 What is a hope project?
Hope projects are short term (usually about 3 months) initiatives designed to provide hope for the "least of these." Each project focuses on helping an oppressed, marginalized or victimized group of people by offering real help now. Basically, we find a cause that is in desperate need of hope and we try to make the biggest difference possible in a 3 month period. These projects are not carried out by one person or one team. Our whole church takes on task of providing hope. And because each situation is different, hope comes in many shapes and sizes.
For a village suffering from the plague of malaria, hope looks like a $10 bed net. For a battered wife or an abused child, hope is a voice and a chance. We strive to offer hope where it is needed...no matter what it takes.
Why?We believe we are necessarily called to help those in need:
Isaiah 1:10-17
Matthew 5:14-16
Ephesians 2:1-10
Galatians 6:10
Matthew 22:34-40
Matthew 25:31-46
We also believe that helping others can be hard in a world that tells us we have to help ourselves first. It's hard to think about the people in Africa...or even across town...when we are bombarded by a culture that tells us we need that new house, those new clothes or just more money. How we aren't against nice houses, good clothes or even money. We are against...and so was Jesus(Luke 12:16-21)...accumulating these things at the expense of others. Being a part of a system that makes us richer while others suffer is oppression. And we just can't be a part of that.
Hope projects help us break out of that lifestyle. They offer a few months a year where we can step outside of ourselves. We commit to giving some time, money and prayer to help people who need it worse than we do.
We know that we don't have the resources to fix all the worlds problems. Our little church can't feed everyone. We can't cure every disease. We can't protect every victim. But we can help.
Hope Projects are just one way that we try to love people genuinely and provide hope for the future of the world.
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