A History of Hope Fellowship, Chapter 6: The Focusing Years
During the Focusing Years, from 2012-2015, our leadership introduced new words and phrases that became part of our vocabulary. Words like Believe, Belong and Bless. Phrases like Internally Strong and Externally Focused. We defined ourselves as a “community embracing and living our God’s redemptive plan.” We celebrated our “culture of grace” and emphasized the importance of “making room at the table.” These visionary words and phrases defined who we were and what God wanted us to become. As we articulated our vision, Hope Fellowship became a diverse community that, one memorable Sunday morning, identified at least twenty-eight different nationalities in our midst!
The elders, deacons and staff began to retreat annually at Kingfisher Bay Retreat Centre on Stony Creek. There they challenged each other to find the “one thing” that would galvanize the whole congregation. The deacons continued to develop close ties with the Big Six that we supported all along – The Refuge, Gate 3:16, The Pregnancy Health Centre, St. Vincent’s Kitchen, Disaster Response Services (DRS) and the Zion/Hope Food Bank. In 2015 the Lord made it clear that “the one thing” we were called to do was to sponsor Syrian refugees.
We continued to enjoy numerical growth. Our Stand Up Sundays averaged 15-20 persons a year who professed their faith and/or were baptized in the hot tub that we rented annually for the occasion. In four years we welcomed fifty babies and celebrated more than thirty weddings.
It was also exciting to see our church mortgage reduced to $850,000. Then God gave us the opportunity to buy 1711 Bloor Street, a water damaged house. This acquisition increased our mortgage back to $1.3 million, but it gave us access to the eighteen acres that we hope to develop in the future. After thoroughly renovating this house, Christian Horizons rented it as a group home for adults with exceptional needs. This venture earned Hope Fellowship the “Excellence In Partnership Award” in 2015.
As a young congregation we experienced few deaths in our own membership. In previous years we grieved the deaths of Trudy, Lisa, Peter, Geoffrey and Jeff. During the Focusing Years our church family was mostly spared except for 2013 when Shirley died and 2015 when Amanda died (at age 30!). These two women testified powerfully to God’s love during their difficult battles with cancer. The spring of 2015 was especially hard for our church because Jim and Roma suddenly also lost their daughter, Lesley-Ann, a young mom like Amanda, who died from a brain aneurism. In sixteen years of ministry, Hope Fellowship has experienced very few funerals compared to other churches, but each death represented someone whom we love and miss.
One of the more interesting developments in our history was the erection of our illuminated cross. An agreement with WIND Mobile had sat dormant for years. Then in early 2015 they raised the promised cell phone tower. Little did we know that it would come with such a large cross and that it would be lit on three sides!
A few neighbours complained about “light pollution” but we created much good will by making a small compromise and turning off the side facing West. Today we are thrilled to have a tall cross that is 100% visible during the day and 67% visible at night. And to think that we are actually paid monthly as the cross declares Christ’s sacrificial love to the whole community!
Change, they say, is the only constant. That maxim proved to be true also for our church as the four Focusing years transitioned into the Transitional Years.
- Pastor Peter
During the Focusing Years, from 2012-2015, our leadership introduced new words and phrases that became part of our vocabulary. Words like Believe, Belong and Bless. Phrases like Internally Strong and Externally Focused. We defined ourselves as a “community embracing and living our God’s redemptive plan.” We celebrated our “culture of grace” and emphasized the importance of “making room at the table.” These visionary words and phrases defined who we were and what God wanted us to become. As we articulated our vision, Hope Fellowship became a diverse community that, one memorable Sunday morning, identified at least twenty-eight different nationalities in our midst!
The elders, deacons and staff began to retreat annually at Kingfisher Bay Retreat Centre on Stony Creek. There they challenged each other to find the “one thing” that would galvanize the whole congregation. The deacons continued to develop close ties with the Big Six that we supported all along – The Refuge, Gate 3:16, The Pregnancy Health Centre, St. Vincent’s Kitchen, Disaster Response Services (DRS) and the Zion/Hope Food Bank. In 2015 the Lord made it clear that “the one thing” we were called to do was to sponsor Syrian refugees.
We continued to enjoy numerical growth. Our Stand Up Sundays averaged 15-20 persons a year who professed their faith and/or were baptized in the hot tub that we rented annually for the occasion. In four years we welcomed fifty babies and celebrated more than thirty weddings.
It was also exciting to see our church mortgage reduced to $850,000. Then God gave us the opportunity to buy 1711 Bloor Street, a water damaged house. This acquisition increased our mortgage back to $1.3 million, but it gave us access to the eighteen acres that we hope to develop in the future. After thoroughly renovating this house, Christian Horizons rented it as a group home for adults with exceptional needs. This venture earned Hope Fellowship the “Excellence In Partnership Award” in 2015.
As a young congregation we experienced few deaths in our own membership. In previous years we grieved the deaths of Trudy, Lisa, Peter, Geoffrey and Jeff. During the Focusing Years our church family was mostly spared except for 2013 when Shirley died and 2015 when Amanda died (at age 30!). These two women testified powerfully to God’s love during their difficult battles with cancer. The spring of 2015 was especially hard for our church because Jim and Roma suddenly also lost their daughter, Lesley-Ann, a young mom like Amanda, who died from a brain aneurism. In sixteen years of ministry, Hope Fellowship has experienced very few funerals compared to other churches, but each death represented someone whom we love and miss.
One of the more interesting developments in our history was the erection of our illuminated cross. An agreement with WIND Mobile had sat dormant for years. Then in early 2015 they raised the promised cell phone tower. Little did we know that it would come with such a large cross and that it would be lit on three sides!
A few neighbours complained about “light pollution” but we created much good will by making a small compromise and turning off the side facing West. Today we are thrilled to have a tall cross that is 100% visible during the day and 67% visible at night. And to think that we are actually paid monthly as the cross declares Christ’s sacrificial love to the whole community!
Change, they say, is the only constant. That maxim proved to be true also for our church as the four Focusing years transitioned into the Transitional Years.
- Pastor Peter
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