Break out!
- Cast a big enough vision. A big-enough vision is one that makes you wonder, “Is this too big?!”
- If they reject the good news, then they will have to answer for it; if we fail to share that good news, we will have to answer for it.
- Be faithful and fruitful. Faithfulness and fruitfulness are two sides of the same coin: you can’t have one without the other.
~ Pastor Randy
Upcoming Events!
(click to enlarge images!)
Marriage Retreat
Friday & Saturday, September 20-21
At Jim & Cathy Luckow’s Home
Room for 6 couples
First come/First serve
Sign up below….
Blessings, Scott Haffner
Five words describe the Houston trip – amazing, challenging, heart wrenching, heartwarming and a blessing. Though Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017, many Houston homes remain damaged. ReachGlobal Crisis Response Teams, aka the ‘blue shirts’, are staying 3-5 more years to help. With Trinity Fellowship, the Friendswood church housing them, they are building homes and relationships. Their motto is “People over Projects”. They lead prayer walks through devastated areas. They encourage taking time with homeowners. Trinity prepares a community meal on Thursdays. The stories are amazing. The gratitude astounds. However, they are blessing us. We get to learn, grow, see Christ at work, and make new friends. The work is taxing but worth it. We laughed, grieved, worked hard, prayed hard, played hard, praised the Lord, stretched muscles to the limits, used various skills and brute force. We worked as a team – encouraging and supporting. Talented, patient, gracious, humble and dedicated describe the ReachGlobal team. They give their all. They are touching lives. One member gave up a new bed to a resident in need. An amazing journey. ReachGlobal says set an alarm for 9:38 (am or pm). Pray Matthew 9:38. Ask the Lord for more workers, strength for the ‘blue shirts’, protection for them and homeowners and revival at Trinity Fellowship. If you feel led, go. The experience will be worth it.
Mary Jones
For more information follow this link: https://www.efca.org/hurricane-harvey-response
Update on Rock Nest Ranch Mission’s Team
This July, Hope supported seven of us to serve at Rock Nest Ranch Bible Camp in Houston, BC. Rock Nest Ranch is aa United Indian Missions camp for First Nations kids ages 9 -15 years old. In the beautiful forest of British Columbia, campers can rock climb, repel, zip line, canoe and swim in the lake, and play basketball and floor hockey in the gym when it rains. It rained a bit everyday! Through these activities we built relationships with the campers. Worship and chapel was twice a day. This year’s theme was TAG, Truth About God. Our campers heard a clear Gospel message and learned about the truth of God’s character, His Word and His Promises. Before bed, our cabin leaders are able to answer questions, give their testimony and listen. It is amazing to watch God open hearts and allow us to plant seeds.
Each week we had about 40 staff and 40 campers. Our team served by being camp counselors, lifeguard, videographer, mechanic, camp maintenance, and kitchen help. Thank you for sending us to serve along side the UIM missionaries and volunteers from Canada and the U.S. This year’s team was Frank, Beth, Brenna and Scott Bumb, Kyle Housman, Abbie Turner and Isaac Rohne. Come see any of us if you want to hear more!
~Beth Bumb
Suzi King, Director
women@hopetucson.com
Interested in a fall Bible study? Check out “The Promised One”! Sign up below or contact Sheree Dennee at dsdennee@msn.com if you would like to attend this class.
Discipleship Corner
“People over Projects”
There was so much work to be done. There are still thousands of homes that need to be gutted and restored. Every day of our trip was filled with sweaty, hot, smelling, gross, hard work. We were there to get work done, however it’s the people that were the most important. We are encouraged to invest in people. People in our own team, people on the local staff, people whose homes we were working on, people in the neighborhoods as we did our daily prayer walks. People are more important than the projects.
Dave Collins, Associate Pastor
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:3-5
Are you interested in being baptized? Just fill out the form below and send it to us and we will get this scheduled for you!
