On New Year's Eve, those who attended a Sunday service watched a special message from Grant Hickman. His message was preceded by Chris Yarco, sharing highlights of the year for the campus. Watch the video below.
Year-End Message From Lead Pastor Daniel Knutosn
Can I just say that I love calling Hope City my home church? And when I say "Hope City", I hope you don't hear me referring to the building, the logo, or the Sunday service. I think ALL of those things are awesome, but I don't love those things. I love the church, the people of Hope City!
I love that our church community is committed to following Jesus with our whole hearts. I love that we are people who are intentionally and continually learning what it means to be loved by Jesus and to love each other with the love of Jesus.
Over this last calendar year, so much has happened. We began the year with some prayers that I want to call back to our attention, as we celebrate the ways God has been answering these prayers all year.
We Pray for the Next Generation
We have been praying for the next generation to encounter Jesus. This year, we have had the chance to celebrate 9 young people publicly professing their faith in Jesus through baptism.
Students ministry has nearly doubled in size and students are bringing their friends! Over the summer, we had 19 students go to Black Lake Middle School Camp. In kid's ministry we've had to open up additional classrooms just to keep up with the growing number of young families bringing their kids to Hope City. Seeing the growth in relationships and faith among these kids and students - and their families - is truly exciting!
We Pray for Growing Faith
A growing faith in Jesus has been expressed in so many ways by our church community this year. Our volunteer teams have grown, which demonstrates faith that God can use each of us individually, so we can make a difference corporately. Giving has increased over the past 12 months, which demonstrates faith that God is our provider and our money is something to be leveraged for the kingdom of Heaven. We have seen each of our community life areas - Rooted, Men's Community, Women's Community, and The Legends - grow in number, and in consistent attendance, demonstrating a faith in how God uses relationships to sharpen and strengthen us.
We Pray for Unity
We have been praying for unity within our church, and unity with other churches. And you can see it in the worship leaders and attendees from other churches in the area who participate in our worship nights. You see it on our prayer wall in the lobby-multiple area churches joining together to pray over our city. I see it perhaps more closely than most as I sit and pray with other pastors for God's guidance and wisdom on how we are to serve this city together to build his kingdom. We ought to be expectant of what God will do through these prayers of unity, so keep praying, and keep dreaming.
We Pray for Our Friends
I actually can't speak to whether you have been praying for your friends who don't know Jesus, but it certainly seems as though you've invited them to come to church with you! We continue to see more people walk through the doors of Hope City and get plugged in. 87 individuals have come through Discover this year for the purpose of learning more about Hope City. 59 new families have visited Hope City and we are beginning to wonder how long two services will support the growing number of people who are coming on Sundays. And this kind of proximity to people is perhaps the greatest opportunity we have to disciple others and be discipled by each other. Keep praying. Keep inviting. Keep loving as Christ loved you!
Pray for Undeniable Kingdom Impact
Undeniable kingdom impact will always be tricky to quantify, but there are so many indicators of it here! This year 27 people have been baptized and 50+ people went through Rooted. Through your generosity we gave over 180 ($2,000+) coats to Wichita Center in October, we're supporting 7 kids at Ardenwald Elementary through the Backpack Buddies program, and have helped over 45 households from our community with rent or utility bills.
These results all stem from people pursuing Jesus with their whole hearts, humbling themselves, and giving up their personal rights for the good of someone else who is in need. When we surrender all aspects of our lives-our time, our talent, and our treasure-we get to tell stories about the transformation happening in us, and how that transformation is overflowing through us! This means all of this work is not dependent on us, but on the work and power of Jesus, through His people. We simply get to participate when we surrender. And the outcome is unexplainable! But it's undeniable by those who witness it.
Acts 2:42-47
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Daniel Knutson
Lead Pastor
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