FamilyLife’s Art of Parenting Class at 9:00 a.m. – September 29 to November 17
Financial Peace University Class (by Dave Ramsey) at 10:45 a.m. – September 15 to November 17
If you attend one of these classes your child(ren) will need to attend one of our HopeKids Sunday School classes.
See informational videos and sign up form below!
Co-Directors - Kori Ball & Susan Woodford
children@hopetucson.com
New Curriculum:
The Gospel Project is starting August 11th in preschool through 5th grade classes.
One of the many strengths of The Gospel Project is that it will help our children understand how all Scripture testifies to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel Project will help us see that Jesus isn’t just part of the biblical story, He is the point of the Biblical story. We are excited about implementing The Gospel Project here at Hope! We are praying that God would use The Gospel Project to grip our hearts with the gospel and encourage us to live on mission for Him wherever we are.
What’s happening in the classrooms:
Volume 1 In the Beginning Unit 1: God Created Everything
Bible Passage: Genesis 1
Story Point: God Created everything, and everything He created was good.
Key Passage:
All things have been created
through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and by
Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16b-17
Big Picture Question: Who is God? God is our Creator and King
A huge thank you to all our HopeKids leaders who attended the new curriculum training on July 27!
Come join us for Awana!
Who: Children 4 years old through 6th grade
What: Meetings include fun, Bible teaching, fun, scripture memorization, fun and games.
When: Wednesday evenings 5:45-7:45 p.m. starting Wednesday, September 4th.
Where: Summit Ridge Community Church on Hardy Road, just east of Northern Ave.
Why: To share the Good News about our salvation through Jesus with children & help train them to be God’s faithful servants.
**You can register at the Awana table in the lobby at church August 11th and 25th**
If you have questions, call Tim Tolson at 575-1307.
Josiah Jones 8/2
Austin Metzger 8/3
Zach Edmunds 8/5
McKenna Mathews 8/9
Isaiah Alexander 8/14
Emma Coleman 8/16
Zinnia Reddoch 8/22
Grayson Davis 8/22
Everett Caffarel 8/25
Evan Rhonehouse 8/26
Kessler Collins 8/27
Nyka Quesinberry 8/27
Owen Synesael 8/30
As we enter each new month we recognize that Family Sunday can be a challenge for families affected by special needs. It is our desire to provide an inclusive experience for everyone and our Special Needs Ministry is here for you and your family. Please contact Sarah Whiting, HopeKids Special Needs Ministry Leader, at specialneeds@hopetucson if you would like more information.
Kevin Mason
Youth Pastor
youth@hopetucson.com
Looking Back:
July was an eventful month for HopeYouth! We went to 6 different schools to pray over them and we had a service day! We were able to make 75 lunches for La Frontera, provide school supplies for 10 different students, packed 13 college packs for incoming college freshmen and provide 13 women packs for a Women’s homeless shelter. Praise God! It is exciting that we get to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
Looking Forward:
How would you answer this question? Why would your student come to HopeYouth? Our focus for this new school year is answering that question. We feel that God calls us to NOT give up meeting with each other and to encourage each other while it is still today. We are building a culture where students will be able to experience a rich, authentic and meaningful small group with other students. We feel that our small groups are the backbone of HopeYouth and the reason students should come every Sunday night. It is in small groups that we hope to disciple students and help build relationships. Please pray that God will use our small group time for His glory and to encourage His students.
Sunday, August 4, 11, 18, 25 – HopeYouth
@Summit Ridge Community Church
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
We are working on having ongoing Bible studies this coming school year, so please look for HopeYouth emails for details!
Mark your calendars…
HopeYouth Winter Camp
January 2-5
@Tonto Rim Christian Camp
Contact Information:
Website:
www.hopetucson.com
Administration:
info@hopetucson
Pastor Randy:
rbrainard@hopetucson.com
Pastor Dave:
dcollins@hopetucson.com
Pastor Matt:
mpoling@hopetucson.com
Mailing Address:
2114 W. Grant Road, PMB 87
Tucson, Arizona 85745
Phone:
520-400-1483
